Local

LONG BEACH, CA- I Am… hosted its first interactive workshop at The Reef in Long Beach, this past Saturday. The I Am… Woman Changing Seasons Workshop illustrated the importance of embracing change in business and personal growth and how resistance hinders the growth process.

The event kicked-off with meditation led by Holistic Spiritual Practitioner, Vionela Vaughn-Austin, which set the tone for the occasion. The Metaphysical Minister introduced the meditation with I Am’s theme song, “Higher than This” by Ledisi and concluded it with soothing sounds from her guided meditation CD “Cultivating a Loving Mind.”

Following meditation, Founders, Ricsyhelle Davis and Rhonda Brent graced the stage to tell their story of why they started the organization. “We care so much about ourselves that we care more about others. Everything that is in front of me reflects who I am,” Davis expressed. “We want to be an example to others [that] life is good, no matter what your situation is, conditions we go through, we all have life and we have to find the good and be grateful and thankful for everything we have,” Brent proclaimed.

Succeeding the founders’ thoughts, Davis introduced the speaker of the hour, Deborah Deras. The Latina Motivational Speaker and Author broke down why letting go of the ego (when “changing seasons”) is imperative to advancement. She explained that everyone has a “soul’s contract”; all people have a responsibility to live in God’s purpose. “I am here to allow you to reclaim the truth of who you are as human beings,” she exclaimed.

Deras had the attendees complete worksheets that allowed them to partner with other attendees and affirm strengths that will encourage them to see their stories in a positive light. Co-founder, Ricsyhelle Davis took the stage alongside Deras to retell her story as a mother, wife and entrepreneur. Deras affirmed that each attendee has the power of choice; the power to rewrite his/her story.

“At each and every moment we are deciding ‘Am I going to live from a place of victim’s consciousness, or am I going to surrender and let go of what I think things should look like…feel like and accept and allow what is’? Just like the seasons come and…go this situation will come and go,” Deras encouraged. Before closing, Deras blessed the attendees with prayer. She prayed that all attendees’ “soul’s contracts” will be fulfilled through fully accepting who they are and living in their true authentic selves.

Several vendors were in attendance and provided items to be raffled off to guests. These vendors included Go Be Alive, Rodan & Fields, Laura M. Gems, JaciFit, LLC.,Viva Energy Healing Massage and The Byrds Nest. In addition, Deras also provided each attendee with a copy of her book “Confessions of an Adrenaline Addict: How to Achieve More with Less Effort.”

About I Am… – I Am… is an organization for individuals to have the ability to help each other in business, as well as market themselves through empowerment workshops, allowing their services to be recognized in their communities. The name I Am… derives from empowering light within ourselves. Follow I Am… on Facebook at @iamthatiam1112 and visit its website at www.iamthatweb.com for upcoming events. Next event (Meditation, Mimosas & Margaritas) is scheduled for Aug. 5 in Venice Beach, Calif.

On June 22, YouthBuild Inland Empire had its seventh graduation. Twenty four youth achieved their high school diploma and took their first step towards a better life. We are committed at YouthBuild Inland Empire to the youth in this community and will continue to offer the resources needed to give them better opportunities to a better future. We have served this community since 2010 and we are located in the city of San Bernardino at 570 w. 4th St. 2^nd floor 92401. We are enrolling new members starting August 7, 2017. Any questions please give us a call at 909-890-9106 or 909-241-5558.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Yet you think you know everything [1 Corinthians 8:2]. YOU KNOW NOTHING! You better talk to some grown folks and be schooled [Proverbs 28:16]. You better talk to somebody who’s been there, done that! For life is not to be trampled on. Life is not to be wasted. [Ephesians, 5:15-17] says… “Be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Don’t act thoughtlessly! God has given you a life to live for His glory and your good. Think it through, know what you’re here for, know your purpose, make the most of every opportunity, be wise and try to understand what God wants you to do.  I tell you humility is always the most desirable option, but I know you can’t tell that to a fool because a fool despises wisdom.  A fool despises instruction. A wise man will hear and will increase learning [Proverbs 12:15] but a fool takes no pleasure in understanding… [Proverbs 18:2]. Like I said, YOU KNOW NOTHING! Yeah talking to you is just like talking to a child. You can tell a child repeatedly that fire is hot, but they never really get it until they have been burned. [Proverbs 23:9]. When this happens, they can then relate to what hot means. It is a lesson they will never forget as long as they live, but it was a bitter lesson to have to learn. Unfortunately, we all seem to possess this same characteristic. We have to be burned before we can learn!

