Monday, April 27, 2009
There are no chain grocery stores!
Oh my goodness! I drove around the "Westwood" Neighborhood for a few hours looking for sponsors in the community, and there are no chain stores within the area of those three schools. Like searching for a needle in a haystack. That's odd.
Over the weekend.
I have been going to a restaurant here in Lakewood for many years, the owner Tom knows my family really well. Conversely we know his family really well. His eldest daughter was a Bronco cheerleader. This is what gave me the idea to ask a celebrity to be at the event. I pursued the idea only to find out written notice must be sent to all athletes. I spoke with a deputy communications officer for Gov. Ritter to see if we could have him come out for us, and understandably so, Gov. Ritter is extremely busy, so we would have to ask about six to eight weeks in advance.
Hopefully, we will be able to create gift bags for the kids who are participating in the events on Wednesday and Thursday. I found BMI's for kids, a rare commodity! I met with a woman at a clinic, Rae, and she gave me paperwork for healthy snacks for kids, bmi's and gave me a ton of Healthy Living Packets with some goodies in them. She gave me about everything she had, which was very sweet! We still have a ton of water bottles from the Comcast project and Chantay will be bringing those so we can put them in the gift bags.
Tomorrow, hopefully we can get the donations we need from community participants that will help with sustainability in the long run. The idea is that we foster sustainability in a healthy walking program by offering incentives to the parents. If we send a child home with a $50 grocery card, then perhaps the parents will motivate the child or better yet become involved in motivating others. Jesse and I are working on getting donations for granola bars and other healthy foods. Currently Live Well Colorado slices apples and the kids LOVE it! However, Jesse and I think that by offering additional goodies, we keep it a surprise and unpredictable for the kids. Then there is always an incentive for the kids!
Hopefully, we will be able to create gift bags for the kids who are participating in the events on Wednesday and Thursday. I found BMI's for kids, a rare commodity! I met with a woman at a clinic, Rae, and she gave me paperwork for healthy snacks for kids, bmi's and gave me a ton of Healthy Living Packets with some goodies in them. She gave me about everything she had, which was very sweet! We still have a ton of water bottles from the Comcast project and Chantay will be bringing those so we can put them in the gift bags.
Tomorrow, hopefully we can get the donations we need from community participants that will help with sustainability in the long run. The idea is that we foster sustainability in a healthy walking program by offering incentives to the parents. If we send a child home with a $50 grocery card, then perhaps the parents will motivate the child or better yet become involved in motivating others. Jesse and I are working on getting donations for granola bars and other healthy foods. Currently Live Well Colorado slices apples and the kids LOVE it! However, Jesse and I think that by offering additional goodies, we keep it a surprise and unpredictable for the kids. Then there is always an incentive for the kids!
Monroe Elementary
On Monday, Felipe and I attended the parents meeting at Monroe Elementary, where we discussed an idea to implement a walking bus concept. Because the program has not been fully implemented we believed that the walking bus idea would be great, but the was that many parents live too far away to start such a program. The parents were not ready for this.
I also attempted to attend the Walking Wednedsay at Knapp Elementary and was informed by the secretary that the program was happening the next week. I was disappointed, but turns out that it really was happening. This made me realize that it was extremely important for us to create a sustainable program, because it is the people of Live Well Colorado and Kaiser Permanente who ultimately create and foster these programs. The teachers and employees of the school have so much to do as it is, that it really comes down to parent involvement and volunteers such as the Americorps volunteers Live Well Colorado has right now. However, the Americorps volunteers are around for the spring and Live Well Colorado does not have volunteers in the fall, in my opinion the most important time frame for creating sustainability.
Hopefully we will be able to help our sponsors with this! We have parents who want to be involved, kids who want to walk and Live Well Colorado/Kaiser Permanente really wanting to help the community and our state become more healhty. Aye caramba!
Es todo, ahorita, amigos!
