Lisa Desatnik
An Unusual Friendship
Remembering Freedom Riders Helps Us Not Repeat The Past
If you’re familiar with my blog, you know I have devoted it to sharing information and news that is uplifting. My goal is to give you reasons to smile and pass along more good things. But sometimes, in order to pass along good things, we have to be cognizant of the past. We have to have a willingness to stand up for our friends and our neighbors. We have to realize that our world is better, stronger only by opening our minds and hearts to the unique gifts each one of us has to share.
That’s why when Stephanie Creech at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center shared information with me about local students participating in a national Freedom Riders webcast, I knew that the topic was one we need to talk about.
Yes, the topic of racial injustice is very painful – just as is the topic of cultural and religious injustice such as the Holocaust – but only by educating ourselves and raising awareness can we be steadfast in not allowing history to repeat itself.
If you’re unfamiliar, Freedom Riders were a diverse group of more than 400 Americans who from May until November of 1961 rode south together on buses and trains, putting their lives and their freedom on the line. These brave men and women – blacks and whites, Jews and Christians – endured savage attacks and arrests to challenge segregation policies…often while officials did nothing. The Freedom Rides changed the civil rights movement and demonstrated the power of individual action to change the nation.
Remembering
Some 200 students from Middletown and Holmes High Schools were in the Freedom Center’s Harriet Tubman Theater to view the webcast. Afterward panelists, including several of the high school students and veteran Freedom Rider Thomas Armstrong, led an open dialogue. At the end of the program, all of the students, NURFC Director of Advancement Kim Robinson and Thomas joined hands and collectively sang “We Shall Over Come.”
When he was thanked for the role he played for changing American culture, Thomas looked into the eyes of the students and told them humbly, “I wouldn’t want to brag, of course, but I do believe we made a difference.”
For more information about the upcoming PBS documentary on the Freedom Riders, and a cross country Freedom Rider with students retracing the original 1961 rides, please click here.
Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired Celebrates Centennial
The greatest part about my professional work is knowing I’m supporting efforts that are making a real difference in the lives of others. The Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired is one example. It’s hard to believe that I think I’ve worked with them for more than seven years.
Literally hundreds of volunteers and staff with an average tenure of 12+ years – all dedicated to helping people who are blind or visually impaired to ‘know they can’. Day in and day out, life skills once taken for granted are re-taught with adaptive tools and new strategies. News and information is made accessible 24 hours a day with Radio Reading Services. Children are strengthening motor skills in music therapy. Valuable support and resources are offered to families and individuals. And people with varying degrees of vision are employed to enhance the lives of others.
This year marks a special year for CABVI. It is the Centennial Anniversary for the Walnut Hills based agency and you’ll be hearing a lot more about them in days to come. Since its beginning, some 130,000 people have discovered and rediscovered personal abilities with their assistance.
“As population trends over the next three decades are expected to double the number of people who experience blindness or vision impairment, we will continue to seek enhanced ways of helping people with visual impairments maintain independence,” said John Mitchell, CABVI executive director.
For a full list of historical dates, please visit the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired website at www.cincyblind.org.
Kroger Co. is supporting the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s 100th anniversary by becoming the agency’s Centennial presenting sponsor. Pictured is Reuben Shaffer, vp operations for Kroger and CABVI board member, presenting a check for $10,000 to CABVI representatives – Kathy Gottschlich, CABVI director of development and community relations; Michael Lichstein, CABVI board president; John Mitchell, CABVI executive director.
A Cincinnati Valentine’s Day Card That Gives Back
This Valentine’s Day, give a card that gives back. What a special project for these children in Kennedy Heights, teaching them about social responsibility while encouraging their creative minds.
Bess Lindeman, a student at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, suggested a project where kids could create handmade art cards for Valentine’s Day, sell them to the public and donate the proceeds to a local charity. She put the word out and the response was, well overwhelming. What a wonderful idea from such a caring and inventive girl.
Kennedy Heights Arts Center teamed up with artist April Cooper and 15 high school volunteers from Ursuline Academy for a day of service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. On that day, 35 youth, ages 5 to 12, created three types of cards: watercolors with original poetry, pop-up cards and prints made from etchings on a press. The cards – more than 100 unique varieties – are on sale for $3 each at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center now through Valentine’s Day.
The students selected The Caring Place – a food pantry serving families in Kennedy Heights and Pleasant Ridge – as the beneficiary of their proceeds.
So, this Valentine’s Day, instead of purchasing a mass-produced card, consider giving one of these unique, handmade cards to your loved ones. Your purchase will support families in need in our community.
Cards may be purchased in the art shop at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, 6546 Montgomery Rd. Hours are Tuesdays through Thursdays 10am – 6pm; Fridays 10am – 5pm; and Saturdays 11am to 4pm. For more information, call 513-631-4278 or visit www.kennedyarts.org.
SOTENI And Cincinnati Students FIGHT AIDS In Africa
There is a local organization here in Cincinnati that is taking on a global issue. You don’t hear a whole lot about HIV/AIDS any longer but it hasn’t gone away..particularly in areas like the rural communities of Africa, where communicable diseases have the power to run rampant.
When volunteers first founded SOTENI in 2002 their mission was simple – to empower the orphans of AIDS to lead the fight against the disease and prevent another generation of succumbing.
Led by physician-epidemiologist Victoria Wells Wulsin, SOTENI Kenya began in 2003. Their model was and still is called ‘Villages of Hope’ with a goal was to establish a sustainable, grassroots community led by an elected management committee. They work to prevent HIV/AIDS and reduce its effects with love, guidance and resources. Since beginning its first Village of Hope in Mituntu, the organization has expanded to include three additional villages in Mbakalo, Ugenya and Kuria.
Cincinnati Students Get Involved
Four area high schools (Walnut Hills, Indian Hills, Oak Hills and St. Ursula Academy) have gotten involved educating their peers, raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic, and raising important money toward SOTENI’s mission.
In December local students participated in SOTENI’s 2nd annual Students help Students: Cincinnati to Kenya. They wrote letters to the 39 SOTENI sponsored students in Kenya; and assembled gift bags with toiletries, pens, pencils, & t-shirts. But the highlight of that afternoon project was the Skype call to two secondary students in Kenya.
Last year Cincinnati students organized a concert of high school bands and raised over $1000 for the health center in Kenya. Mark your calendars – this year’s concert will be March 4, only instead of bands they are looking for more acoustical groups or solo performers. It will be at the Leapin’ Lizard in Covington. The event name is ‘Paint the Town Red”.
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