April 2023 Newsletter

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View this email in your browser   FOCS Newsletter April 2023 FOCS Office Updates FOCS is Graduating...to 501(c)(3) status! As we lean into celebrating A DECADE of connecting parents in the Seattle area to build a loving community of families of color, we are excited to announce a new milestone for our organization: FOCS is beginning its operations as an independent 501(c)(3) effective April 1, 2023! On this date, we will begin using our own tax-exempt status and will continue to operate as Families of Color Seattle instead of RVC dba FOCS. As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we will have increased grant eligibility to continue expanding our programming, hire and train more peer group facilitators, and continue to contract with BIPOC business owners and leaders. We will also have the ability to be more accountable and responsive to our donors and funders beginning May 2023 when we will be able to manage our donor base through a new CRM system.  Our deepest gratitude to RVC, our former fiscal sponsor, for supporting us through our first decade of growth! Mark your calendars for GiveBig May 2-3, 2023 GiveBIG is a statewide fundraising campaign where individuals and organizations come together across Washington to invest in our communities. Take a proactive step toward creating a just world for children of color and support FOCS by donating toward our free programming so we can continue to connect families, caregivers, and children through peer-led parent support groups, cultural resource sharing, and racial justice advocacy.  Join us in Centering Black Maternal Health Week from April 11-17 FOCS joins Black women across the U.S. for #BlackMaternalHealthWeek from April 11-17 to amplify Black maternal health, rights, & reproductive justice. We join #BMMA for the official 2023 theme- Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy & Joy Seattle Black Maternal Health Week 2023 Events:  Organized by @BLKMAMAS, learn more at: https://linktr.ee/blkmamas April 12th, 5-8 pm, Location TBA Giving Life & Giving Light: A Black Birthworker Soiree This event is for Black birthworkers* The Seattle Black Maternal Health Week Black Birthworker Soiree is an opportunity for us to celebrate the work of Black doulas, midwives, birth advocates, peer educators, and lactation counselors/consultants throughout the Pacific Northwest. Space is limited, so please be intentional with your registration. Register HERE April 14th, Book Club at  LOVING ROOM: diaspora books + salon  Join us for the Birthing Liberation reproductive justice book club with Sabia Wade on Friday, April 14. Register at bit.ly/birthingliberation  April 15th, 2-6 pm, Our Joy Be Full: Black Kin Healing the Collective Body Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center Panel centering Black mothers impacted by the justice system, with experiences in sex work & survivorship. Our goal is to re-center the dignity & humanity of all Black mamas. We are undoing discourses of respectability that are too often leveraged in discussions of Black motherhood and who is deserving of our care, concern, compassion & outrage when we acknowledge the crisis in Black maternal mortality. Register HERE BLKMAMAS, (Black Liberated Kin Mobilizing Access for Maternal Autonomy & Solidarity) is accepting applications for BLK MAMA Marketplace VENDORS from Black woman-led organizations & businesses that directly serve Black mothers & families. Register HERE. Contribute to our Reading List for FOCS families! Are you a FOCS parent interested in finding resources to address Anti-Blackness, learn more about non-binary and Trans parenting, or looking for some new reading material for your socially conscious teen? Check out our FOCS resource page! Do you know of an article, book, or resource that would benefit families of color? Email us and we will add it to our list! FOCS Programs Updates Spring Parent Group Registration is now open! Location and Age-Specific Groups These groups are open to parents and caregivers living in the greater Seattle area  South Seattle Groups include Tukwila, Burien, Renton, and surrounding areas South Seattle Waddlers [In-Person] Mondays 12:30 – 2:30 pm April 17 – June 26 South Seattle Newborns [Online] Tuesdays 5 - 7 pm April 25 - June 20 North Seattle Groups include Fremont, Lake City, Ballard, and surrounding areas North Seattle Newborns [Online] Thursdays 11:30 - 1:30 pm April 20 - June 15   North Seattle Waddlers [Online] Mondays 10 am- 12 pm April 24 - July 3 Affinity Groups- are groups formed specific to gender and racial identity, these groups are open to parents and caregivers located in ALL areas within the greater Seattle area.  Expecting Parents Group [Online] Thursdays 12 - 2 pm April 20 - June 22 Register Here! FOCS Programs Updates FOCS Family Programming Join us for a FREE Online Event by and for FOCS Parents! Register Here Raising LGBTQ Kids of Color Thu. April 6, 6 - 7:30 pm Join Families of Color Seattle as we host a panel discussion with local LGBTQ adults of color, moderated by Marie A. Goines, to learn how to best show up for our LGBTQ+ kids of color. Register at bit.ly/focsapril **This event is free and open to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) parents and caregivers. If you are not a BIPOC parent or caregiver and want to support the facilitators and the work of Families of Color Seattle, send a donation to: https://www.focseattle.org/donate or email us at programs@focseattle.org.  