I also attempted to attend the Walking Wednedsay at Knapp Elementary and was informed by the secretary that the program was happening the next week. I was disappointed, but turns out that it really was happening. This made me realize that it was extremely important for us to create a sustainable program, because it is the people of Live Well Colorado and Kaiser Permanente who ultimately create and foster these programs. The teachers and employees of the school have so much to do as it is, that it really comes down to parent involvement and volunteers such as the Americorps volunteers Live Well Colorado has right now. However, the Americorps volunteers are around for the spring and Live Well Colorado does not have volunteers in the fall, in my opinion the most important time frame for creating sustainability.
Hopefully we will be able to help our sponsors with this! We have parents who want to be involved, kids who want to walk and Live Well Colorado/Kaiser Permanente really wanting to help the community and our state become more healhty. Aye caramba!
Es todo, ahorita, amigos!
Project four
Finally Project four! We are working with Live Well Colorado and Kaiser Permanente in order to foster an implemented program called Walking Wednesday at Knapp and Monroe Elementary schools, and Trotting Thursday at Castro Elementary. The introduction to this project was totally AWESOME! We were in the VIP room of the Museum of Nature and Science. I love that place. I think I spent an entire year at that Museum. My favorite things include the T-Rex Bones in the entrance, the penny grubbing-growling sabertooth tiger, IMAX and the planetarium. I still remember all the constellations I learned from that planetarium. Clearly, the museum continues to be amazing growing opportunity for me. Project four has been all about this.
Growing happens in several ways and for this project we will be helping kids to grow up and not out. Obesity in the United States has grown exponentially within the last 50 years. Fifty years ago, many kids walked to school, however the growth of our urban areas and the availability of cars has caused an increase in obesity. Live Well Colorado and Kaiser Permanente are helping to implement a walking program for kids with the hopes that these healthy habits will become a part of their lives and consequently the life of a healthy adult. Live Well Colorado works with other green organizations to create community gardens to further establish healthy eating patterns.
Many of the kids in the "Westwood" area participate in government assisted food programs, are latino (perhaps higher fat food content) and or live in subsidized housing, therefore healthy eating may be lower on the list of priorities.
More to come soon.
Growing happens in several ways and for this project we will be helping kids to grow up and not out. Obesity in the United States has grown exponentially within the last 50 years. Fifty years ago, many kids walked to school, however the growth of our urban areas and the availability of cars has caused an increase in obesity. Live Well Colorado and Kaiser Permanente are helping to implement a walking program for kids with the hopes that these healthy habits will become a part of their lives and consequently the life of a healthy adult. Live Well Colorado works with other green organizations to create community gardens to further establish healthy eating patterns.
Many of the kids in the "Westwood" area participate in government assisted food programs, are latino (perhaps higher fat food content) and or live in subsidized housing, therefore healthy eating may be lower on the list of priorities.
More to come soon.
Monday, March 30, 2009
The busy life of one Rachael Fisher
I know you all have seen my tweets on the goings on with House District 3 and meeting with Andy Kerr. Aside from the Apprentice Challenge, I am also the vice chair for Jefferson County House District 26. As a political science minor, I am a really active citizen. I volunteer at the Jefferson Action Center which provides services to homeless and non-homeless persons in the way of food, clothes, shelter, etc. I am attending a letter writing campaign for SB09-170 which is the "Nondiscrimination In Higher Ed Funding" bill, also known as the Tuition Equity Bill. So that's why I tweet you about such interesting subjects as who is going to elections in house districts and the like.
While working on the CHFA project, I am realizing why it is so imperative for us to be educated about what is happening within our community and to actively participate in it. Foreclosure is a nondiscriminating factor within the economy we live in. At Appetizers with Senator Andy Kerr, I met a Farmer's Insurance Agent named Don. I was speaking with Don about the project and asked if he had any insights on foreclosure, as he insures home owners. Don mentioned to me that being informed about what is going on and where his homeowners could go to find assistance would be extremely beneficial.
He told me many of the homeowners going through foreclosure have been told by bankruptcy attorneys that walking away is the best option. This, according to the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline is something that should be the last thing considered. Often times, walking away severly limits the help one can receive and impacts homeowners in negative ways down the road. Don told me he's shocked that attorneys do this and informs his homeowners of this, but to no avail as it has already happened. Knowing where to send the homeowners initially would prevent this outcome from happening. So good information to know when it comes to educating all home-related entities.
