November 2022 Newsletter

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View this email in your browser   FOCS Newsletter November 2022 FOCS Office Updates We have a New Development Director! An Interview with Sarah Kim Park What brought you to FOCS?  I joined a newborns group in early 2014 when my oldest son was just a few months old. Later, after my second son was born, I participated in a Transracial Adoptees parent group in 2017. I have a special memory of the first meeting of our 2014 newborns group where we each shared our birth stories and also the stories behind the names we chose for our children. I was a concurrent participant in another non-FOCS parent group where we were the only BIPOC family, and I felt much more seen and understood in our FOCS group. Parents in FOCS understood the layers of complexity in my racial and ethnic identity, and we were able to connect in a way that didn't happen in my other group. Parenting is a long, difficult journey and we can often feel isolated and overwhelmed. It's SO important to have meaningful, long-lasting connections and community with people who share lived experiences as a BIPOC parent and who may also have other intersecting identities. When I feel supported and a sense of belonging, I know that it is easier for me to be present as a mother, and I can be a better parent to my children. Parents have to prioritize their own self-care in order to raise resilient children, and in order to have the capacity to do that, we must help each other. What motivates your work with FOCS?  FOCS has long been near and dear to my heart, and I'm excited to have a role in supporting FOCS and expanding our capacity to serve BIPOC families and the community even more. I am also looking forward to reconnecting with FOCS families that I haven't seen since the pandemic began. What’s your best advice to a new birth parent or partner of a birth parent?   Be open to changing and adapting your routines to suit what's best for your family. I had an idea of how I would parent and how I would mother when I was pregnant, but once my son was born, so many of my preconceived notions went out the window. For example, I thought that co-sleeping was something I would never do, and then I ended up co-sleeping with both of my sons until they were 4 and 7-years-old and moved into a shared sibling bedroom with twin beds. What will the world look like when your children are grown?   That's interesting to think about - I would hope that we would be in a more progressive world with a greater understanding of racial and social justice as well as climate change.  Funding Updates Join FOCS for Giving Tuesday on November 29th!  Mark your calendars and get ready to tell your friends, colleagues and anyone else you meet all about  the work FOCS does to serve families of color.  FOCS was awarded two grants this month to support our Programming! Best Starts for Kids Community-Based Parenting Supports (King County) FOCS was recently announced as one of 22 awardees for BSK CBPS! The CBPS strategy partners with community-centered, peer-based providers to support parents and caregivers so that babies are born healthy and young children establish a happy, healthy and safe foundation. Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) Sweetened Beverage Tax Prenatal-to-Three Community Grant (City of Seattle) As a grant awardee, FOCS will be part of the DEEL's community investment in order to provide prenatal-to-three supports to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The outcome of this investment is to support increased kindergarten readiness and reduce the disparities in outcomes for young children and families based on race, gender, or other socioeconomic factors. The program intends to accomplish this by supporting community-informed proposals that address obstacles contributing to these disparities. These include providing families access to critical resources and services, supporting healthy and equitable births, increasing parental health and wellbeing, strengthening nurturing and responsive caregiver-child relationships, and supporting optimal child health and development. FOCS is Accepting Race Equity Workshop Requests! FOCS leads interactive dialogue workshops for a wide range of participants including public and private educators and staff, PTAs and parent-led groups, student groups. We customize our workshops to be developmentally appropriate for various age groups from preschool to college. Our workshops include:  Undoing Racism & Teaching Equity to Our Children Positive Racial Identity Development & Race-Based Conversations with Kids Recognizing, Interrupting and Resolving Microaggressions Resolute Conversations about Race Intersectionality: Children of Color with Disabilities Intersectionality: Queer & Trans Children of Color Families of Color Engagement Multiracial Children and Families Transracial Adoption Families Black Families Engagement Learn more about our Workshops HERE   Request a Workshop FOCS Programs Updates Winter Parent Groups are Starting up Soon! We're excited to announce that we will be offering a total of 9 Peer-Led Parent Groups this winter! Pre-Registration for our Newborn and Waddlers Groups is now open! Learn more about the many groups we offer and Pre-Register HERE! Register Here FOCS Programs Updates FOCS Winter Programming The FOCS Programs Team is busy planning in-person outdoor activities throughout the winter! Check out our latest YOUTUBE VIDEO where FOCS staff members Hafidha and Abbie talk about 5 Tips for Dressing and Getting Ready for Wet, Fall Weather. Do you have some ideas on outdoor family activities for the winter? Send us your suggestions and ideas via email to Programs@focseattle.org Don't forget to invite your FOCS friends to connect with us! Join our Facebook Community Page to see updates, pictures, and get notified of future events! FOCS is excited to join our friends at Tiny Trees Preschool for their second annual family Mushroom Hike! Join us Saturday, November 5th, 2022 10:00am-11:30am The mushroom hike will take place at their Cougar Mountain classroom location, near Red Town Trailhead. Tiny Trees will provide mushroom guides, magnifying glasses and activities.  