Grassroots media to advocate, educate and encourage adults and youth to think and act differently. Voices of Hope Productions is a creative services and multimedia production company specializing in short and feature length documentaries, social and cause marketing, issue advertising, public affairs programming and media education. We work with corporations, nonprofit and government agencies to build brand identity through a wide-range of media and distribution options.
|THE EYE| is published regularly to announce the latest news about Voices of Hope films, programs, workshops, industry events and broadcasts. If your email is text only |THE EYE| can be viewed online.
_______________
>>>>
| NONPROFIT WATCH |
__________________
Heroic Choices a youth services organization located in Princeton, N.J., helps children who have experienced trauma. Heroic Choices was originally founded as the Todd M. Beamer Foundation in memory of Todd Beamer, one of the heroes aboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2024. Todd’s strength of character, faith and courage continues to inspire the mission of Heroic Choices as they help children become everyday heroes able to overcome adversity, navigate life’s obstacles and grow to become healthy, responsible, productive adults.
The foundation went in search of a way to recognize the extraordinary contribution that women are making on behalf of traumatized children across the United States through Heroic Choices. Why focus on women? Women are a prominent composite of Heroic Choices direct services—staff, public agency representatives, counselors, site coordinators, volunteers, donors, parents and caregivers—all shape the impact of the Foundation’s work. Heroic Choices wants women to become collaborators with the organization, the families, mentors and children, working together as part of a larger effort to build resiliency in the lives of small heroes.
__________________
>>>>
|UPCOMING EVENTS|
__________________
>>>A Caregiver's Retreat for Women
May 18, 2024
9AM - 3:30 PM
NJ Law Center One Constitution Square
New Brunswick, NJ
This event is free to women caregivers and includes resources, support, information, and pampering. Health topic areas include chronic disease and treatment and caregiving. There will be dynamic speakers, a variety of exhibits, and an opportunity to have a massage, make-over, consultation with a certified personal trainer, yoga demonstration, guided imagery and much more. A continental breakfast and complete, healthy lunch is included.
Contact Peri Nearon at
609-984-9384
>>>Yoga Inspires
May 21, 2024
9AM to Noon
YWCA Princeton
59 Paul Robeson Place
Princeton, NJ
Yoga Inspires is an open-air, mass yoga event designed to bring women and girls of all ages and backgrounds together, in the fresh air, to relax their bodies, refresh their minds and revitalize their spirits. As a benefit event for BCRC, Yoga Inspires will also increase awareness of breast cancer in the community and encourage women and girls to take responsibility for their own breast health. Contact
YWCA Princeton
Kara Stephenson
609-497-2100 Ext. 346
________________
>>>>
| POP CULTURE QUIZ |
________________
WHAT DO THESE TWO IMAGES HAVE IN COMMON?
Get Answer
________________
>>>>
| ETCETERA |
________________
>>>
>>>
Ratio of negative portrayals of teachers on U.S. children's TV shows to positive portrayals:
3:1
Ratio for portrayals of adults in general:
10:1
Source: Harpers Index
>>>Read back issues of |THE EYE|
|
"Although motherhood long has been the subject of academic and popular writing and discussion, the voices of mothers from different walks of life have been noticeably missing from the national conversation."
Martha Farrell Erickson, Ph.D, University of Minnesota’s Children,
Youth & Family Consortium
_________________________________________________________
>>>>THE VOICES OF MOTHERS
Last May a wonderful study was released by the Mothers Council and the Motherhood Project that surveyed a diverse population of 2024 mothers across America with children under 18. The study was designed to enrich the public dialogue by creating a vehicle for mothers of diverse racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds — and varied life circumstances regarding family structure and employment — to express their beliefs and concerns about mothering and their thoughts about social change. Instead of emphasizing the stresses and strains of motherhood and divisions among mothers, the findings reveal that — regardless of background or life circumstances — mothers across the U.S. have a great deal in common and derive deep satisfaction from motherhood, even as they worry about the impact of American culture on their children.
