by Center for Health, Environment & Justice
This is CHEJ’s first basic community organization manual. Although it is written for first time organizers, established leaders may find they learn a new trick or two. Topics covered include how to start a group, keep a group going, research opponents, organize your community, carry out an effective action, raise funds, and win!
The People’s Organization for Progress and the Bethany Baptist Church Board of Deacons presents a special Black History Month event: An Evening with Cornel West!
This special event will take place at Bethany Baptist Church, 275 West Market Street, Newark on Wednesday, April 2 at 6:30pm (rescheduled due to ice storm).
Dr. West will discuss ‘The Importance of Organization Building in the Struggle for Racial, Social and Economic Justice.’
Cornel West has written 19 books, including his best seller Democracy Matters. He appears regularly on the Bill Maher Show, The Colbert Report, CNN and CSpan. He can be heard on a weekly basis on the popular public radio show, Smiley and West, co-hosted by the critically acclaimed Tavis Smiley. The show airs locally on WBGO-FM/Jazz 88 (88.3FM) on Saturday mornings at 6am.
April is prom month. If you’re a young lady of modest means you can be the belle of the ball with a free or low-cost designer dress ($10 is low, right?) in beautiful condition from one of the prom dress giveaway programs in New Jersey and around the country. Act soon though. Giveaways are going on right now all over the New York/New Jersey area and in many cities across the country! Some programs provide accessories and shoes to match gowns … and they may share tasty treats and other gifts with “shoppers” and their moms, as well. The idea is, that every young person should have the chance to attend prom dressed fabulously and fashionably, whether they have lots of money or don’t.
TED features a MOOC project this week
Shimon Schocken and Noam Nisan developed a curriculum for their students to build a computer, piece by piece. When they put the course online — giving away the tools, simulators, chip specifications and other building blocks — they were surprised that thousands jumped at the opportunity to learn, working independently as well as organizing their own classes in the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). A call to forget about grades and tap into the self-motivation to learn.
If you need a place to spend social time, a volunteer opportunity, psychotherapy, housing or vocational training, here are some resources for people challenged by depression or another form of mental illness. Please feel free to post resources you know of which aren’t listed in a comment and I’ll add them to the list after checking them out.
For US By US Self Help Center 40 North Van Brunt Street, 2nd Floor, Englewood, NJ 07631 201-541-1221 Hours: Monday-Friday 1-5pm What it is: This program is a place where people dealing with a mental health issue of any type can spend time to socialize or spend quiet time in a place away from home. Activities take place that you can join if you like. The center is pretty much run by peers with professional oversight in the background. Who can participate: You may self-qualify to participate. Admission requirements: Drop-ins welcome – just show up. Feel free to ask a friend to bring you by. Work/volunteer opportunities:Admission requirements: By referral. Call to speak with a program counsellor who can help you understand the steps needed to be referred into one of the organization’s programs.
If you think the Romney/GOP election tactics seem like a racist ploy to intentionally block Latino and Black people from voting, you’re not crazy. Spend 4 minute watching this video from Van Jones’ Rebuild the American Dream team to see the dots neatly connected. It proves that this sad fact is true. God help America.
Fight by helping everyone you know that plans to vote for a fair America and President Obama to get their identification documents ready so they can’t be turned away at the polls. Inform yourself about your rights as a voter. Write to your elected officials and urge them to fight for American justice, fairness and the upholding of the one person, one vote system. Ask them to work hard to get big money out of general elections once and for all. And vote! Remember, New Jersey and some other states allow early voting and vote by mail.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“Si quieres construir un barco, no empieces por buscar madera, ni por cortar tablas o distribuir el trabajo… primero has de evocar en los hombres el anhelo de mar libre y ancho”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A few years back, the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling gave corporations permission to spend unlimited amounts of money, “to buy elections.” The corporations don’t need to obtain stockholder’s permission to spend corporate money on political campaigns. But the Supreme Court ruled on June 21 that unions must obtain members’ permission in order to spend union money on the same campaigns.
The Supreme Court’s ruling regarding corporate spending was based on the premise that United States citizens have the right to information from all sources under the 1st Amendment. If it was found right for corporations to be able to spend without limits to make sure their points of view are heard, why is the same right being denied to unions?
Vincent Cerf, one of the recognized fathers of the internet, writes in this New York Times op-ed piece:
Several authoritarian regimes reportedly would ban anonymity from the Web, which would make it easier to find and arrest dissidents. Others have suggested moving the privately run system that manages domain names and Internet addresses to the United Nations. …
When I helped to develop the open standards that computers use to communicate with one another across the Net, I hoped for but could not predict how it would blossom and how much human ingenuity it would unleash. What secret sauce powered its success? The Net prospered precisely because governments — for the most part — allowed the Internet to grow organically, with civil society, academia, private sector and voluntary standards bodies collaborating on development, operation and governance.
These organizations are fighting for your freedom and privacy (and mine) online and in all digital/electronic media. Learn about them – and from them, get involved with their campaigns, support them and publicize their efforts. We’re all in this together.
2014 Update for New Jersey drivers: Sober Sam is available but
News about AAA offering free towing service nationwide to get inebriated drivers home safely on New Year’s Eve is circulating virally on Facebook but according to Snopes, less than a dozen states offer this program.
When you see this posted on Facebook, tell people not to rely on the service. There’s only a limited chance it will be in effect where they live:
No Excuses!!! Don’t drink and drive — and don’t ride with anybody who does. Tipsy Tow offered by AAA: You don’t have to be a AAA member, from 6pm-6am on New Year’s Eve/Day they will take your drunk self and your car home for FREE. Save this number … 1-800-222-4357.
MITx: Online Teaching Model Beta Launching in 2012
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes its online teaching program to the next level with the new MITx initiative, which will be introduced this spring as a beta-testing model. Forbes magazine says, “MITx . . . will offer the online teaching of MIT courses free of charge to anyone in the world. The program will not allow students to earn an MIT degree. Instead, those who are able to exhibit a mastery of the subjects taught on the platform will receive an official certificate of completion.”
Background: Starbucks offers Starbucks cardholders two hours of free wifi every day through the AT&T network. A friend has a Starbuck’s card and registered it on the Starbucks site, but she can’t log in.
I checked with an AT&T support rep who said there are a couple of ways to register a Starbucks card on their website and not all of them will get you signed up for the free AT&T wifi service. Next I spoke with Starbucks wifi support. The information they gave me (along with a couple of things I know from experience that they didn’t) should hopefully get my friend connected.
My favorite Bergen County dance studio offers all kinds of fantastic dance classes for teens and adults (my own family’s make up) and is now offering a swing workshop. Looks fun! Swing is a one-time workshop but my boys and I have taken CMDE’s (free) family Latin dance classes and love them and I took African dance, another completely free class, alone.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Swing Fundamentals with Lisa Skates 4:00-6:00 PM
Ages 16 to Adult
$20.00 Per Person
Sign up by contacting Lisa Skates by phone at 201-694-7087
or email lbskates at optonline dot net
