HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-02-2010 - 3aORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: March 2, 2010
Action Agenda
Item No. 3 ° Q
SUBJECT: Women's History Month Proclamation
DEPARTMENT: County Manager's Office PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S):
Women's History Month Proclamation
Commission for Women Report of
Accomplishments
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Galassi, 245-2302
Shannon Jackson, Commission for
Women Chair, 225-3966
PURPOSE: To recognize March 2010 as Women's History Month in Orange County.
BACKGROUND: The Orange County Commission for Women was established on March 25,
1976. The agency was created as part of a statewide effort by the North Carolina Council on the
Status of Women to organize a network of Women's Councils for North Carolina counties.
The Commission for Women is currently engaged in projects including a mentoring program for
teen girls ("Girl Talk"), the bi-annual Women's Agenda Assembly, annual Women's Advocacy
Day, and an annual celebration of March as Women's History Month. The Commission for
Women will commemorate Women's History Month by focusing the County's attention on the
issue of human trafficking at this year's event -- "The Community's Role in Recognizing and
Preventing Human and Sex Trafficking". This event will be held on Saturday, March 27, 2010 in
the theater at the Seymour Senior Center located at 2551 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill from
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, with complimentary breakfast available at 9:30 a.m. The attached
proclamation of Women's History Month is a further effort to recognize the accomplishments of
women in Orange County and beyond.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: None
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve the proclamation and
authorize the Chair to sign it.
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, the Orange County Commission for Women has diligently served the
County of Orange since 1976 and is committed to promoting the growth and development of all
Orange County women and girls; and
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic
contributions to the growth and strength of our .County in countless recorded and unrecorded
ways; and
WHEREAS, Orange County women have played and continue to play a critical
economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of the life of the County by constituting a
significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home; and
WHEREAS, women have played a unique role throughout the history of the United
States by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force; and
WHEREAS, women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable,
philanthropic, and cultural institutions; and
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders
in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; and
WHEREAS, women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage
and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the
industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and other movements, especially the peace
movement, which create a more fair and just society for all; and
WHEREAS, despite these contributions, the role of women in history has been
consistently overlooked and undervalued, in the literature, teaching and study of American
history;
NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Board of County Commissioners of Orange County, North
Carolina do hereby proclaim March 2010 as "WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH" in Orange
County and challenge County residents to observe this month with appropriate programs,
ceremonies, and activities.
THIS THE 2"d DAY OF MARCH, 2010.
Valerie Foushee, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners
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Orange County Commission for Women
Report of Accomplishments
I. Programs and Events
Girl Talk Mentoring Program for Northern Orange County
The Girl Talk Program is a mentoring program for middle school girls, modeled after a national
program with the same name. The idea for Girl Talk came out of the Commission for Women's
(CFW) 2007 retreat. A subcommittee of CFW members developed the structure for a pilot
project of Girl Talk in Orange County in collaboration with staff at A.L. Stanback Middle School
in the fall of 2008.
The mission of Girl Talk is to help teenage girls build self-esteem, develop leadership skills, and
recognize the value of helping others. Weekly meetings are held during the after school program
at A.L. Stanback Middle School, during which the high school leaders from Cedar
Ridge conduct valuable lessons that address issues middle school girls face everyday (such as
bullying, self-image, representation of women in the media, etc.).
Participants in the inaugural year of Girl Talk were a diverse group of students. There were 10
Caucasians, 6 African Americans, 5 Latinas, and 1 Asian in the program. The middle school
students represented grades 6~' through 8~' while the high school students were all seniors.
Based on aself-esteem instrument completed by the students at the beginning and end of the
program, of the participants who properly completed the instrument, fifty-seven percent (57%)
demonstrated an increase in their self esteem. Discarding two of the participants' results, which
indicated a slight decrease within the margin of error, the percentage of participants exhibiting an
increase in self esteem is 67%. Of the students whose scores went down, one was reprimanded
for poor behavior in the program. Another did not answer all questions on the post-instrument.
If she had answered those questions in the same manner as in the pre-instrument, her score
would have increased, resulting in 75% of all participants experiencing a positive change in self
esteem.
Due to the overwhelming success of the program, it was expanded in January 2010, and in its
second year now serves more middle and high school girls. This year, there are 13 Caucasians,
10 African Americans, and 3 Latinas in the program. Three of the current middle school
students also attended the program last year, while another is the younger sister of one of last
year's participants. Similar to last year, the middle school students represent grades 6~' through
8~'; however, the high school mentors now range from 10~' to 12~' grade.
Additionally, the A.L. Stanback personnel and principal associated with Girl Talk have decided
to institutionalize the program at the middle school. As such, the CFW is working to transition
this program to be completely housed at the school. Pursuant to this goal, a Girl Talk manual is
being developed, school staff is being trained, and an infrastructure to sustain this program is
being established. During the next academic year, the Commission for Women would like to
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serve in an advisory role to Cedar Ridge High School and A.L. Stanback Middle School as they
continue the program as well as to other schools in the district that would like to initiate a Girl
Talk chapter.
Women's History Month 2009 and 2010
In Mazch 2009, the Women's History Month event, "Women Breaking Barriers" featured
prominent, local women who have made history with their pioneering leadership. The event
took place on March 21 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Southern Human Services Center. A
panel discussion featured speakers Edith Hubbard, one of the first African American women to
attend UNC-CH; the Honorable District Court Judge Beverly Scazlett; Karen Mills, co-owner of
the Spotted Dog in Canrboro; and state Senator Ellie Kinnaird.