I want you to know that in reading the book of Ecclesiastes, I realized this was Solomon also: been there, done that, now what? Solomon wrote three books in the Bible: Song of Solomon — a romantic book, it’s filled with chemistry and love and great words that sizzle of his first love. Then he wrote Proverbs — a middle-aged man, successful. “Been there, done that.” Then he reveals his inner heart and soul —the book of Ecclesiastes. The end result is that he looks back and says, “I have lived a life under the sun. It was a life of emptiness, a life void of meaning.” Solomon — who was the wealthiest person who ever lived and evidently one of the most brilliant individuals who has ever lived — gets to the end of his life, after he’s accomplished all that he’d accomplished, and he says it’s all empty, it’s all futility, it’s all vanity. And he says, “Now what, now what? What is it all about, what did it mean?” He missed the meaning of life. [Ecclesiastes 2-3]. Don’t let that be said about you. Don’t be a fool, taking pride in what you perceive as your intelligence and wisdom. Such wisdom “is foolishness in God’s sight.”[Proverbs 15:9]. By contrast, trust the Lord, learn His wisdom from the Scriptures of the Bible, acknowledge Him and His ways, and you will be truly wise. If not, Jesus says, “He will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. [Leviticus 26:19]. Make no mistake about it!

I want you to know that the School of Hard Knocks is now taking enrollment. What is the School of Hard Knocks? It is a school for those who think they know everything. It is a school for those who say, “It’s my prerogative, I’ll do what I want to do!”  It is a school for those who leave God’s path and hate His rules. [Proverbs 15:10-20] The School of Hard Knocks…Location: Anywhere….Cost: Free – Initially. The faster you learn, the cheaper the course. WARNING: The costs could become high if the lessons need to be repeated several times. This course is ideal for those who meet the following criteria: [1.] Hearing impaired: i.e. you ignore advice and warnings. [2.] Egocentric: You believe that the world revolves around you. [3.] Perfect: The more perfect that you believe you are, the more you will benefit. [4.] Well educated: The smarter you think you are, the more you will learn what you don’t know. [5.] Stubborn: The more stubborn you are the more intense the training will be. Length of Courses: Anywhere from a moment to a lifetime -depending on how many repetitions of lessons you require. Curriculum: Curriculum is individually designed to suit each person’s areas of resistance. Instructors: None: The ‘hearing’ impaired don’t listen anyway. Graduation Date: Undetermined: When you discover that you aren’t nearly as perfect and smart as you thought. When the world no longer revolves around you. When you don’t need hard knocks to teach you. When you’re hearing ability is restored and you can listen to other people. On graduation: At the end you will be counted among the wise if you listen to advice and accept discipline” [Proverbs 19:20].

So what does this mean to you today? It means that if you desire to maximize your purpose and potential in life, before you die, you must maintain a teachable spirit.  If you ever get to the point where you refuse to learn you will not be fit for the Kingdom.  God’s rejects the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (1^st Peter 5).  So be thankful for what you know, but know that you don’t know it all!

“He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.” [Proverbs 13:18]

“If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.” (Proverbs 15:32]

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- This Summer, your child can meet animals with superpowers, shake it up, dig up clues from the past, and investigate forensics-museum-style! Registration is now open for San Bernardino County Museum Summer Explorers day camps. Week-long sessions started Tuesday, June 20 and continue through July. Advance registration is required; campers must have completed first grade and be 7 to 10 years old. Each camp session is Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost is $155 per week of camp; children of Museum Association members may enroll for $135 per week. Limited scholarships are available by application.

