Family

Summer Camp Fosters Female Camaraderie and Unity

WASHINGTON INFORMER — For the eighth consecutive summer, a group of elders will channel the spirit of Nannie Helen Burroughs, Anna Julia Cooper and other Black female education pioneers as they equip young ladies with the skills needed to navigate adolescence and womanhood.

Published

5 years ago

May 6, 2019

Sam P. K. Collins

By Sam P.K. Collins

For the eighth consecutive summer, a group of elders will channel the spirit of Nannie Helen Burroughs, Anna Julia Cooper and other Black female education pioneers as they equip young ladies with the skills needed to navigate adolescence and womanhood.

This process will unfold throughout June and July during the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls. For six weeks, more than a dozen young women will keep their smartphones out of reach as they receive lessons in knowledge of self, ancestral reverence and conflict resolution — all intended to prime them for a lifetime of service.

“This camp is showing our girls how to be of service to their higher selves and community. There’s no technology. They have to turn on their inner technology,” said Kathy English Holt, founder of the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls.

Holt started the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls in 2001 while battling a serious illness. During her bout, she read about Burroughs and Cooper and learned about a local all-girls boarding school that Burroughs founded in the early 20th century.

That story inspired Holt’s foray into youth enrichment, which manifested in the launch of the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls at the Davis Center in Northwest.

That year and every year since, participants in the program learned about altar work, dance, sewing, yoga and nutrition under the auspices of Beatrice Davis Williams, Frances Coles, Bernadine Watson, Joyce Pegues, Free Benjamin, Princess Thompson and others.

Veteran educator Cheryl Shoemaker will continue to serve as camp director as young ladies between the ages of 5 and 13 converging on the Kingsbury Center in Northwest study the 14th Amendment and explore the historical and current impact of Black women in U.S. politics.

“What I found is that when children don’t have anything to do, they get into a lot of mess and fall behind on their school work,” Holt said. “They cannot afford to be idle. Young people trying to babysit young people is also extremely dangerous. Summer should be a time to focus. The youth need to do altar work and spend time [learning about] themselves.”

On May 19, the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls will host a benefit concert at Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in Northwest. Jazz bassist and Holt’s son Corcoran Holt, along with his band The Mecca, will headline this event to raise funds for the summer camp.

The iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls rolls out amid what many consider treacherous times for Black women and girls.

Within the past few years, more than 75,000 Black women and girls across the country have gone missing in cases that haven’t been heavily publicized. Research from the African American Policy Forum also shows that Black girls often receive harsher treatment from school personnel and law enforcement officials than their counterparts.

In response what Holt described as the harsh language and demeaning decorum she recalled witnessing on public transportation, she molded the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls so that enrollees could connect with older women and eventually return the favor as camp counselors.

For Masai Oakes, a former camper and current camp counselor, such a model proved enriching, especially since she had all male siblings in her household.

Years after attending a weeklong retreat with her cohort in a rural South Carolina community. Oakes said she continues to embrace the love for drawing she fostered while in the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls.

“This was a camp to go to and feel empowered. Beforehand, I didn’t know or care that much about the importance of being a Black woman,” said Oakes, an 18-year-old college sophomore who lives in Northwest. “Going to this camp [helped me] see a lot of people like me and what we were capable of.

“It’s very important,” she said. “If someone wants a sense of community, the iThings 2 Collard Greens Summer Camp for Girls would be a great place for them.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

Sam P. K. Collins

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Community

Richmond Nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods Plans Major Renovation

Richmond nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods is planning a significant renovation of its headquarters at 3029 Macdonald Ave., around 31st street. The nonprofit serving youth and families in Richmond is requesting a design review permit to demolish the one-story, 2,218-square-foot building and a 95-square-foot shed, and to replace them with a new 4,480-square-foot, two-story building.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Rendering of renovation courtesy of City of Richmond documents.

The Richmond Standard

Richmond nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods is planning a significant renovation of its headquarters at 3029 Macdonald Ave., around 31st street.