This event is free! Register HERE to ensure enough supplies for the event.  FOCS Staff Spotlight   Meet our New Community Engagement and Advocacy Manager Meet Abbie! How did you first get involved with FOCS? Facebook! Someone I knew shared the FOCS page with me and I saw that FOCS was hiring! I was ready to make a career change from education and it felt like this position was a great fit for me.   What do you look forward to in your job? I look forward to connecting with community members, expanding our groups to families with older children, and being able to create advocacy events that support our families and the communities we serve.   Who is your personal hero, and why? I don't know if I can pick just one person, but my family (both blood and chosen) collectively have been my heroes. I am nothing without my support system and we function as a unit. I have been very blessed to be born into a strong family unit but also as a transplant have made my own family that shows up for me in ways that I have needed. My family has quite literally saved and changed my life and I watch as they continue to do so in the lives of other as well. Favorite place to go in Seattle?   I am from California and always loved the beaches. I enjoy Alki beach where I can sit on the beach and enjoy the water and then walk over to the area where you can see the whole city skyline. I have always loved that in Seattle I have felt the nature aspect and city aspect both in my backyard and Alki just holds that special conjunction for me.   FOCS Community Program Spotlight Tiny Trees Preschool Community Events Program This month we want to highlight the Tiny Trees Preschool Community Events Program. This Program promotes a childhood spent in the outdoors beyond our Monday-Friday classrooms.  These events are free and everyone is welcome!  FOCS hopes to continue partnering with Tiny Trees to bring you outdoor adventures all year long!  Learn more at: https://tinytrees.org/take-action/events/ November is Native American Heritage Month! FOCS acknowledges that we are on Coast Salish Land and welcomes Native families to engage in our programming as well as encourages our non-Native families to learn more about Native communities, history and culture.  Learn more about the history of Native American Heritage Month HERE.  Resources & Events for FOCS Fall & Winter Community Events  Children's Book Day- Dec. 3rd, 2pm-3pm, Town Hall Seattle, From the Host: Seattle Urban Book Expo is partnering with Town Hall Seattle to host our first BIPOC Children's Book Day. We will have 18 BIPOC children's book authors, family activities, and face-painting at our event. Dear Ernestine — A Tribute to Ernestine Anderson (21+) Nov. 5 — 7–9:30 p.m., Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, From the host: Please join us for a star-studded concert, family letters and stories, celebrating the life and legacy of Seattle’s First Lady of Jazz & Blues Ernestine Anderson. Featuring the incredible vocal artistry of Dee Daniels, Eugenie Jones, Gail Pettis, and Elnah Jordan! Darrius Willrich on piano, Kirk Kuykendall/bass, and Jamael Nance on drums. An event benefiting The Rotary Boys & Girls Club The Wiz- November 19 - Dec. 23, 2022, 5th Avenue Theater, Dorothy and her companions sing and dance to rock, gospel, and soul traveling through the magical land of Oz in The Wiz The Hip Hop Nutcracker- Sun, Nov. 20 Pantages Theater, Tacoma, 12 hip-hop dancers (including “King of Rap” Kurtis Blow), an on-stage DJ, an electric violinist, and a digital background with an urban vibe. King County Library Systems Events- Free online and in-person events for children of all ages including free summer meals, Story Times, Teen Talk Time, and Trivia events at various King County Libraries African American Writers’ Alliance (AAWA)Virtual Writers Read- Second Sundays Monthly — 2 p.m. 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 Community Resources Alternatives to calling 911 UTOPIA WA- basic needs, support groups and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ community 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 the Puget Sound. Young Women Empowered Mentorship-based empowerment programs serving diverse young women ages 13-26 Resources for Parents Seattle BIPOC Therapists & Mental Health Resources 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. Northwest Vipassana Center- Free 10-day Meditation Retreats for individuals. Affinity courses including Black Heritage Course, and Bilingual/Thai and Spanish courses.  More Ways to Stay Connected! Become a Monthly Donor! Host a Racial 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.