The exact dates are June 20-23, June 27-30, July 11-14, July 18-21, and July 25-28. For more information or to register, please visit www.sbcounty.gov/museum or call (909) 798-8611.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The San Bernardino Public Library (SBPL) has joined in supporting a new countywide early literacy program called Footsteps2Brilliance which is part of the San Bernardino Countywide Vision2Read literacy campaign, a collective impact initiative involving multiple agencies working collaboratively to increase literacy rates among children and families in the county.

The library has posted a link to the program on its library website at www.sbpl.org. Parents interested in signing up for the app for their children can go to www.myf2b.com/register/sanbernardinocounty.

“On behalf of our Library Board of Trustees, we’re very pleased in promoting this wonderful effort to promote early childhood education and early literacy in our city” said SBPL Library Director Ed Erjavek.

The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, County Preschool Services, Children’s Fund and First 5 San Bernardino are partnering to deliver the new literacy program.

Footsteps2Brilliance is an innovative early learning mobile technology platform that provides free access to early literacy activities to all families with children, birth through Pre-K, who reside in San Bernardino County. The program provides a comprehensive curriculum of more than 1,000 English and Spanish books, songs and games that are fun for children and address the vocabulary gap, according to the following press release from the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.

“Literacy is a priority in our county. Early literacy skills lay the foundation for a child’s success from cradle to career,” County Superintendent Ted Alejandre said. “Children who are not proficient readers by the end of third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers.”

In January 2017, a cohort of 1,500 students in county preschool programs were selected to use Footsteps2Brilliance and measure their literacy growth. To date, participating preschoolers have read 22,240 books and more than 5.1 million words. As part of the launch, Alejandre and program partners are encouraging all families with birth through pre-K children in the county to join a challenge to read an additional 3 million words by Sept. 1, 2017.

“Footsteps2Brilliance enables us to cross the divide between children who have a seat in a preschool and those who do not,” said Diana Alexander, director of Preschool Services for the county. “We get to provide all birth through pre-K children with an amazing literacy software program that will bring several modes of learning right into their home. This is an exciting time for San Bernardino County!”

Among the benefits of Footsteps2Brilliance is that the platform’s educational resources can be accessed from any smartphone, tablet or computer with or without an Internet connection. Research shows that more than 80 percent of parents own smartphones or mobile devices.

“Through the Footsteps2Brilliance platform, families, schools and the community have access to high-quality educational tools to accelerate vocabulary and literacy skills using the devices they already own,” noted Karen Scott, executive director of First 5 San Bernardino.

According to Stacy Iverson – president and CEO of Children’s Fund – every dollar spent on quality early childhood interventions produces a $14-$17 return.

“No single strategy offers a greater return on investment than providing children with the tools they need to read proficiently by third grade,” she said.

Research shows the greatest disparity of knowledge among children is the vocabulary gap – the number of words a child knows from birth through third grade. Children from low-income families hear 30 million fewer words before the age of four than their more affluent peers. This is compounded by the fact that 61 percent of low-income children have no books in their homes.

Approximately 20 percent of families in San Bernardino County live in poverty and 34 percent speak Spanish in the home (according to census data). Based on data from the California Department of Education, nearly 19 percent of school-aged students are classified as English Learners and more than 72 percent qualify for free and reduced lunch.

The San Bernardino County literacy partnership is unique and will serve as a blueprint around the nation to achieve early literacy success in dual language communities on a countywide basis.

“We are honored to partner with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools to give all children equal access to high-quality bilingual English and Spanish literacy instruction. Already, we have seen this unique countywide collaboration bring the community together with a strong commitment and a plan to support all early learners. We believe this will be a powerful model for other districts across the nation to follow,” said Ilene Rosenthal, CEO of Footsteps2Brilliance.

