The Office of Community Partnerships E-Newsletter
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The mission of the Office of Community Partnerships is to carry out the County Executive's commitment to bring people together across the lines of race, culture, and sector that all too often divide and diminish communities. We provide outreach to all residents with a special emphasis on our ethnic, multilingual, and multicultural communities. The office works to strengthen the capacity of the County's faith-based and nonprofit organizations. The office includes the Volunteer Center and coordinates a number of events to celebrate volunteerism and our cultural heritage throughout the year. Pass It On! We hope you find the information in our e-newsletter useful to you. If so, please take the time to pass it on to your friends and community partners. Encourage others to subscribe at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. Click on "eSubscription", create an account and select Partnerships. We know life is too short to get emails you don't want. If you want to unsubscribe, we won't be offended. Go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov, eSubscription, and enter your email address. From the list of e-newsletters to which you are subscribed, uncheck the Partnerships e-newsletter. Trouble viewing Partnerships? View this or past issues online. |
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May 6, 2008 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Leadership Montgomery Application. Deadline is May 23. Share your talent and give back to the community! Contact 301-881-3333 or fdavis@casa
"History of Maryland" at Montgomery College. Registration opens May 1 for Fall 2008 Semester. Course name: HIST 105, CRN 24312. Offered by Professor Alonzo N. Smith. Course will feature guest speakers and an optional field trip.
May *Asian Pacific Heritage Month*
June Ascension Thursday. June 5 (Orthodox).
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In This Issue...
The Office of Community Partnerships has a full time position opening! We also have some wonderful volunteer and VISTA openings. Scroll down to read about these opportunities. Let us know if you have any questions! Please forward this email to anyone who may be interested! FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR FULL POSITION DESCRIPTIONS AND APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS! VISTA POSITIONS Office of Community Partnerships VISTA Member Contact: 240-777-2600 or volunteer@montgomerycountymd.gov VOLUNTEER POSITIONS Office of Community Partnerships Event Volunteer Contact: 240-777-2570 or partnerships@montgomerycountymd.gov - top
In case you missed it, The Washington Post's Montgomery Extra section on Thursday April 24 included three pages of short essays by County residents about what makes Montgomery County such a great place to live, work, and raise children. As part of the paper's annual Community Guide, the essays ran under the banner "Scenic Trails, Strong Community and Vibrant Diversity Equal Love for Montgomery." Impact Silver Spring director Frankie Blackburn shared her vision of "the resilient and enterprising people of Montgomery [who]. embraced extreme diversity and the changing demographic tide to overcome huge obstacles to create a vibrant and thriving community for themselves and newcomers." Georgia Lewis of Bethesda praised the Volunteer Center's Donations Hotline in sharing her story of downsizing from her Potomac house to a condominium in downtown Bethesda. "I like living in a place that supports libraries, promotes recycling, encourages giving, seeks creative solutions to human problems and connects resources, programs and people." Stefani Schaper, a senior at Magruder High School, shared this insight: "Having such diversity in Montgomery has prevented me from developing a closed mind about the various cultures around the world." Anita Neal Powell of Rockville told of the origins of the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation and concluded: "Where we live, work, play or go to school is special, and it is important to share our hometown stories with others." Anita Henderson of Silver Spring praised the Parks system and shared her love of Brookside Gardens. John Daniel of Kensington wrote: "Big Train baseball [at Shirley Povich Field] is small town fantasy right here in our urban Montgomery County." Krysten Jenci of Bethesda likened the Capital Crescent Trail to "an old, faithful friend. It has encouraged me to take on new challenges, given me peace and tranquility, and helped me deal with being a new mother."