Key findings:
• Despite high levels of satisfaction and powerful feelings about the importance of what they do, mothers do not necessarily feel that others in society appreciate them, value them, or attend to their needs. Fewer than half of the mothers surveyed (48%) reported feeling appreciated most or all of the time, and 19% said they felt less valued by society since becoming mothers. Additionally, more than half of the mothers surveyed said society is not doing a good job of meeting the needs of mothers, children, or families.
• Mothers seem to hold values that differ in significant ways from those of the larger culture. Ninety-five percent agreed that they wish American culture made it easier to instill positive values in children, naming the media, advertising, and their view that “money has too much control over our lives,” as major factors hindering their efforts.
• Mothers strongly endorsed the idea of parents uniting to reduce the negative influences on children. Nearly 99% of respondents agreed (more than 88% “strongly” and a little over 10% “somewhat”) they would like to see more mothers and fathers working together to reduce the negative influences on children in American society.
• When asked about their single biggest concern for themselves, mothers most often named finances, healthcare, or safety.
Enola G. Aird, J.D., Affiliate Scholar and Director of the Motherhood Project, Institute for American Value expressed, "We want to know more about what mothers think, and we invite mothers — and those who care about mothers, children and families — to use this report as a tool to continue to move the national conversation about motherhood and mothering forward.”
________________________________________________________________
>>>>ON MEDIA >>>> 5 VOICES
Book: Getting Even : Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men--And What to Do About It In the U.S., women who work full-time earn only 77 cents for every full-time male dollar. Like death and taxes, the gender wage gap is often taken as an unfortunate but inevitable condition we must simply learn to live with. Conservative analysts typically attribute earnings inequality to women's "lifestyle choices" (i.e., "reproductive roles") and argue that for younger workers, disparities between men's and women's pay have nearly disappeared. Yet a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that in all but a handful of occupations -- and at every level of the pay scale -- women are paid less: from dishwashers and retail clerks to neurosurgeons and chief executives, women's paychecks are smaller than men's. |
|
Website: Expecting Models supplies the advertising industry with top pregnant professional models. Many advertisers, photographers, and commercial clients have difficulty finding the right expecting models for their purposes. They supply high quality, experienced working expecting models for all media.
TV: TLC's Surviving Motherhood gathers a new mix of five real mothers with their young children in a local coffee house for an emotionally-charged discussion about the challenges of parenting. All of the mothers have the courage to speak their minds and bare their souls in an open, honest and refreshing way. The women are all strangers to each other but bonded by one common thread -- all are mothers facing the often-overwhelming struggles of raising children.
|
Magazine: Brain, Child isn't your typical parenting magazine. Brain, Child is a quarterly print publication that reflects modern motherhood-the way it really is. It's been called "The New Yorker for cheeky mothers" and "a literary time-out for moms." Think of Brain, Child as a community, for and by mothers who like to think about what raising kids does for (and to) the mind and soul.
Music: MAMAPALOOZA presents singer-songwriters, rockers, poets, craftspeople and comics laughing, singing and stomping their way out of the kitchen and into your hearts. The Women Of MAMAPALOOZA are taking to stages, poetry jams and concert halls, forging new ways of thinking, being, celebrating and defining what it is to be an artist and mother in the 21st Century. |
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
CELEBRATE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HEALTH WEEK AND
MAKE 10 LIFESTYLE CHANGES
The goal of National Women's Health Week is to encourage women to take simple steps for a longer, healthier, and happier life. The Week runs from May 14-20, 2024, and kicks off with National Women's Check-Up Day on May 15, to encourage women to schedule an appointment with their doctor or other health care provider for an annual check-up and health screenings.