By Naomi K. Bonman

Love. We all want it. We all crave for it. We all long for it. Some of the best songs revolve around ‘love’. Award winning songwriter Lanita Smith recently blew the audience away at the Beale Street Music Festival in Tennessee while performing her latest single, “Love Can Do.” She encourages us to love and to take leaps within love. 

Her latest single is encouraged by the various hardships that we face today and her video also reflects that. Shot at DreamMagic Studios in Canoga Park, the video centers around the importance of unmasking our insecurities and being the change that brings people together in love. Images of various cultures, races, and even our fellow military are displayed in the warm and energetic piece of work, that shows you why we should love our differences not judge them.

“Love Can Do” is a prelude to her upcoming album entitled Remember Me, set to release late summer 2017. I recently caught up with Ms. Smith in our “Purposely Awakened” radio show where she chatted on her latest single, working alongside Los Angeles choreographer Liezel Marie, and her upcoming projects.

Check out the interview below: 

https://cloudup.com/cuu2gGFpHxK

By Lue Dowdy 

“Show It Off I.E. Youth Talent Competition” will be held by LUE Productions on Saturday, October 14. If you can sing, rap, dance, act, recite poetry or spoken word, play an instrument, or any sort of unique talent, here’s your opportunity. Please don’t wait! Text now to reserve your spot at (909) 567-1000. Sign-ups are on a first come, first serve basis.

The winner will receive $500 with a trophy, feature in paper interview, and a photoshoot. To participate you must reside in the Inland Empire, be 19 years and under, and MUST audition. If selected a $25 registration fee will be required.

Auditions will be held on Saturday, July 22 at 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the Feldheym Central Library located at 555 W. Sixth Street in San Bernardino. Callbacks will be on July 31 for those that made it into the show.

LOS ANGELES, CA- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California (RMHCSC), in partnership with Southern California McDonald’s operators, is helping 85 of the Southland’s brightest and most deserving high school seniors make their college dreams a reality this fall by awarding more than $233,000 in scholarships. Since 1990, RMHCSC has helped pave the way toward higher education for more than 3,400 exceptional Southern California students, providing more than $5.7 million in funds to help ease the financial burden of college tuition, fees and educational expenses. Selected from a pool of more than 1,400 applicants, the 2016-17 RMHCSC Scholarship Program recipients were recently recognized at a celebratory luncheon that took place at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Poornima Vijayashanker, engineer and founder of education company Femgineer, delivered the keynote address and Univision network’s Fernanda Kelly served as master of ceremonies.

“This year’s group of young scholars has truly inspired us with their extraordinary accomplishments and commitment to their community,” said Vince Bryson, CEO, RMHCSC. “We’re excited to see them achieve their educational dreams and are confident that their successes will motivate the next generation.”

Every year, RMHCSC supports outstanding college-bound students across Southern California through four competitive RMHC scholarships: RMHC/Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources, RMHC/African American Future Achievers, RMHC/Asian Pacific American Students Increasing Achievement, and RMHC/Scholars. Award recipients are selected through a rigorous application process based on a number of criteria including academic achievement, community involvement, leadership skills, letters of recommendation and financial need.

Funding is made possible through the fundraising efforts of more than 120 local McDonald’s operators in Southern California, McDonald’s corporate staff and the global and Southern California chapters of RMHC. Additionally, the McDonald’s Operators’ Association of Southern California (MOASC) pays for all administrative costs for managing the scholarship program.

Interested students can begin the 2018-19 application process in October 2017. For more information, please visit www.rmhcsc.org/scholarships.

By Sophia Rome

The money bail system has long been a norm in the United States and is widely accepted as the routine that follows someone’s arrest. While most people know what money, bail is, most are not aware of the need for immense reform in the system. Evidently, this system is broken and creates more financial hardship for accused people of lower socioeconomic status, as well as for the state. Currently there are discussions taking place in the California State Assembly regarding the passage of bills for reforming the bail system in California. The first one, AB 42, has been stalled, while another, SB 10, appears to have a more hopeful future. As such, it is more important than ever for community members to mobilize in support of this type of legislation. This is especially important in those districts where the representative assembly member abstained from voting on AB 42, including Eloise Gómez Reyes, whose district includes a large part of the city of San Bernardino.

