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Women’s Intercultural Center June 30—July 13

WInC community gets together to help Rosalia Acevedo during the tragic loss of her home because of a fire.

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A place where WOMEN learn and work together to develop their SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, and POLITICAL POTENTIAL.

Letter From the Executive Director Too often we take ourselves too seriously. We worry about appearing good and dignified. As a result we miss out on a lot of fun. It is inevitable, things will happen that will cause you to feel lost and out of control. However, if you were to turn these things around and laugh about them,

circumstances would not control you. Laughing about life’s twist and turns is a great way to blow off steam and it helps keep stress down. When you laugh, you are in charge, instead of the circumstances being in charge of you. When I was in high school, there was this boy that I really liked. I intended to get his attention as I crossed the computer lab which I did. As I was watching him out the corner of my eye, I miscalculated my step as reached for the chair to sit down. Before I knew it, the chair had rolled from under me and I had fallen on the floor. You could hear the loud sounds of laughter from everyone in the room. As I sat there red faced without knowing what to do, I envision what I looked like as I fell down on the ground and then I thought it was funny. I laughed so hard that my laughter overcame the laughter of peers. It was a funny situation that I managed to control with my own laughter. There are so many memories of times when I have cracked a joke breaking the tension of an incident and making everyone laugh hysterically. We need to look in the mirror to remind us that life is like a mirror. If we frown at it, it will frown back. If we smile, it will return the greeting. That’s why at the Center we encourage our participants to laugh even at themselves. The other day, Roxana was playing around in the thrift store as she admired a wedding gown that was hanging on the rack. She decided to put it on over close. All of her peers from the Zumba class

gathered around her to help her put the gown on. The gown was a size 8 so the skirt didn’t close all the way and the top had to have the ribbon on the back expanded as much as possible. We were all laughing together. Then Roxana says, “Now all I need is the groom.” Her mother ran up to the rack that had male jacket and grabbed a tie to go with it. Before long she stood right next to her daughter as the groom as we all laughed and laughed together. Our interns that were sitting on the other side of the room just looked at us in amazement at how easy we could laugh and poke fun at ourselves. No matter what happens to us and no matter what curve balls life throws at us we find a way to laugh and in doing so we never cease to be amused. Laughing all day long,

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Suki Rodriguez excitedly shared with her peers her plans to celebrate her 25th Wedding Anniversary. Prior to coming to the Center, Suki was used to always having to do things on her own. As she started her plans her peers eagerly offered their assistance in helping her prepare for her wedding. Hesitantly Suki agreed to accept their help after she became overwhelmed with everything she needed to do.

Olivia, Ilse and Magali offered to make the biscochos in addition to assisting her in decorating the cakes. Her peers from the Arts and Crafts class did all her Center pieces and decorated the money chest. And when she found out that the weather might interfere with her celebration, her peers advocated for her to move the celebration to the Center. The day of the event, everyone came out to help set up and decorate. While Suki decided to cook the food for the event, her peers kept kicking her out of the kitchen as they took over the serving duties so that she could enjoy the celebration. Celebration and collaboration is what WInC is about. Participants rush to help celebrate the good times and are there to hold you up in the bad times.

Suki Rodriguez with her family.

Suki dancing with her husband.

Chelo, Suki’s peer, entertains her daughter Amy.

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A place where WOMEN learn and work together to develop their SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, and POLITICAL POTENTIAL.

Mr. Jose Rodarte was nicely surprised with a birthday celebration by his peers in the Spanish Citizenship Class. His wife, Maria Rodarte who attends the class with him said “It’s such a nice thing for all of you to come to-gether to celebrate his birthday. When he was a little

boy his parents never celebrated it. When he asked why they didn’t celebrate his birthday the response was quite negative.” Mr. Rodarte really enjoyed the celebration with his peers.

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The Women’s Intercultural Center (WInC) joined the celebration of different cultures and two different communities by participating in the Town of Anthony 4th of July Parade. The City of Anthony and town each had a float decorated with stars and stripes and its state flag. The parade is nothing new, but it was the first time that Anthony, NM, actually had a mayor at the parade. The two communities don’t think of themselves as separated by the state line. Everyone considers it one community. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4384 led the parade, the Center

followed with Mary and Saif in the van and Center participants walking behind distributing candy. Ilse Arrieta’s little nephew was the highlight of the parade as he drove his motorized car in front of our participants. We had a lot of fun participating in the parade; although, it was quite a tiring experience for the women. As we talked about what to do next year, someone suggested getting a float so we wouldn’t walk as much. A resounding no echoed in the room be-cause the women wanted to interact with the public as they distributed the

candy.

WInC participates in 4th of July Parade

Women from the Center that participated in the 4th of July Parade.

Ilse Arrieta’s nephew driving his mo-torized car was one of the highlights of the parade.

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A place where WOMEN learn and work together to develop their SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, and POLITICAL POTENTIAL.

Martha Maldonado shows her grandson visiting from California where she spends her time.

Karina, WInC Volunteer, helping out with a photo project.

Awesome bracelet made in the Chaquira class.

Flowers made out of plastic coke bottles.

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Olivia Contreras shows the floral arrangement she made out of seeds to give to her sister as a birthday present.

Participant learns how to crochet. Braelynn Arreola stops for a visit.

The cake decorating class always delivers incredible masterpieces. Today they learned how to make cakes for weddings & Quinceañeras.

Acrylic nails class.

Alma Ramirez teacher her students how to draw and paint faces.

