Seattle, WA. In celebration of World Tutu Day and #TutuTuesday, Pacific Northwest Ballet launched a new fundraising effort for its Second Stage Program. The program supports PNB dancers looking to advance to the next stage of their lives. It’s multi-faceted and provides scholarships, mentorship programs, and support for a career transition. Providing financial support to dancers allows them to take college courses, access counseling, and career services, and receive grants for education and start-up expenses.
The lack of performance opportunities because of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an increased need to help bridge economic gaps and support dancer’s post-dance careers. This year World Tutu Day fell on Tuesday, February 2nd, so it was a great opportunity to launch an effort supporting young dancers, gearing up to advance their education and career opportunities.
Leta Biasucci is just one of many dancers who have benefited from this program. She articulates how much it has impacted her life: “While the notion is changing, there are often too many barriers of entry for a dancer to pursue higher education and explore other passions. Time, accessibility, and of course, expense are all hurdles. Dancers are exceptional in reaching personal goals through cultivated grit, dedication, and determination; but before anyone can aim for a goal, one must feel like that goal is attainable. That is why there is a real need for programs like Second Stage.”
Leta Biasucci in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo courtesy of PNB and Angela Sterling.
Funds from benefactors make it possible for PNB dancers to become college graduates, lawyers, small business owners, therapists, and more. Donate here.
From the Pacific Northwest Ballet:
Second Stage is a multi-faceted career transition program for PNB dancers to achieve their post-Company goals. Since 1999, Second Stage has provided more than $750,000 in grants to dozens of dancers. Our former colleagues are now working in law, medicine, dance education, culinary arts, dancewear design and manufacturing, aesthetics, and photography—as well as creating and managing companies world-wide. The program offers scholarships, mentorships, support for research, and a unique partnership with Seattle University. You may donate at this link: Second Stage Program.
Seattle, WA. Mary’s Place is offering the same services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as it did before the virus. These services include emergency family shelter, meals, clothing, medical services, housing specialists, and many more programs and resources. Nevertheless, COVID-19 has shifted how many of these offerings are administered. Specifically, protocols have been put in place to protect guests, staff, and volunteers from the virus. Chief Communications Officer Linda Mitchell says that Mary’s Place is still “making changes every day.” Health and safety protocols include requiring all staff, guests, and visitors to wear masks in common areas and regularly wash hands. Mary’s Place is also conducting daily health assessments of guests and staff, increasing cleaning schedules and protocols, and identifying isolation areas should someone exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. For more information about Mary’s Place’s commitment to health and safety, people may visit the organization’s COVID-19 page on its website.
Watch the video below to learn about Mary’s Place’s goal of giving children, and their families, a place to stay while they work on getting housing.
Another significant change Mary’s Place has made is how its food programming is carried out. According to Mitchell, “a lot more people have been in [Mary’s Place shelters] and eating meals” which has led to a need to “increase food supply.” Before the pandemic, Mary’s Place relied on food recovery services to provide meals for guests, but these services have been hit hard due to COVID-19. To remedy this, Mitchell shares that Mary’s Place has “gotten creative with corporate partners” and “partnered with local restaurants” to obtain food for the influx of guests. Since local restaurants shut down earlier this year in light of the virus, many have turned to local organizations like Mary’s Place to provide meals for those in need. Some corporations are also buying food from local restaurants to deliver to Mary’s Place.
As far as volunteers go, Mitchell reports that Mary’s Place has paused its in-person volunteer program as a result of COVID-19. Thus, Mary’s Place has adapted how volunteers assist with programs at the organization, particularly those related to children and education. Groups of students at Mary’s Place receive virtual tutoring through Zoom, and some engage in “talk time” in which they work with volunteers to improve their English skills. Since school is starting up again, Mary’s Place is also working to keep children connected to educational resources, get their necessary equipment set up, and provide general support for students as they begin online schoolwork. Click here to see the ways you may safely volunteer and support Mary’s Place.
Children at Mary’s Place preparing to go to school. Through Mary’s Place’s services, children receive all kinds of school-related support from staff and volunteers.