When someone is arrested for anything – such as stealing a chocolate bar, getting pulled over while already in debt for other traffic tickets, or being involved in someone else’s criminal situation – the process of temporary liberation before trial, known as the bail system needs to be followed, with conditions set by the judge to ensure that the defendant will appear in court. These conditions are usually quite a high fee; the median bail in California is around $50,000. The majority of people are not able to pay this amount of money, hence the fact that about 60% of those incarcerated in the U.S. today are still awaiting their trials simply because they cannot pay their bail. In other words, hundreds of thousands of people in jail have not yet been convicted, and their presence in jail costs the state and taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Furthermore, those who want to avoid being incarcerated before their trials often seek services from bail bondsmen. This type of bondsman has financial support from the nation’s large insurance companies, and works to give loans to people to pay their bail. However, those who receive help from bail bondsmen need to pay them a downpayment of around 10% of their bail amount, on top of an interest rate; in the end, a person can need to continue paying a bail bondsman for over a year. As if this weren’t enough, if someone who was able to pay bail is then found innocent in his or her trial, the bail money will be returned; meanwhile if someone who asked a bail bondsman for help is then found innocent in his or her trial, the bail money will NOT be returned.

So, our organization, Bend the Arc, has a moral and political mission. In the California Assembly the bill AB 42 Bail, has currently been stalled; however, the bill SB 10 is still on the horizon.

“This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to safely reduce the number of people detained pretrial, while addressing racial and economic disparities in the pretrial system, to ensure that people are not held in pretrial detention simply because of the inability to afford money bail.” – excerpt from text of Assembly Bill 42, also present in SB 10

The proposed system would initiate a slower and more meticulous process of deciding an accused person’s bail terms. It intends to abandon the system of asking for high fees from accused people, and replace it with a legal contract in which the accused signs to assure his or her appearance in court. Discussions about the passage of this bill continue in the assembly, and we are working to mobilize Southern California residents to encourage their assembly members to vote in favor of SB 10, and bring up discussions about AB 42 once again.

In coalition with many other social justice organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Ella Baker Center, the Essie Justice Group and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Bend the Arc has committees focused on a wide range of social justice issues for which we organize action. Evidently, the movement for bail reform cannot happen without the support of everyday citizens, constituents of the California State Assembly members. Whether it be calling assemblymember Reyes’s office, helping us organize a lobby visit with Reyes, watching and/or hosting a screening of a short documentary made by the organization Brave New Films to address this issue or realizing any other form of community action, the support of the residents of this district is more important than ever.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,

Sophia Rome

www.bendthearc.us/region/southern-california

By Marla A. Matime

On Sunday, June 4, Mochacademy, hosted their first ever awards ceremony and fashion show at the Mt. Rubidoux SDA church in Riverside, where girls from grades 6th to 10th took the stage to showcase their gifts and talents through song, sewing, painting and other exciting and engaging activities that they had the opportunity to learn throughout the first year of the programs conception.  

I had the privilege of talking with Toni Collins-Percivale, whose two daughters were mentees in the first ever program.  I asked her how did she hear about Mochacademy and she lovingly expressed that she heard about it through co-founder Marjean (MJ) Sterling.  Her main reason for allowing her daughters to partake in the program was because she shared and understood the same philosophy as MJ, in that it takes a village to raise our children. 

Since the beginning of this recent school year, Toni noticed that because of Mochacademy her daughters began to take pride in their grooming habits, their promptness to engagement, and the willingness to speak positively over their selves without pressure from their mother.  A few things that Toni would like to see more of for Mochacademy in the future would be the continuation of mentorship and self-awareness and additional funding, fundraisers to help assist with more cultural and engaging events to expose the girls to more positive things going on in our world today. 