Currently, we are finishing up some marketing materials and working on 1 method to drive traffic and really get people engaged and educated about the foreclosure process. Above it all our message is that "You are the Key" in preventing foreclosure.
Ciao for now-
While working on the CHFA project, I am realizing why it is so imperative for us to be educated about what is happening within our community and to actively participate in it. Foreclosure is a nondiscriminating factor within the economy we live in. At Appetizers with Senator Andy Kerr, I met a Farmer's Insurance Agent named Don. I was speaking with Don about the project and asked if he had any insights on foreclosure, as he insures home owners. Don mentioned to me that being informed about what is going on and where his homeowners could go to find assistance would be extremely beneficial.
He told me many of the homeowners going through foreclosure have been told by bankruptcy attorneys that walking away is the best option. This, according to the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline is something that should be the last thing considered. Often times, walking away severly limits the help one can receive and impacts homeowners in negative ways down the road. Don told me he's shocked that attorneys do this and informs his homeowners of this, but to no avail as it has already happened. Knowing where to send the homeowners initially would prevent this outcome from happening. So good information to know when it comes to educating all home-related entities.
Currently, we are finishing up some marketing materials and working on 1 method to drive traffic and really get people engaged and educated about the foreclosure process. Above it all our message is that "You are the Key" in preventing foreclosure.
Ciao for now-
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Foreclosure Awareness
On Saturday March 14th, Chantay, Felipe, Jesse and I attended the Arvada Foreclosure Assistance Fair from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. We met Silvina, another contact with CHFA who was out of the country when we had our March 6th Meeting about the challenge. We met with many groups who assist in many different areas. We discovered there are government entities monitor subprime loans and lending practices. Subprime loans are initially are low annual percentage rates that skyrocket after a few years. We learned that there are free clinics for children who have no health insurance, food banks throughout colorado who will assist in food needs and additional resources that people can go to in their time of need.
I sat in on a couple who were looking at foreclosure and Rogelio Rodriguez, a counselor, helped them to look at their options. The couple, were pregnant and the husband had lost his job. They were not behind in their payments, yet. Rogelio, advised them to get their information together and to go into speak with a FREE agency in order to better assess what can be done.
The questions the couple had, I believe helps to understand the frustration homeowners go through. Aside from what do I do now, they had questions about their credit and how this would affect the future, what exactly was the process, how long did they have, did they have to pay back whatever the difference was between what they are paying now and the plan they were placed on, what was the first step in the process, what was the last step. I could definitely see how it would be difficult to face foreclosure.
After Rogelio spoke with them, they said they felt much better. They would gather together their information, figure out who their lender was and then speak with a counselor. I asked the lady when she was due, and she said "4 weeks-hopefully." I felt relieved for the family, because they looked more peaceful when they left then when they had sat down with us.
Both the Foreclosure Hotline and the Assistance Fair helped me realize how difficult this process is for many people. That they spend days and nights, worrying about the well-being of their family and lives. And, economically, foreclosure may well be on the rise until next summer-according to Sneed, a Remax real estate agent who was also at the Assistance Fair.
More to come soon...
I sat in on a couple who were looking at foreclosure and Rogelio Rodriguez, a counselor, helped them to look at their options. The couple, were pregnant and the husband had lost his job. They were not behind in their payments, yet. Rogelio, advised them to get their information together and to go into speak with a FREE agency in order to better assess what can be done.
The questions the couple had, I believe helps to understand the frustration homeowners go through. Aside from what do I do now, they had questions about their credit and how this would affect the future, what exactly was the process, how long did they have, did they have to pay back whatever the difference was between what they are paying now and the plan they were placed on, what was the first step in the process, what was the last step. I could definitely see how it would be difficult to face foreclosure.
After Rogelio spoke with them, they said they felt much better. They would gather together their information, figure out who their lender was and then speak with a counselor. I asked the lady when she was due, and she said "4 weeks-hopefully." I felt relieved for the family, because they looked more peaceful when they left then when they had sat down with us.