Since 1999, Mary’s Place has aided hundreds of women and families in moving out of homelessness and into more secure living situations. Mary’s Place currently has six family centers across King County, as well as a Women’s Day Center in downtown Seattle. Across its shelters, Mary’s Place provides 680 beds for those in need of shelter. On average, Mary’s Place helps families move into stable housing in just 90 days.
In addition to food, shelter, clothing, and medical services, Mary’s Place possesses additional resources. The Baby’s Best Start program allows moms with newborns to recover and bond with children in a private and nurturing environment. Popsicle Place provides care for medically fragile children and their families. Housing specialists work with families to create and achieve housing and financial goals. And while parents work with housing specialists, the Kids Club provides children with age-appropriate activities, homework assistance, and more. People may learn more about these programs and others on Mary’s Place’s website.
Children reading at Mary’s Place. Through the Kids Club, children receive age-appropriate activities and homework assistance.
Looking ahead, a big event coming up at Mary’s Place is its SHINE Virtual Gala on October 23. The gala will feature a live singing competition, live and silent auction, and the opportunity to order meal packages from local restaurants. Registration for the SHINE Virtual Gala is available now, click here to learn more.
From Mary’s Place:
To support Mary’s Place, people can make financial donations, donate items off of its Amazon Charity List, or make face masks to donate. Mary’s Place also accepts donations of medical supplies and clothing, particularly underwear at the moment. While volunteer opportunities are currently limited, people may volunteer by creating inspirational cards or setting up Zoom meetings with guests. People can learn more about volunteer opportunities here.
Mary’s Place provides safe, inclusive shelter and services that support women, children, and families on their journey out of homelessness.
Seattle, WA. DO-IT Summer Study, the foundational event of the DO-IT Scholars program, was held online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During pre-covid times, DO-IT Scholars were able to learn on campus at the University of Washington. Despite the challenges of adapting a traditionally hands-on program to the virtual landscape, Sheryl Burgstahler, DO-IT’s founder and director, declares that the event “went really, really well.”
The goal of the DO-IT Scholars program is to prepare high school students with disabilities for success in college, careers, and leadership. In a typical year, participants, who are referred to as “Scholars” throughout the program, attend Summer Study at the University of Washington’s Seattle campus. During the ten-day program, participants live on campus, attend labs, and lectures with UW faculty, work on projects together, and explore Seattle-area resources and careers. This Summer session has taken place every year since 1993 and served more than 400 Scholars.
According to Burgstahler, when the DO-IT team realized that Summer Study could not be held in person this year, they considered not running it at all. “It was a challenge because the Summer Program is really about networking,” said Burgstahler.
To move the program online, the DO-IT team looked at the program’s typical in-person activities and tried to find substitutions that aligned with their goals, and made sense in the virtual format. “We ended up with a lot of things on the cutting room floor,” said Burgstahler. Some things, like a time-honored activity where participants help each other build kites, could not be run remotely.
According to Kayla Brown, a counselor and coordinator at DO-IT, the team prioritized activities that they thought best aligned with the program’s goals and values. This year, they invested a lot of time in a web design workshop. During the workshop, participants worked together in small teams to develop a DO-IT Summer Study 2020 website.
DO-IT students conducting an oceanography experiment during a previous summer study program.
According to Brown, although some activities could not be run remotely, the DO-IT team was able to make a virtual version of “pretty much everything” they typically do. Summer Study normally allows participants to network and build relationships with each other. This year, although students could not meet face to face, they were still able to bond through various optional social activities, including game nights, group lunches, a talent show, and a Zoom meeting where everyone, Burgstahler included, shared their pets. “We tried to do our best to make it fun,” said Brown.
During pre-covid times, DO-IT Scholars were able to network on campus at the University of Washington.
On the academic, career-focused side of the program, participants were still able to meet with, and have one-on-one conversations with faculty via Zoom. In fact, according to Burgstahler, one of the advantages of having the program online was that participants were able to meet with faculty from outside of Seattle. Instead of taking a field trip to the Microsoft campus as they would in a typical year, a panel of Microsoft employees with various disabilities joined the DO-IT Scholars in Zoom for a conversation about how work, school, and entertainment can be inclusive through innovative technology.