Don't forget to invite your friends to connect with us! Join our FOCS Facebook Community Page to see updates, pictures, and get notified of future events! FOCS Community Partner Spotlight Learn from Nutrition Counselor, Nancy Woo, MPH, CN FOCS supports BIPOC-owned businesses! As part of our programming, we regularly contract with BIPOC-owned businesses and community educators to invite them to share their skills and knowledge with our parents and families during our Peer-led Parent Groups and Family Programming activities. As a THANK YOU for showing up for our families, we want to highlight the work of these leaders and educators to encourage you to consider hiring them and continue supporting BIPOC-owned businesses and leaders in the Seattle area! This month we want to highlight one of our guest presenters, Nancy Woo. Nancy is a politicized storyteller, organizer, and private practice nutritionist committed to collective liberation with points of focus on healing justice, eating disorder recovery, and trauma-informed parenting. Over the past decade, she has developed an analysis of food justice that is grounded in cultivating healing and nurturing relationships with our bodies, our community, and our environmental systems. With both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health in nutritional science, Nancy runs a private practice that specializes in decolonized nutrition and healing from the trauma of body dysmorphia and diet culture. She sees clients in both 1:1 and group settings. Learn more about her work at: www.nancywoocn.com Deconstructing the Mental Health System Inc, (DMHS) is a group for Mental Health Professionals who are actively increasing access to mental health & wellness services for the BIPOC community.  DMHS provides 12 free sessions to clients of Color. Access their B.I.PoC. Provider Directory at: https://dmhsus.org/find-a-bipoc-therapist-or-healer/ Join DMHS if you are a mental health or wellness professional of Color. DMHS is lowering costs for mental health and wellness practitioners of Color by providing: Free listings on their website  Free supervision for new mental health practitioners Free continuing education to help practitioners fulfill Continuing Education Unit (CEU) requirements. Thank you to our Donors! Your donation helps foster community amongst BIPOC Parents in the Seattle area and ensures that we can continue to offer parent groups and family programming free of charge to families of color.   Thank you for supporting BIPOC family connections and community building! Become a Monthly FOCS Donor Resources & Events for FOCS Community Events  Follow FOCS Instagram stories to get information on free and BIPOC-centered family-friendly events! Cake Dance: An evening of Black Dance in the tradition of Cakewalking, Tuesday, April 4 · 6 - 8 pm, Washington Hall 153 14th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122. Wa Na Wari is proud to present Cake Dance, a 21st Century version of the Cakewalk. Cakewalks were born from the artistic ingenuity of formerly enslaved Africans during the mid-19th Century – it’s where the phrase “take the cake” came from, because a cake was awarded as prize in the dance contest. Y-WE Career Day, Saturday, April 8th from 11-4 pm, Best Buy Technology Development Center in SLU (1000 Denny Way 8th Floor, Seattle, Wa 98109). Career Day is a Y-WE tradition that centers on the career trajectories of diverse women and gender-expansive folks. Join us for a day of community building and connection as we learn skills for success in education and work.  Parents as Healers, Part 2: Healing Responses to Hard Behaviors, Wednesday, April 26 · 7 - 9 pm, Online. This workshop provides a brain-based approach for responding to children's challenging behaviors through a trauma-informed lens. Sistah Scifi Author Expo, Sunday, April 30 · 3 - 6 pm, Black Coffee Northwest 16743 Aurora Ave N Shoreline, WA 98133, To celebrate Indie Bookstore Day and Indie Bookstore Weekend, we are hosting our first Sistah Scifi Author Expo at Black Coffee Northwest. We will have 12 to 14 indie Black and Indigenous Speculative Fiction writers showcase their work with physical and digital copies available for purchase. In addition, we will bring Sistah Scifi Bookish Tea Party vibes with areas to play games, read, and, of course, color!! This event is appropriate for readers of all ages. Resources for Parents B.I.PoC. Provider Directory- developed and maintained by Deconstructing The Mental Health System (DMHS), a group for Mental Health Professionals who are actively increasing access to mental health & wellness services for the BIPOC community. Global Perinatal Services- Birth Doulas services are free to low-income, immigrant, and refugee families living in King County. Services are available in various languages including Somali, Arabic, Hindi, and more. 4 Tomorrow- Latino and Youth-focused organization offering support & coordination to households in King County. Services include Mental Health Services (Coordination, Referrals, Education, Events & Gap Therapy) as well as Life Services (resource navigation, Financial assistance, Goal Planning, Racism, hate and bias reporting, Systems navigation) and Basic Needs Services (housing stability, basic needs, education, public benefits, immigration, healthcare, life obstacles and more).  UTOPIA WA- basic needs, support groups, and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community Y-WE (Young Women Empowered)- Mentorship-based empowerment programs serving diverse young women ages 13-26 Community Resources Alternatives to calling 911 Seattle Green Book- Seattle’s Black business directory. Free and open to Black-owned and co-owned businesses and people holding space for the Black community around Puget Sound. Northwest Vipassana Center- Free 10-day Meditation Retreats for individuals. Affinity courses including Black Heritage Course, and Bilingual/Thai and Spanish courses.  COVID & Monkeypox Resources Current COVID Guidance in King County Current Information about Monkeypox Resources for Families Impacted by COVID Eviction Assistance  City, County, State & Federal Resources Small Business Support Free Internet Access and Hotspots  Free and low cost internet access for low-income families More Ways to Stay Connected! Become a Monthly Donor! Host a Race Equity Workshop Join the Facebook Community Group Follow us on Facebook! Find us on Instagram! Stay connected on LinkedIn! Learn more on our Website! Copyright © 2022, Families of Color Seattle, All rights reserved. Our email address is: info@focseattle.org  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.