On Saturday morning April 26, I had the opportunity to join with fifty other volunteers from the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail (CCCT) to help beautify and cleanup several sections of the Capital Crescent Trail. More than 100 hours were logged by the volunteers as part of Montgomery County's Earth Day Weekend of Service. Volunteers planted flowers donated by Bethesdas American Plant garden center and the Montgomery Parks Department, cleared the trail of invasive species, and picked up trash along the trail. Volunteers from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce cleaned up the trash along the trail at the Arlington Road Post Office. Maryland State Delegates Susan Lee (District 16) and Bill Frick (with daughter Katie) (District 16) are pictured above with some of the CCCT volunteers. Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher (District 18) was among those removing invasive species from the trail. The County Executive's Office of Community Partnerships and the County's Volunteer Center helped organize the event in collaboration with the Parks Department, the CCCT, and the Chamber. Volunteers were treated with Honest Ade donated by Bethesdas Honest Tea and gift certificates donated by Giffords Ice Cream & Candy Co. Gloves and trash bags were donated by the TW Perry and the County's Department of Public Works & Transportation. Here's the link to the Post's section on what makes Montgomery County great: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042302090.html - top
This article originally appeared in the Baltimore Sun on April 27, 2008. It is available at this link: Lets talk about us. Not as in you and me but, rather, as in common cause. Ive been thinking about "us" for a few days, ever since I happened upon a message board for sports fans after the NBA playoffs. The conversation was what youd expect - fans of underdog teams arguing that while other people may not believe in "us," all "we" need to do is box out, get back on defense and "we" can prove "our" doubters wrong. Not to put too fine a point on it, but none of the people throwing around those variations of the first-person plural pronoun is competing in these playoffs. Not a rebound will they snatch, not a bounce pass will they catch. I came away struck, as I often am, by this singular ability of sports to make people say "we." It happens much less often in other areas of civic life. No one says "we" when they talk about homelessness or hunger; no "our" enters the discussion of fatherless families or abortion rights; "us" is a stranger to the debate over failing schools and crime. Those conversations are framed by words such as "them" and "they." I have no bone to pick with sports. Still, I find myself thinking a healthier society would find common cause beyond the ball field and the basketball court, would regard working toward great and ambitious goals as a civic obligation. Am I the only one who remembers a time when rallying the people together was considered the very embodiment of leadership? Thats not to suggest earlier generations were all marble men of selfless good. Pettiness, backbiting and smallness of vision are hardly new to American politics. Yet, when you remember Abraham Lincoln calling for men to save the union, Franklin D. Roosevelts demand for courage in the face of the Depression, Lyndon B. Johnsons declaration of a War on Poverty, John F. Kennedys audacious challenge to go to the moon, and then try to remember the last time any modern-day leader asked us to pull together, sacrifice together, in the name of some vital cause greater than any one of us, well . you come up empty. Instead, weve had George H.W. Bush denigrating the "vision thing" and Bill Clinton building that bridge to the 21st century. Sept. 11 seemed to promise such a moment, except that when people asked how they could pitch in, they were told to go shopping. This is not sacrificing for "us." It is not pulling together for "we." But again, we dont say those words so much anymore. We say "them" and "they" and "red" and "blue," and if that has been politically useful for some of us, it has come at a cost for all of us: fragmentation, polarization, balkanization . disconnection. Small wonder Sen. Barack Obama has been able to build a political movement on a simple promise to bring people together. Small wonder Sen. John McCain has lately been calling people to "sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself." They sense it, too, I think: a hunger for national purpose. To meet that hunger is not to magically erase disagreements and fault lines. But it just might allow us to be grounded again in the understanding that true nationhood requires there be something that surmounts those differences. Our Founders knew this, which is why the first-person plural pronoun one finds on sports message boards is also the first word in the first sentence of the U.S. Constitution. You remember. It begins with, "We the people." - top
