Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network Spring 2015

Intro:

Hello! My name is Jessica Medina and I am a senior at USF. I am a Business Administration major. Currently, I am working the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network (PAWPNet). Also, I am looking to volunteer at a recovery center because I am interested in the Alcohol and Drug Addiction studies field. I enjoy learning and working/volunteering in different fields. It is important to broaden my horizon and work with people from different backgrounds as well. These experiences serve as an opportunity to build my awareness and education of social issues beyond my own knowledge.  After I graduate, I plan to travel and perhaps live in another country for a year. In the next month or so, I will be taking time to travel. This semester, I am focusing on my career goals and health wellness. Lastly, I am happy to be returning to PAWPNet.

What is PAWPNet?

PAWPNet works to strengthen the capacity of Pan-African women to improve the future of their communities, families and children.

PAWPNet is a vital and unique community of diverse black women and their supporters throughout the world.  We act as an online advisor, information clearinghouse, referral source, and convener to increase the visibility and impact of African-descent women’s leadership and giving. (http://pawpnet.ning.com/)

PAWPNet was founded by Dr. Jackie Copeland-Carson and Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome, Ph.D. Both are incredible scholars and activists in the Pan-African philanthropy movement. They continue researching and developing initiatives, raising awareness, and mobilizing efforts for social change in issues such as the African maternal health crisis and African Diaspora. Ms.Okome is the leader of the US #BringOurGirlsBackHome Movement.

Spring 2015 Role:

This semester, I will be developing a posting strategy for our social media pages and official website. Our goal is to encourage members to be active in the conversation. I want members to post on our pages providing news, articles, pictures, videos, etc. on developments in the Pan-African worldwide community from the Americas to overseas. Our organization emphasizes the accomplishments of women and their efforts for social change. This is shown through our “Pan-African Woman Leader Spotlight” feature which is posted on our main website page. Also, I have been doing research about Afro-Latin@ groups and their culture. As a Spanish speaker, I hope to reach out to these groups and invite them to our website. I will continue using the hashtag #BPM365 (Black Philanthropy Month 365) to promote philanthropy as an everyday lifestyle. It is a call to action 365 days of the year, for diverse African heritage groups (Pan-African) to promote diversity and mobilize for social change. In addition, I will be promoting the work of PAWPNet’s partners and working closely with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara. Another assignment this semester is researching and developing a booklet with instructions for getting city and state proclamations for California (San Jose/Oakland/San Francisco) and New York/New York to establish Black Philanthropy Month resolutions. The Pan-African Women Philanthropy movement is emerging as more women are empowering each other and uniting to promote social justice and self-help traditions.

Soul Stroll 2015!

This year, PAWPNet is again working with our health partner, the African American Community Health Advisory Committee (AACHAC), for their biggest event, “Soul Stroll for Health 2015.” Soul Stroll for Health is sponsored by AACHAC, to promote good nutrition and physical activity as keys to better health in the African American, Hispanic and Pacific Islander communities. The event will be held on May 16th in San Mateo, CA. My job is to promote the event to our followers and reach out to the Afro-Latino communities in the Bay Area. I am excited to assist in the actual event as it is an opportunity to learn about healthy lifestyles and also focus on health issues affecting communities of color. I will be meeting with event organizers via Skype to talk about other ways PAWPNet can support and promote this event.

New Black Diversity Health Initiative (NEBEDI) & First Meet-Up!

The New Black Diversity Health Initiative was founded in 2011 by PAWPNet. NEBEDI was created to unite diverse African Americans, including immigrants, for health justice and equity. The Project Manager for NEBEDI is Maame and I have been working closely with her since March. I created a Facebook and Twitter page for NEBEDI and invited members from PAWPNet to follow these pages.  Within the first two weeks, we had 100 likes on our Facebook page! NEBEDI, along with PAWPNet and other partner organizations, sponsored the first meet-up of the year. The meet-up theme was “Communities United for Health” Bay Area and its goal was to expand community awareness of the health crisis facing both African American and black immigrants. My project for the meet-up was to help design a Save the Date poster, Welcome pamphlet, promote event online and create a Google sheet to monitor tickets bought. Below is the Save the Date poster:

The meet-up was an opportunity for me to learn about the barriers/challenges that Black Immigrants and African Americans face when talking about health. Culturally, it is usually met with resistance when health, illness and prevention are being discussed. Our community members are working effortlessly to make it normal to talk about health issues. We presented the different perspectives and factors that lead to healthcare disparity. Also, it is vital for community members and leaders to appeal to health associations to represent the various groups & regions within Africa in research studies and the Census. Unfortunately, African Immigrant groups are lumped under one group, termed “Black,” without acknowledging their identities and the large number of people within the continent.  The second part of the meet-up focused on strategies for Soul Stroll outreach and making the healthy experience a positive and fun one. Our goal is to reach 200 African-descent Immigrants to register for Soul Stroll. We discussed past strategies that were successful in recruiting participants into past Soul Strolls and new ones to better engage teens and young adults. We are going to promote it as a family health festival with free food, music and performances to translate enthusiasm for the event.  The overall message of the meet-up was to “Invest in yourself by prioritizing your health, therefore you will be strong for the long-term; for your loved ones that need you and support you.”