Both the Foreclosure Hotline and the Assistance Fair helped me realize how difficult this process is for many people. That they spend days and nights, worrying about the well-being of their family and lives. And, economically, foreclosure may well be on the rise until next summer-according to Sneed, a Remax real estate agent who was also at the Assistance Fair.
More to come soon...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Spring Break
With Spring Break a hop, skip and a jump away, we are gearing up to work on the foreclosure project during the break. It promises to be challenging. Some of us are thinking about having a day trip somewhere. Maybe we will buy enough gas to drive somewhere and then buy enough to drive us back! We like to live off the cuff a little bit...just a little bit. Somewhere out there...maybe Boulder...beckons. Today I finished all my classes, until almost April! So while we are on a quasi-break, I will ask you about a topic.
Recently on the news, we may have heard about the Pope saying "You can't resolve it (AIDS) with the distribution of condoms,on the contrary, it increases the problem." And to a degree the Pope makes sense, perhaps the thought comes from western ideals based on education. However, I am not certain if some people are aware of a practice that has been going on in Africa since the first onset of disease within the continent. Often times, through numerous diseases, shamans have told their followers that virgin blood will cleanse them. This has posed numerous issues, which was depicted by a PBS special a few years ago. It's sad because the people affected are not educated and walk deeper into the arms of an all-consuming giant that has become this disease within Africa. However, Africa is not the only nation that has been hit by HIV.
The nation I am from, India, suffers from the spread of HIV as well. Here, it is also because there is no education. Mostly interstate truck drivers and prostitutes transmit the disease. I know we are all familiar with some aspect of HIV/AIDS on the global scale but how does this impact the US or you? Here's how.
On March 16, 2009-this past monday, NBC reported that a shocking 3% of the residents of Washington D.C. are living with HIV/AIDS. According to NBC WIS News 10 "the head of the District's HIV/AIDS office told the Washington Post that every mode of transmission, gay and straight sex along with drug use, are, quote, "all on the rise" and says our rates are "higher than West Africa." http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10012505. It's a huge reason to be concerned.
Here are my questions for you.
1. Do you agree with the Pope or Disagree with the Pope and why?
2. Do you think we should work harder to find a cure for HIV/AIDS? Why?
On a related side note, the monkey, who caused the HIV/AIDS is called the sooty mangabey. I know you want to know that. It is the only know old world primate to have a disease similiar to HIV. However, there are various strains of the virus and it is possible to have multiple strains.
So if you have concerns please be tested. It's free on campus at the health clinic.
Recently on the news, we may have heard about the Pope saying "You can't resolve it (AIDS) with the distribution of condoms,on the contrary, it increases the problem." And to a degree the Pope makes sense, perhaps the thought comes from western ideals based on education. However, I am not certain if some people are aware of a practice that has been going on in Africa since the first onset of disease within the continent. Often times, through numerous diseases, shamans have told their followers that virgin blood will cleanse them. This has posed numerous issues, which was depicted by a PBS special a few years ago. It's sad because the people affected are not educated and walk deeper into the arms of an all-consuming giant that has become this disease within Africa. However, Africa is not the only nation that has been hit by HIV.
The nation I am from, India, suffers from the spread of HIV as well. Here, it is also because there is no education. Mostly interstate truck drivers and prostitutes transmit the disease. I know we are all familiar with some aspect of HIV/AIDS on the global scale but how does this impact the US or you? Here's how.
On March 16, 2009-this past monday, NBC reported that a shocking 3% of the residents of Washington D.C. are living with HIV/AIDS. According to NBC WIS News 10 "the head of the District's HIV/AIDS office told the Washington Post that every mode of transmission, gay and straight sex along with drug use, are, quote, "all on the rise" and says our rates are "higher than West Africa." http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10012505. It's a huge reason to be concerned.
Here are my questions for you.
1. Do you agree with the Pope or Disagree with the Pope and why?
2. Do you think we should work harder to find a cure for HIV/AIDS? Why?
On a related side note, the monkey, who caused the HIV/AIDS is called the sooty mangabey. I know you want to know that. It is the only know old world primate to have a disease similiar to HIV. However, there are various strains of the virus and it is possible to have multiple strains.
So if you have concerns please be tested. It's free on campus at the health clinic.
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