On April 1st, Nonprofit Montgomery! and the Funders Roundtable of Montgomery County hosted a Convening to address the Montgomery County FY '09 executive budget and the nonprofit sector's response. The Convening was a resounding success with 80 nonprofit leaders and funders attending. For the first time, Montgomery County's nonprofit community worked together to craft testimony from the nonprofit sector as a whole. April 7th was a historic night as Becky Wagner, Nonprofit Montgomery!'s Co-Chair, presented testimony on the County's operating budget from the nonprofit sector as a whole. Based on recommendations from the convening, the testimony focused on two critical issues: holding investment in social safety net programs at current levels in spite of the $300 million budget deficit and reasonable inflationary adjustments for nonprofits as they operate in these difficult times. --MaryAnn Holohean, Director, Nonprofit Montgomery!Nonprofit Montgomery! seeks to build the collective strength, visibility and influence of the nonprofit sector in Montgomery County in order to create and just and caring community. Our goal is to build a vibrant social network of nonprofits that enables individual nonprofits and nonprofit leaders to view themselves as part of a larger community that is tackling issues that affect us all. For more information about Nonprofit Montgomery! and to find out how you can get involved, please visit their website. - top
When the Washington City Paper published its annual Best of D.C., we couldn't resist bragging about all the great ethnic eateries in Montgomery County. From dim sum to yen ta fo, the County is home to some fantastic gastronomic opportunities. Take a look at samples of our Best below. Who knows? Maybe you'll discover the meaning of life through tasting vindaloo for the first time! Best Dim Sum
Hollywood East Café on the Boulevard Best Ethnic Market
Daruma Japan Market Best Pho
Pho Hiep Hoa Best Pupusa
Sabor Carry Out Best Thai Restaurant
Nava Thai Best Indian Restaurant
Bombay Indian Restaurant - top
The 2008 Almanac of Latino Politics provides a wealth of information on Latino perspectives, demographic information, and community involvement. Visit the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute website to find more facts and answers to questions like "Which counties have the largest Latino population?" or "Where is the Latino population concentrated in Montgomery County?" Some interesting excerpts from the 2008 Almanac . . . By pushing past financial, language, and cultural barriers, Latinos have made significant contributions to communities in Maryland through professional growth, civic engagement, and community work. Recent immigrants revitalize communities by opening small businesses like bodegas, taquerías, and clothing stores in empty storefronts. Their role is huge-over 15,000 Latino businesses exist in Maryland-representing a 38% jump between 1997 and 2002. These businesses provide 601 million dollars in payroll to their community members and employ almost 19,000 people. Maryland's Latinos are also committed to civic engagement. More than half-84,000-of Latinos are registered to vote and 10 of the state's elected officials are Latino. One example of community involvement is the Multicultural Health Promoters Program, where native Spanish speakers work hand-in-hand with administrators to help immigrant families access health services. Latino community leaders met with representatives from the Office of Community Partnerships to address barriers like language access, connecting with government, service delivery, and more during the Diversity Leadership Summit in September 2007.
Lisa Austin just joined our staff! Scroll down to learn more about her background and her work at OCP. Follow this link to meet the rest of OCP's staff. Lisa Austin
Photo courtesy of John Hoover, our photographer extraordinaire and Director of Photography for VisArts at Rockville Lisa Austin is the Senior Administrative Executive Aide to Bruce Adams, Director of the Office of Community Partnerships. Lisa's background is as a Legal Secretary for local attorneys in a variety of legal practices. She began working for Montgomery County in January 1997 in the Office of the County Attorney, first in the Code Enforcement Division and then in the Litigation Division. In October of 2003, Lisa was offered the position of Executive Aide to the Director of the Department of Economic Development. Lisa was born in Camaguey, Cuba and immigrated to the U.S. at age 11 with her parents and sisters in November 1968 on the last of what then referred to as "Freedom Flights." Her family was sponsored by a local church, Millian Memorial Methodist Church in Rockville, Maryland. She was later married at this church. Lisa's family remained members there until her parents moved the family to Gaithersburg. Lisa has been a resident of Montgomery County for 39 years. Lisa lives in Gaithersburg with her husband, where they raised their two children, now grown. Lisa's hobbies are reading and traveling. She recently took up golfing. Lisa has taken coursework at Montgomery College in Early Childhood Education and Psychology. - top