The nonprofit serving youth and families in Richmond is requesting a design review permit to demolish the one-story, 2,218-square-foot building and a 95-square-foot shed, and to replace them with a new 4,480-square-foot, two-story building.

The new building would consist of office and meetings spaces with a 345-square-foot addition to the existing garage on the property, according to city documents. The nonprofit will host youth, adult, and family programming on and off the site.

The nonprofit also proposes to repair sidewalks, replace planters and a fence, add lighting, and provide interior open space, among other improvements.

The city’s Design Review Board was set to review the plans at its meeting this evening on April 10. For more info, go to https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/68830/3_PLN23-316-3029-MacDonald-Ave_DRB20240410—Apr-10

Oakland Post

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Community

Families Flock to New Farmers Market in Marina Bay

The City of Richmond’s first farmers market in Marina Bay kicked off Sunday, April 7 with a large swell of community members coming out to enjoy the occasion. The long-anticipated market set up shop in the parking lot off Regatta Boulevard and Melville Square in Richmond and featured music and dancing, arts and crafts, chess, multiple vendors and some fresh produce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

The crowd at the new Marina Bay farmers’ market. Photo by Kathy Chouteau.

By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Standard

The City of Richmond’s first farmers market in Marina Bay kicked off Sunday, April 7 with a large swell of community members coming out to enjoy the occasion.

The long-anticipated market set up shop in the parking lot off Regatta Boulevard and Melville Square in Richmond and featured music and dancing, arts and crafts, chess, multiple vendors and some fresh produce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Numerous families turned out for the event, many with their children and family dogs.

The market will continue on Sundays and is operated by the Richmond Certified Farmers Market Association. For more information or to become a vendor, go to https://cirichmondca-newsletter.app.transform.civicplus.com/forms/39634

Oakland Post

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Community

For Cervical Cancer Month, Medical Community Focused on Education

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable. Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S. 2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

By Magaly Muñoz

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable.

Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Sonia Ordonez, an OBGYN and gynecology surgeon at Kaiser Permanente, stated that as soon as people with cervixes reach the maturity reproductive age, they should start taking preventative measures like getting the HPV vaccine. The vaccine involves a series of two-doses for people aged 9 through 14 or three-doses for people 15 through 45 years old.

“I see a lot of young women who can’t remember or may not have gotten [the vaccine] when they were younger, or maybe got one, but we can give them the series of vaccines and restart at any point in time,” Ordonez said.

She said that cervical cancer is not the only cancer caused by HPV. Strains of the virus can also lead to throat, anal and penile cancers.

Screening is also an effective way to check for cervical cancer and should be done every three years after someone turns 21, doctors recommend. It is best to start as early as possible to catch occurrences early.

Ordonez said that this cancer is also more likely found in people of color and has led to more deaths overall.

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S.

2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

“This disparity is not due to genetic differences among White, Black or Hispanic women, but rather related to systemic racism, access to healthcare and socioeconomic factors,” Dr. Olivia Cardenas-Trowers, a Mayo Clinic urogynecologist, said in the article.

Ordonez stated that immigrant women are also highly susceptible to the cancer, as many Latin American countries may not have accessibility to screenings or lack of insurance makes it harder for them to get tested.

Hispanic women are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 30% more likely to die from it, as compared to non-Hispanic White women, according to the Office of Minority Health.

Family medicine physician, Joy Anyanwu, stated that the pandemic contributed to hesitancy about getting cervical cancer screenings among some women. Other factors are people’s aversion to vaccines, parents not wanting to believe that their children are or will become sexually active, and doubt about the overall effectiveness of the vaccine.

“The vaccine is very safe — over 97% effective in preventing cervical cancer,” Anyanwu said. “Even if you aren’t having sex, the earlier you start would actually help.”

Anyanwu said she understands that parents might not want to ask questions about their children’s reproductive health, but it’s a mindset that can be a barrier to having important conversation about prevention or care.

To keep families their families and communties healthy, the doctor emphasized that people should prioritize keeping up with their vaccine series and going to screenings every year.