Here’s the latest from Luther Burbank H.S.

Are you having trouble making your mortgage payments? Have you lost your job? Have you been turned down for a loan modification? Is your property already listed for sale? Don’t miss this chance to meet one-on-one with your mortgage company or a HUD-approved housing counselor to find options to avoid foreclosure.

The Help for Homeowners Community Event will be held in Sacramento on  Tuesday March 20, 2012 from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Sacramento Convention Center 1400 J Street, Hall D. Complimentary parking in the Memorial Garage if you use the garage entrance on 14th and H Streets. Take Light Rail to the event and get off at the Cathedral station.

To see a list of what documents you need to bring to the event, click here.

Crewmember, Sacramento Artist Kai Vittore, remembers working with graffiti letters as a child growing up in Hawaii.  He is inspired by working with other artists, “When I hang out with very talented artists and I see what they are doing it makes me want to be apart of the hip hop culture that I grew up on, to see an ugly abandon building that is wasting away makes me want to bring it back to life with loud colors and some fresh lines…thats hip hop baby, makin’ somethin’ out of nothin’! “

People Are Like Coins by Leon 'AC' Willis

Departing from the framed and mounted, “Crew WOW” works any surface into art. Techniques include use of aerosol paint and permanent markers, with various spray heads and tips, and high and low pressure, which produce a diversity of graphic effects.  The installation   demonstrates a range of free expression, style and color, employing personal and public symbols, icons and messages, which move, entertain, and provide social commentary.

As part of the Writing on Walls experience, Hip Hop Congress and Placer Arts 360 are hosting Spit Fresh – Open Mike Poetry Reading featuring poets and performers from Auburn Hip Hop Congress in The Arts Building from 4PM to 8PM on Thursday the 23^rd of February.

Rainbow Park, Sacramento

An outreach meeting for the new Rainbow Park Community Garden is coming up this Saturday from 10:00am-12:00pm at the Fruitridge Community Center, and organizers are hoping that members of the community will attend and lend their input.  This meeting is also a great chance for people to learn more about community gardens and to talk with the Park District staff and other interested gardeners from the neighborhood.

It is believed that a community garden would be a welcome addition to this urban neighborhood and will provide residents access to fresh and local food by growing their own fruits and vegetables.  The garden would also help to beautify the neighborhood and foster a sense of community ownership and stewardship.

• What to do if your child is being bullied
  

  Together, we can put a stop to bullying

• The scope of the problem
• Myths about bullying
• Emerging research
• SCUSD anti-bullying policy
• Definitions of bullying types
• And best prevention practices

The La Familia Counseling Center is located at 5523 34th Street in Sacramento. Enter the Autozone parking lot on the corner of Franklin and Fruitridge and drive all the way to the back of the property towards Highway 99. For more information contact Apolonia Cortez, Youth Leadership Coordinator for the Youth Voice Program vie email at apoloniac@lafcc.org or by phone at 916-452-3601.

Film and television production is a “team sport”.  Efficient planning, selecting the right cast and crew, knowing how to pull many schedules together, and a thousand other questions must be addressed to complete even a short movie.  How do you find “good people”?  How do you know a skilled tech from a beginner?  What “do’s and don’ts” should you concern yourself with on-set?  Production scheduling?  Craft services?  Liability insurance?  Permits?  HELP!

Session – Saturdays – March 17, 24, 31 April 7
11am – 3:00pm Gold Run Room

Fee $50

Call (916) 456-8600 to register.

On January 31 Christine Tien, The California Endowment Program Manager, welcomed 50 key community leaders to the Salvation Army community room in Oak Park to capture the stories and lessons learned from the first year if implementation and reinforce the “Health Happens Here” campaign the the BHC communities. For many, this was the first occasion many grantees to actually meet each other and learn the depth and diversity of their projects now in place in South Sacramento. Tien explained how BHC is organized.

“Building Health Communities is a 10-year, $1 billion plan of The California Endowment. In connection with staff-led statewide policy initiatives, 14 communities – including South Sacramento -  are taking action to make where they live healthier.”

Also facilitating the meeting was Kim Williams, the Hub Director for the South Sacramento BHC, and Alberto Mercado, Hub Coordinator and media specialist. Williams explained to the group how already, over 20 organizations have received funding from the Hub to deal with issues such as food access, heath access, land use, youth development, and other community benefits. Every month the Hub steering committee meets to provide governance, guidance and small grants to community groups. With Williams and Mercado’s leadership, the Hub has become the “central table” where organizations, residents, and those concerned in the BHC can come and find out what is going on and how they can get involved.

Another one of the speakers, Isaac Gonzalez, introduced himself and explained his role as a mentor for those interested in “telling your story” using the AccessLocal.tv web site.  He is one of several grantees helping to improve the health and well being of South residents by reducing gang violence, eating healthy foods, finding health insurance for low-income families and more. He clarified, “You are all doing wonderful and significant actions but unless we tell the media about our successes, the ‘news’ will continue to reflect only negative stories. I’m here to help you turn this around.” To learn how Gonzalez can help your group spread its message via digital content production, contact him at isaac@sacbhc.org.

Meeting attendees also received new information and tools to help them measure their successes in the field. A new tracking system, which allows for an amount of flexibility between the different grantee organizations, was presented by the LPC consulting firm. It’s hoped that the program will aid in the collection of four deliverables; services provided, planning products, community action, and community changes. For questions about LPC’s services to the BHC grantees, contact tiffany@lpc-associates.com.