Support Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

The members of SOWSA invite you to join us for an informational presentation in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

Jennifer Rey, Violence Prevention Educator, from Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) will be conducting a presentation on the FAU- Boca Campus.

AVDA is one of the leading domestic violence agencies in Palm Beach County and operates as a Certified Domestic Violence Center providing Palm Beach County with emergency shelter, a 24-hour hotline, support services for victims of domestic abuse, and prevention and education programs for the community

Please join us for this important and informational event! Jennifer Rey has been working for many years educating the public about this very serious issue and will provide us with an overview of domestic violence, available resources in Palm Beach County and ways YOU can help an individuals or families experiencing this very serious situation.

The event will take place on Wednesday, October 27 from 4:30 pm-5:30 pm in the Business School Room #112.

Students and faculty interested in attending, please RSVP to Tanisha at tjulias@fau.edu as space is limited to the first 15 individuals! Students that are meeting in the Generalist Practice II class in room 112 are already included and do not have to RSVP.

SOWSA Meeting Recap: October 5, 2010

On Tuesday, October 5, 2010, SOWSA welcomed Kokie Dinnan, Network Director of Family Promise of South Palm Beach County – our new Community Partner! Family Promise is an organization that assists homeless families. They work with local churches that provide facilities in which to feed and house the guests. Family Promise works daily with the families, the faith community network, and social service agencies to transition the families back into the community on a self sufficient basis. The supporting congregations also provide volunteer and fundraising support, as well.

Here’s are the meeting minutes:

SOWSA Meeting October 5^th , 2010 meeting called to order at 7:15 pm

• Guest Speaker Kokie Dinnan from Family Promise
• Care typically provided for 30-90 days, Working towards preventing homelessness, Provide mentoring and aftercare,
• 1^st skills training for mentors Oct 17t
• Interfaith partnership (23 hosting congregations: Providing 4-5 weeks of hosting a yea
• Needs Assessment – Kokie and member: 14% increase in shelter requests since last year alone, Homeless children in Palm Beach County exceed 1400
• VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
• One Night Away (volunteers needed): Contact Gerry at 561-265-3370 ext 103, 11/4/10, 5:30-8:30pm, Silent Auction
• Guest Speakers (one Sunday per month)
• Take donations from individuals at day center 8-5pm
• Volunteers Needed (training required, online)
• Day Center Opportunities: Weekends (9:30-1, 1:00-5)
• Drivers Needed
• Host Guest Families
• Committee members needed

• Reviewed changes to Blog and Facebook page – 3 cheers for Ash (Great job!)

• Announcements:
• Habitat for Humanity Event: http://sowsafau.blogspot.com/2010/09/habitat-for-humanity-recap.html 
• Great Event
• Recipient was so grateful
• Learned new skills, did lots of finish work
• Livability Study - VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
• Sat 10/10 8a-5p: Will receive a total of 9 field hours, Two sessions morning and afternoon, Must have training to participate(training at 8am), No jeans please (wear walking shoes, Contact Tanisha for tracking tjulias@fau.edu
• Office Depot Foundation –
• Partnership: Can come speak with us, Initiatives focus on child welfare
• VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
• Golf In Event: Tues 11/9, NFL players and alum will be present, Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Could benefit FAU with scholarships towards future SOW students
• AVDA: 10/10/10: 5 K, $20 to attend, Contact tanisha at tjulias@fau.edu
• Committee Updates
• Membership (Jody):
• Membership tally: 52 Members
• Membership ID: Will be printed at one time for total membership to be included
• Try to mention SOWSA in classes and remind others of meeting times
• Service Committee – (Tanisha) – tjulias@fau.edu
• Domestic Violence Awareness month: Contacted Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (ABDA) who will do presentation for us. Tentatively Wed 10/20 or 10/27 at 4:30. More to come. RSVP to Tanisha – tjulias@fau.edu. Contact your professors to see if they can allow students to attend. Would your professors be willing to host?
• Family Promise: Thanksgiving Food Drive to benefit to graduated families.
• Will approach Office Depot and Publix for turkeys and food donations.
• Food Drive among multiple campuses
• Public Announcement on Owl radio
• Social Events – (Jessica)
• Looking for more committee members, Contact Jessica at jponn@fau.edu
• Comedy Club in Boca: Possible Mixer/Fundraiser
• Fundraising (Lilly)
• Will work in conjunction with social events
• Will investigate with whole foods for donation opportunities
• Peer Support (Emily): No report
• Meeting adjourned at 9:07pm.

 

Next Meeting: Thursday, November 4^th , 2010 at 7:00 pm SO285

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Please check out our new Volunteer and Community Partnership pages (above)!

Exciting announcements!

SOWSA would like to invite you to our next meeting which will take place on Tuesday, October 5^th at 7PM in room SO 285 (FAU Boca). We will have a guest speaker from Family Promise, and we be discussing our “Adopt an Agency” initiative and planning related events. We look forward to seeing you there.

