NEXT MEETING: August 28, 2020

GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE ON RACE AND EQUITY (GARE)
Trina Jackson, City of Richmond

Ms. Trina Jackson is the team lead for the Richmond GARE Team. Ms. Jackson came to the City of Richmond in 1995 as an administrative aide in the City Manager’s Office; she has since become a senior administrative analyst in the City Council Office. Ms. Jackson serves as the staff liaison to the Sister City Program and the Richmond Youth Council. She is also responsible for managing the City Council Office and the Administrative Student Intern Program.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Richmond Rotary’s Community Services Team is partnering with YMCA of the East Bay and Vitalant to sponsor a Blood Drive on Wednesday, September 9 from 10am to 3pm at the Richmond Parkway YMCA (formerly known as the Hilltop YMCA), 4300 Lakeside Drive, Richmond CA 94806. We will need volunteers to help. Please contact Don Lau at 510-813-5170 if you would like to volunteer. Reservations to donate can be made online.
• If you haven’t paid your Rotary dues yet, please do so now! Visit our website and use the PayPal button in the lower right hand column. Thanks!
• Our group portrait was captured and slightly altered in Photoshop by Nick Despota. Be sure to join us next time to participate in the fun! 

RECOGNITIONS AND HAPPY/SAD DOLLARS

• Herb Cole shared his experience using acupuncture to address his back pain and donated happy dollars to celebrate. For the first time in 2 years, he is pain free.
• Cecilia Orozco donated happy dollars to celebrate her father’s 66th birthday.
• David Brown donated sad dollars to honor the passing of Sgt. Virgil Thomas, who served as a Richmond Police officer for 24 years as well as time with the Albany and Novato police departments. Before he succumbed due to complications from COVID-19, Sgt. Thomas worked in the Richmond Neighborhood Services Team, Training Officer Program, and the School Resource Unit at Kennedy High School. A fund has been set up to assist his family with funeral expenses.

LAST WEEK’S PROGRAM

August 21st Program – Pierre Thompson introduced Erika Leonard, Program Director for KidPower California. Erika noted that her organization was a previous grantee of Richmond Rotary in 2012 and 2013, which was used for the West Contra Costa Adult Education Program at Dover Elementary School. Erika acknowledged the lasting impression that rotarian Jim Young made on her at that time. Sidney noted that sadly, Jim has passed away, but several of the Rotary Members in the club meeting today were also part of the club when she made her previous presentation and the grant was approved.

Erika shared an overview of the goals and values of the KidPower program and the at risk populations they target: Children experiencing social challenges, Parents, Caregivers, and people of all ages with Special Needs. Their oldest client is a 96 year old blind man. The global KidPower organization is working with kids along with their parents to facilitate effective and lasting cultural instructions on behavior, bathing, grooming, and life skills. The subtext is to use the time to have fun and engage with the children while teaching the parents how to model healthy behaviors.

The common skills taught by all parents include Fire, Cars, and Water. KidPower strives to educate parents to teach through behavior and connect actions with intentions. The overall goal is to create safer and more positive experiences that result in adults feeling safe in their own environment. Unresolved fear leads to avoidance behaviors, such as reading books during recess instead of participating in social interactions with peers.

All of the KidPower materials are available for free online for geographically challenged clients, but typically service delivery is better in person. Online workshops were offered at the beginning of the pandemic and 1,000 people were served within the first 30 days. One online workshop for a Livermore shelter consisted of 6 mothers and 12 children with the moderator displayed on projector screen to lead group exercises. Another workshop example is a 45 minute chat during dinner with a Spanish speaking migrant worker family.

Erika closed with a reference to the 31 years of service that KidPower has provided and the recent changes that resulted in a loss of many instructors due to the high cost of living in the bay area. She noted that now that all services are delivered online, the challenge is connecting interested Parents with access to the internet and identifying time to participate. Equity is their long term goal.