I also had the opportunity to speak with a first-time visitor who was invited by a presenter throughout the year by the name of Sharmaine Campbell.  She brought her daughter to the event to check it out and is considering signing her up for the program to help her break out of her shell of shyness.  She believes that a program like Mocacademy is much needed in our community.

I had the honor of asking Shayla Moore and Marjean (MJ) Sterling, founders of Mochacademy, a few questions, for them to share the thought process behind starting the organization and what they could take away from their first full year.

If I remember correctly, conversations regarding starting this program began in April of last year.  What was the initial thought process of why you wanted to put this program together?

MJ- I’d have to say that conversations about starting this program actually ended in April of 2016. It was at that time that we realized that we could either talk about it or be about it, and we chose the latter. From that night on, we no longer talked about starting this program, we started it and all conversations shifted focus to what we would do within our program. We knew what we wanted to accomplish, and from there we birthed our “why”, after that it was only a matter of “how”.

Shayla – I believe it is necessary to pour into the woman of our future. It is important to provide positive images for our young community and let them know they can become anything they put their mind to. With so many negative images of African American woman we want to remind them that they are a child a God, heirs to the kingdom and should not settle for anything less.

Also, the decision was made to start the program last April but we have been speaking about this for years. We finally said we need to do it and ever since things have come together. This is how we knew it was meant to be.

What did the first year teach you about mentorship?

MJ – My first year with Mochacademy taught me that in order to be successful, I must be open-minded. Sometimes the “perfect” plan or idea still needs a few tweaks and adjustments from a second or third source. And just like all things in life I had to expect the unexpected! If we hadn’t been able to take things in stride, we would have felt defeated from the very beginning. Nothing went exactly as planned, but everything always worked out every single time.

Shayla – There is no guideline to follow. You must follow your heart and take the time to build bonds. Once a bond is made is when you can start to leave lasting impressions. These girls have made me a better person while I want to make an impression on them they have changed my life for the better as well. Mentoring is enriching to the mentor as well the mentee.

Did this first year end up looking how you envisioned?

MJ – Our vision was a sketch, and first year filled in the colors. The sketch was beautiful, admirable, and ambitious; but it paled in comparison to what was unveiled as we started adding the colors. The colors were the individual girls, their personalities, the bonds that were created, the lessons they learned, the conversations that were held, the songs that were made up on long trips, the smiles, the laughter, and even a few tears. Our first year exceeded our vision.

Shayla – No, it exceeded every expectation we had. God has truly blessed us with amazing people that made our dream a reality.

Have you done anything like this in past time?  Any mentorship programs or volunteer programs geared towards a similar purpose?

MJ – I’ve never been involved in or seen a program like ours, but in my youth I was a part of a mentoring program and I always knew that it was imperative that as I came into my own, I paid it forward and poured into the next generation.

Shayla – No, not formally. I have had mentors growing up that have made lasting impressions and I think it is necessary to do it for others.

What are you MOST proud of?

MJ – I’m most proud of the mentors. These ladies have given of themselves wanting nothing in return. Time is precious, and once you give it away there’s no getting it back. These ladies have been selfless with their time, skills, and resources. I’m most proud of the fact that they’re in my life and I can call them Friend. If I had to leave the program today, I know the girls would still be in excellent hands.

Shayla – That I have made an everlasting impression on eight amazing young ladies. I pray that I can continue to lead them to Christ and to a successful future.

For more information, please be sure to contact Mocacademy at Mochacademy.com, Mochacademy@gmail.com, or (951)777-9246.

You can also, find them on social media Facebook: Mochacademy Mentoring Program Instagram: Mochacademy

The meeting times will be held from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. every third Sunday, beginning in September 2017 through May 2018

We accept applicants 6th grade to 10^th grade the program goes up to 12^th grade and are currently accepting mentor applications. Mentees should take advantage of the early bird registration as space is limited.  If you are currently unable to give of your time, but would like to know the areas in which we need donations, please contact them.