DO-IT used Zoom video conferencing software as their primary mode of communication this year; this presented its own challenges. “Logistics were, I wouldn’t say more complicated, just different,” said Burgstahler. Since participants in the program have a variety of disabilities, any software, websites, videos, or other technology resources used in the program need to be fully accessible. Fortunately, DO-IT staff includes some of the world’s leading experts in technology accessibility, so this was an easy transition.
A group of students enjoying Summer Study
Another challenge DO-IT faced when transitioning Summer Study online was keeping students engaged. According to Brown, the first thing the DO-IT team had to consider after deciding to run Summer Study virtually was how many hours a day they could keep students behind a screen. The program is usually very intensive, with the Scholars engaged in activities throughout the day, but that type of engagement can be more difficult to cultivate in the virtual format. “Now they’re at home,” said Brown, “they’re with family, and they have other things they’re doing.” Ultimately, the DO-IT team agreed to reduce the program to a few hours of academic programming per day, with social activities at night. To meet their goals while working with students for less time each day, the team ran the program over three weeks rather than the usual ten days.
Summer study 2013 phase 1 scholar Nicole Madsen and instructor Jeff Stewart participate in EXO Labs.
“Ultimately, even though it wasn’t perfect, what we learned was that things can be done online,” said Brown. At the end of the program, students reported back on their experiences. According to Burgstahler, a lot of them talked about making friends, which shows that Scholars can make the connections DO-IT aims to foster online. Although Burgstahler hopes that the program can be held in-person next year, some of the Scholars have disabilities that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, so DO-IT must be cautious when deciding whether Summer Study will be held in-person or remotely in 2021.
For more information on the DO-It Scholars Program:
From DO-IT:
The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through technology and education. It promotes awareness and accessibility—in both the classroom and the workplace—to maximize the potential of individuals with disabilities and make our communities more vibrant, diverse, and inclusive.
Seattle, WA. Due to COVID-19, ChickTech has transitioned all of its programs online; this includes ChickTech’s K-8 and high school programs, and its ACT-W conferences and events. Although this transition has left ChickTech unable to do its signature in-person events, ChickTech program manager Ivette Cortez has found that “anything is virtually possible.”
“In the past, we needed the space and the finances,” says Cortez. Virtually, programs can be easier to coordinate.
High school students working in VR with ChickTech.
Students code with ChickTech in-person before the pandemic.
ChickTech’s new virtual mentorship program has reached over 150 high schoolers, a handful of which are returning students. According to Cortez, ChickTech’s online platform has created new mentorship opportunities. Before the pandemic, ChickTech struggled to coordinate mentorship opportunities in person, but staffers have found that mentorship is more manageable online.
ChickTech’s ACT-W (Advancing the Careers of Technical Womxn) conferences and events have also grown in the online format. ChickTech expects attendance to double at this year’s ACT-W (Advancing the Careers of Technical Womxn) conference (August 26th-28th). Previous ACT-W conferences have reached about 500 people, but Cortez believes that the virtual format will make the conference accessible many more.
This year’s ACT-W conference will focus on inclusion in the tech field and include speaking sessions, technical workshops, one-on-one career coaching, and a virtual career fair. People from all backgrounds and genders who are in the tech field, or interested in tech can register for the conference here. Proceeds will go toward ChickTech’s high school program
ChickTech is also making strides in the realm of inclusion and diversity. This last week, ChickTech’s board has been in the process of reviewing a DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) portfolio, which includes learning hours for staff to develop best practices for working with diverse populations. “We want to continue learning,” says Cortez, “We’re very dedicated to creating a more inclusive and diverse landscape.”
From ChickTech:
Founded in 2012, ChickTech is a Portland, Oregon-based national nonprofit dedicated to retaining womxn (including non-binary and transgender individuals) in the technology workforce and increasing the number of diverse youth pursuing technology-based careers. We currently have over 25 chapters across North America, engaging a community of over 20,000 women and girls.
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