This year, the CFW will commemorate Women's History Month by focusing the County's
attention on the issue of human trafficking at the event-"The Community's Role in
Recognizing and Preventing Human and Sex Trafficking." This event will be held in the theater
at the Seymour Senior Center, located at 2551 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill, on Saturday,
Mazch 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Alight breakfast will be available at 9:30 a.m. and the
program will begin at 10:00 a.m. A brief film will be viewed related to human and sex
trafficking and a group of panelists, moderated by Dr. Donna Bickford, Director of the Carolina
Women's Center, will speak on the topic as well as engage the audience in discussion.
In conjunction with the Women's History Month event, the CFW has submitted a resolution to
the Board of County Commissioners to proclaim March as "Women's History Month" and to
challenge Orange County residents to observe March with appropriate programs, ceremonies and
activities.
Service Project
In November 2009, the Commission for Women organized, prepared, and served dinner for
approximately 40 guests at the SECU Family House at UNC Hospital. Both Commission
members and Family House guests enjoyed the opportunity to interact during this event. The
Marketing and Volunteer Coordinate from the SECU Family House praised the Commission's
efforts stating, "It's groups like yours who truly make a positive difference for all of our families
who aze experiencing a medical crisis. They feel appreciated, and it is a bright spot in their day!"
II. Issues and Advocacy
Women's Agenda Assembly
Every two yeazs, the CFW leads a committee of local non-profit organizations in organizing a
women's agenda assembly. The assemblies are democracy at its best - a chance for local
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citizens to learn from experts about important issues, discuss solutions with other citizens and
then vote on policy priorities for the year.
In 2008, Orange County's Women's Agenda Assembly (WAA) was the largest in the state, with
over 110 participants. The Latina community was well represented at the WAA, constituting an
entire small group of its own allowing conversation in Spanish. The assembly was titled,
"Women, Power & Change: Making a Difference Beyond the Election."
The assembly aimed to educate attendees about important issues affecting women and to provide
avenue in which participants could prioritize issues for state legislators and local leaders.
Speakers addressed seven major topics including Violence Against Women, Education, Access
to Healthcare, Immigration, Environmental Justice, Civic Participation and Equality, and
Economic Self-Sufficiency.
After presentations from the speakers, participants assembled into 7-10 small groups, discussed
the issues, and prioritized their top 4 issues for an Orange County Women's Agenda. The
prioritized topics in the following descending order of importance are as follows:
#1 =ECONOMIC SELF SUFFICIENCY
#2 =ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
#3 =EDUCATION
#4 =CIVIC PARTICIPATION/ IMMIGRATION (TIED)
#5 =VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
#6 =ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Evaluation Form responses regarding the Assembly rate the speakers, the small group discussion,
and the prioritizing process very highly (4 of 5 points). Attendees also expressed appreciation
for the diversity of the speakers and participants. Approximately sixty-eight percent (68%) of
agenda assembly attendees were White and thirty-two percent (32%) were People of Color. The
overwhelming majority of participants felt that the WAA gave them a good opportunity to
express their opinions and concerns.
Women's Advocacy Day
Women's Advocacy Day is the chance for Orange County Women to follow up on the agenda
assembly process by advocating for the prioritized policy agenda at the NC General Assembly.
The CFW is instrumental in organizing a delegation of citizens from Orange County to attend
this legislative day.
On April 1, 2009, members of the Orange County Commission for Women visited the North
Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh to participate in Women's Advocacy Day organized by
North Carolina Women United. These Orange County participants met with Senator Eleanor
Kinnaird and Representative Verla Insko to lobby for the North Carolina Women's Legislative
Agenda, which includes bills that address access to healthcare, economic self-sufficiency,
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violence against women, and civic participation and equality. In particular, they lobbied for
funding of a domestic violence shelter in Orange County.
Commission for Women Speaker Series and Member Presentations
In an effort to educate its own membership, the CFW implemented a speaker series at monthly
meetings in January 2007. For more than a year, the CFW brought in experts to speak on a range
of topics, from the economic status of women in Orange County to innovative programs for
Latina youth. When appropriate, the CFW followed up with targeted action or reports. The
speaker series not only helped to educate our membership, but also gave the CFW ideas about
new issues and projects on which the group should focus and facilitated brainstorming
opportunities to increase or better engage membership.
In 2009, the CFW modified this project to encourage more involvement from its own
membership. At monthly meetings, a different CFW member is responsible for sharing an issue
important to her and educating members about ways the CFW can take action or become
involved. Commission members have presented on a variety of topics ranging from the potential
benefits for women of microfinance to the gender messages conveyed through children's toys.
Although this project is small in its scope, it is useful to create a better sense of community,
ownership, and leadership among CFW members.
Healthy Youth Act
At its March 2009 meeting, the Commission for Women voted to sign a letter of endorsement of
the Healthy Youth Act, HB 88. The Commission's decision was motivated by a belief that
comprehensive sex education is important for young people to allow them to make informed and
responsible decisions. After the passage of this legislation, the Commission was pleased to have
joined in supporting this initiative.
Domestic Violence Shelter Work Groun
In June 2009, the Board of Commissioners charged the CFW with serving as a facilitator and
convener of a Domestic Violence Shelter Work Group. Since that time, meetings have been held
with the relevant stakeholders to gather data, draft a report, and identify recommendations to take
back to the Board.
Other Activities
In addition to our programs, events and advocacy, the CFW continues to participate in activities
of the Human Relations Commission, attend relevant events and programs sponsored by local
organizations, write letters to the editor and take other appropriate action on salient issues, and
seek other ways to carry out our mission.
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