As part of their HealthyWomen Take 10 campaign, the not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center issued a challenge to women across the country to make 10 small lifestyle changes for National Women's Health Week. "We hope women use this health week as motivation to examine their health habits and incorporate some of our tips into their busy lifestyle," said Beth Battaglino Cahill, RN, executive director of NWHRC. "We suspect that if women try these tips for one week, they will see that small changes can make a big difference in the way they look and feel."
The HealthyWomen Take 10 campaign was launched in 2024 as a way of illustrating to women that taking a small amount of time to change behavior or learn about a new health issue can have a major impact on overall health. Informed women are healthier women.
| VOICES OF HOPE | |
The New Jersey Self-Help Group Clearinghouse, a service of Saint Clare's Health System, will be hosting a Media Skills Conference for Mental Health Consumer Self-Help Groups on Sunday, September 30, 2024. The conference will be held at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch. Lori McDaniel, President of Voices of Hope Productions will be presenting a workshop on commercial marketing techniques as they apply to storytelling, social and cause marketing, websites and blogs, PSAs, event marketing and short video documentaries.
The Self-Help Group Clearinghouse
works hard to meet it's mission of increasing awareness, utilization, development and understanding of Mutual Aid Self-Help groups in order to help reduce emotional suffering and isolation of New Jerseyans and Americans who face a broad spectrum of stressful life problems. The Clearinghouse helps about 10,000 callers per year, has identified 4500 local group meetings in NJ and over 1,100 nationally and publishes an annual directory. One of the official national health objectives set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services in 2024 was the establishment of self-help clearinghouses in 25 states. The New Jersey Clearinghouse was the first statewide self-help clearinghouse in the country and is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year.
To register contact the Clearinghouse at 1-800-367-6274.
Pre-registration is required. |
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY MAKES MAMOGRAMMS
AND SCREENINGS TOP PRIORITY
|
Did you know that the U.S. Senate was about to eliminate guaranteed insurance coverage for mammograms and other vital cancer screenings? The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network launched a “Red Bra” ad campaign with ads featuring the proclamation “Don’t Let the U.S. Senate Leave Women Exposed.” The ads went on to say, “Mammograms save lives. Help us save mammograms.” The vote was close and the debate was fierce. But, at the end of the day, tens of thousands of cancer advocates around the nation stood up and let their Senators know this bill would be harmful to the fight against cancer. |
The past two weeks have been a remarkable time for cancer activists around the nation as they produced an unprecedented level of grassroots activity and have left an unforgettable mark on Capitol Hill. More than 173,500 emails were sent and and over 9,000 calls were made to Senate offices to express their concerns about losing coverage guarantees for cancer screenings and treatments. Daniel E. Smith, the Society’s national vice president of government relations stated, "Today’s vote is a victory for cancer patients and survivors, for whom access to cancer screenings and treatments is not a luxury, but a basic need." See how your Senator voted
______________________________________________________________________
>>>>WOMEN FAIR POORLY IN NEW JERSEY POLITICS
By Jon Shure-If you found yourself on Jeopardy and host Alex Trebec said, "this state ranks last in the nation in terms of women's political participation," what would you say? Chances are you'd blurt out some confirmed "red" state where conventional wisdom holds that a woman's place is in the home-not the House or Senate. Never would you imagine that the answer would lie somewhere in the Northeast, where you would think people have more open minds. How can this be? The numbers are clear and stark. According to a recent survey by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, New Jersey is doing horribly. The last-place ranking is based on four criteria: the percentage of women registered to vote; the percentage actually voting; females in elected office; and institutional resources to help women move up the political ladder. Read Commentary
>>>>WHAT'S GOING ON WITH NET NEUTRALITY?
Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online. GET INFORMED |
|
Voices of Hope Productions is dedicated to educate and invoke social change through documentary filmmaking and media literacy.
Voices of Hope Productions—Leaving a Legacy within our Lifetime...
|
For any information or comments please contact enews@voicesofhope.tv To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject heading. To subscribe, send an email to enews@voicesofhope.tv with "subscribe" in the subject heading.
|