On April 7, Montgomery County jointly celebrated the Arab American Heritage Month with Montgomery College on the College's Rockville campus. Over 100 people from the community and the College attended the event, which kicked off the month-long celebration in the County. Today in Montgomery County, there are over 10,000 residents of Arab cultural heritage. County Executive Ike Leggett presented a proclamation to a group of Arab American leaders. In his remarks, Mr. Leggett commended the Committee for Ethnic Affairs for promoting cultural understanding in the County and expressed his desire that some day we will not need a month like this to remind us of the importance and contributions of Arab Americans. Montgomery College President Dr. Brian Johnson, who was at a conference, also offered thoughtful remarks through a video that pointed out how Arab Americans have always been an integral part of the American society. The keynote speech by Helen Samhan, director of the Arab American Institute, was both informative and insightful. She highlighted the waves of Arab immigrants to the U.S. and their different experiences in this country, and dispelled some myths about Arab Americans. For example, while the majority of Arabs in their native countries are Muslims, most of the Arab Americans here are Christians. In fact, for some, Christianity was part of the reason for their migration to the U.S. She pointed out that Arab Americans tend to be well educated compared to the general American population. There are many highly accomplished Americans of Arab heritage, e.g. Senator George Mitchell and the former Dean of the White House Press Corps Helen Thomas, etc., whose ethnicities are mostly unknown to the public. Even though Arab Americans are traditionally considered "white" in this country, Arabs are actually from many different cultures and ethnicities with the Arab language as their common bond. After 9-11, there have been negative stereotypes about this community, which is a reflection of how little we know about Arabs. It is not uncommon to find Americans who consider being Arab, Muslim, and Middle Eastern as the same thing. It speaks to the need for the Arab Americans to speak out and educate the public about who they are as Americans. Find out more by visiting the Arab American Institute webpage. - top
The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) named attorney Myron Dean Quon as its Executive Director. The APALRC operates the area's largest legal services program specifically assisting low-income, limited English proficient Asian Americans. As Executive Director, Mr. Quon will build upon the APALRC's award-winning programs and advance the collaborations with local community organizations. He will also advise regional public officials on the needs and priorities of the Asian American and broader immigrant community, and work with public and private program and funding partners. He will chart a course for the next iteration of services that will propel the organization to an even more effective and crucial role in the region. "My entire career has been devoted to social justice, especially for those communities with the least access to resources. The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center is highly respected in not only the Asian American community, but also the entire legal services and immigrant community, for its work this past decade," said Mr. Quon. "I'm thrilled and honored to join this organization and look forward to working with staff, the Board, and the broader community to lead the organization to even greater heights." For more information or the full press release,contact Theodore D. Chuang, Board Chairperson at 240-893-4754 or visit their website. - top
How many Montgomery County residents speak Persian? (A) Less than 1,000 (B) Between 1,001 and 5,000 (C) Between 5,001 and 10,000 (D) Over 10,000 The answer is (C). Just under 10,000 (9,758) or about 1% of County residents speak Persian. Only English: 556,147 (65%) Source: U.S. Census, 2005 American Community Survey; Research & Technology Center at the Montgomery County Department of Planning, M-NCPPC. - top
Understanding Diversity through the Arts is an arts contest for middle school students in the Montgomery County Public Schools system. The program is designed to encourage students to use visual arts to express their individuality and cultural heritage. Award-winning artwork will be on display at various locations around the County from May to November of each year including the Executive Office Building, Black Rock Center for the Arts, the Mansion at Strathmore, the Board of Education, Montgomery County Public Libraries, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, etc. The 2008 program kick-off is on May 29, 2008, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Cafritz Arts Center on the Montgomery College Takoma Park campus. Contact the OCP at 240-777-2504 or lily.qi@montgomerycountymd.gov. - top For more information, a schedule of events, and free passes contact Mona Freedman, RN at Mona@caringcommunities.org or 866-227-4644, or visit http://www.caringcommunities.org. - top
To encourage participation from the County's residents and community leaders, the OCP staff likes to post notes from important meetings. Please click on the links below to learn more about the OCP and to find opportunities for involvement.
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The County government is committed to providing residents with the information they need to support their community interests. Please remember to check the County Council's agenda on Friday afternoons. - top ***** We hope you find the information in our e-newsletter useful to you. If so, please take the time to pass it on to your friends and community partners. Encourage others to subscribe at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. Click on "eSubscription", Create An Account and select Partnerships. We know life is too short to get emails you don't want. If you want to unsubscribe, we won't be offended. Go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov, eSubscription, and enter your email address. From the list of e-newsletters to which you are subscribed, uncheck the Partnerships e-newsletter. |
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