Please see the following related announcements and information on upcoming events and community service opportunities:

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During our first meeting on September 9, members voted on a community organization to “adopt.” Through this initiative, our goal is to support a local social service agency throughout the 2010-2011 academic year. Based on the needs of the selected agency, SOWSA will arrange a number of activities to benefit the agency, including food and clothing drives, holiday toy drives, and volunteer events. The organization that the members selected was Family Promise of South Palm Beach County.

Family Promise is an organization that assists homeless families. They work with local churches that provide facilities in which to feed and house the guests. Family Promise works daily with the families, the faith community network, and social service agencies to transition the families back into the community on a self sufficient basis. The supporting congregations also provide volunteer and fundraising support, as well.

We are excited to announce that Family Promise has accepted our offer and the Network Director, Kokie Dinnan, will be attending our next meeting on Tuesday, October 5 at 7 PM in SO 285. Kokie will introduce the agency to SOWSA and explain the organization’s needs. This is an exciting partnership for SOWSA and we hope that you join us in welcoming Family Promise at our next meeting. With your input, we can work together to plan appropriate activities and events that best fit the needs of Family Promise. 

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SOWSA is excited to announce a new partnership with a national philanthropic organization. The Office Depot Foundation will provide SOWSA with volunteer opportunities to support them in impacting the community through their initiatives listed below:  

Office Depot is known throughout the world as a company with a heart. They have distinguished themselves through consistent support of charitable organizations and worthy causes on a local and national scale. Today, the independent Office Depot Foundation is continuing this tradition. The Office Depot Foundation is focusing on the following five strategic priorities for a period of five years:

• Helping children get ready for life and work.
  The Foundation will seek to help 50,000 at-risk children in 50 states to get the tools and support they need to graduate high school and either get an advanced education or find a meaningful job.
• Helping non-profit (civil society) organizations become more professional and productive.
  The Foundation will endeavor to help 5,000 non-profit (civil society) organizations to get tools and support to increase their capacity to fulfill their missions.
• Enhancing disaster relief and recovery.
  The Foundation will assist local communities in the wake of hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes and the like – and will continue to be involved through the rebuilding process
• Strengthening local communities.
  The Foundation will endeavor to enhance the quality of life and provide opportunities to deserving children and families at a local level.
• Promoting global development
  The Foundation will seek to promote entrepreneurship, economic and community development programs to help improve economic and social conditions around the world.

The Office Depot Foundation has also launched a website to help connect volunteers to opportunities they would be interested in pursuing. This website is called Caring Connection – check it out! http://caringconnection.volunteermatch.org/.

Please continue to check our blog and Facebook page for more information on upcoming events and volunteer opportunities through this exciting new partnership.

Meeting Recap: 9/8/10

A major thank you to all of the members, officers and committee chairs who attended SOWSA's first meeting of the school year! We had 24 members, plus our guest speaker! Personally, I think this is an incredible turnout! We hope to keep up the momentum, and we need your help!

For those that missed this meeting, our Agenda, Meeting Minutes and Power Point Presentation can be found below. 

Agenda

September 9, 2010 at 7:00 pm

• Pass Around Member Sign in sheet
• What is SOWSA?
• SOWSA Mission Statements
• Strategic Goals and Objectives
• Introduction of Officers & Faculty Representative
• Introduction of Committee Chairpersons
• Briefly describe committee objectives and activities
• Membership benefits / Membership rate / Membership ID cards (Jody) 
• Communications and Marketing – Email / Facebook and Blog (Ashley) Service Committee – Habitat, Adopt an Agency, Office Depot Foundation (Tanisha) 
• Social Events – movie night and mixer (Jessica) 
• Fundraising (Lilly) Career Day / Special Events / Peer Support (Ethel, Patricia, Emily) 
• Fall Meeting Schedule 
• Volunteer Opportunities – Portland CSWE Conference, Disability Awareness Day 
• Professional Workshop – Guest Speaker Stacy Bennett (Stacy)  
• Questions 
• Sign up for committees Next Meeting Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm SO285

Documents from the meeting:

• Power Point Presentation
• Meeting Minutes

Pictures from the meeting

Our Guest Speaker: Stacy Bennett from Broward House

 

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I would like to take a minute to remind you all that you can subscribe via email to this blog (see right sidebar) so that you do not miss out on any blog posts, which offer valuable information regarding SOWSA!

Upcoming Schedule:

• Monday, 9/13, 7PM, SO 112: Movie Night with SOWSA. Click here for more details.
• Sunday, 9/26, 1-5PM: Habitat for Humanity Build. This event is now full. Thank you to those who signed up!
• Tuesday, 10/5,  7PM SO 285: General Meeting
• Thursday, 11/4, 7PM, SO 285: General Meeting
• Tuesday, 12/7,  7PM, SO 112: General Meeting

As always, please see our Calendar of Events on the top toolbar for more details.