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Eric Maddox The WInC has been a tremen-dously helpful resource for my documentary film, journalism, and my own international community-building initiatives. The staff have consistently gone above and beyond to make sure that I have had ac-cess to a diverse range of voices for my projects, and

they are refreshingly open-minded and non-dogmatic about a host of highly politicized issues around border and immigration policies. Most importantly, the staff are just really sincere people, who are as kind and helpful as they are hard working and open to new ideas. I have traveled all over and worked with community-based institutions in many countries, and the WInC easily stands out as one of the best, and an example to be emulated. Robert Quesada

The WInC is a great organization. The center is a one stop shop for any Women's issue one can think of. The center empowers women to fulfill their dreams through educational, political and economic resources. Many of the people that are helped by the center have never had the self esteem to begin their

own business. There are numerous successful Alumni. The dedication and strive for women's education is something I have seen in no other organization. The center assist women in developing action plans on financing and/or using the centers resources for various educational pursuits. For some it may be college for others it may be a specific trade. The summer program which immerges students in the border region is a well known program; which helps highlight the issues on the border. Patricia Ramos I was not sure what to expect, but as I experienced the

Center and the great people here, I fell in love. The Cen-ter wants to empower not only women but all members of the community. This community definitely needs en-couragement. The Center offers this and much more! Olivia C. I came because I was required to do community service for my education. I really like it because I saw women interested/enjoying/engaging in all the classes/activities. Belinda Phan I came here not knowing what to expect, I thought it would be older women and that I wouldn't blend in but I got to know amazing women and their stories. I no longer felt like the outsider. I am truly blessed and I feel that I've been put in this place for a reason. It's an amaz-ing place to grow. I love it! Angela Guardado

The Spring Semester was my first experience here. I am very happy as I participated in their oil painting class. The staff and volunteers are very helpful and nice. Sam Gomez This work was good, the first day was a lot but after that it got a little bit easier jobs and

a little break here and there, I got to know them and talk to the people that volunteer here and they are all very nice and so is the boss, I would highly recommend it if you live in Anthony or around here you do your time here. Tony Jacquez I have been here for 7 years as a volunteer and participant. After I retired my goal was to be active in the community. My family and friends recommended the Women's Intercultural Center. I found peace and fulfillment in the work we did. It was a great experience working with Mary Carter and her staff. The Center is what it is because of Mary. She truly is gifted! I have seen the positive results in the persons that have received assistance in education, counseling, financial and more. What I have enjoyed most about my experience with the Women's Intercultural Center is their welcoming of one

What others say about us...

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and all...consistently. The staff and volunteers are friendly, kind, generous, trained, hardworking, good listeners, informed and interested. Miguel Loeza

I had the pleasure to partici-pate in the Border Aware-ness Experience (BAE) of-fered at the Women's Intercul-tural Center (WInC) through my university. After the pro-gram was over I wanted to return to WInC and volunteer with them because the envi-ronment that I saw during the BAE was something I wanted

to experience in person and learn more about it. I was lucky enough to return to WInC and volunteer there. My experience was unforgettable. I felt part of WInC and I saw first hand how participants would be positively im-pacted by the work of WInC. I myself was helped by WInC and what I learned and experienced there has helped me up until this day. WInC is a great nonprofit where people can develop, gain self-esteem and become confident about themselves. I recommend the Women's Intercultural Center to anyone because they can help women and men alike. My time at WInC was very helpful and what I learned from them will always help me and I will never forget it. Jose Contreras I had the opportunity to collaborate with Ms. Mary Carter at the Women's Intercultural Center and was extremely pleased with her professionalism and interest in support-ing the women in the community. I taught a course in entrepreneurship and she backed me totally and contrib-uted her ideas for the course. I highly recommend Ms. Carter as a professional and a hard worker. Write a Review To write a review about your experience with the Women’s Intercultural Center visit http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/womens-intercultural-center-inc.

First day of Reading Summer Camp

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Center Instructor /Participant lost her everything in a fire

Rosalia talks to the news media about her loss.

Rosalia Acevedo, WInC Instructor/Participant, and her 14 year old son lost all their belongings in a fire in their home located in Vado, NM. They were literally left with only the clothes they were wearing.

Aside from her personal belongings, the docu-ments of her legal residency process which were completely destroyed. Additionally, material valued at over $700 which she uses to teach and make bracelets to sustain herself financially was also destroyed.

The fire department concluded that the fire was caused by an electrical shortage in the air condition.

She is currently residing in a small room that was lent to her. Unfortunately, the place is so small that she had to make alternative accommodation arrangements for her son.

Her students got together to raise money to help her purchase the material that she lost and the Center gave her a laptop which she uses for her jewelry designs.

If you wish to help Rosalia, please contact her directly at (575)805-9978.

Remains of Rosalia’s bed after the fire.

What remains of her kitchen. What remains of her microwave.

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A place where WOMEN learn and work together to develop their SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, and POLITICAL POTENTIAL.

Our following two posts were trending on Twitter.

Birthday Celebration

The Arts & Crafts students got together to make table center pieces for the Center’s End of Semester Celebration and to celebrate the birthdays of their peers Suki Rodriguez & Martha Maldonado.

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Interested in teaching a class, scheduling a workshop, presentation or training at WInC? We are always searching for Volunteer Instructors to teach in their areas of expertise. We currently have a special need for a haircutting instructor. For more info, contact Ilse Arrieta, Program Coordinator at 575-882-5556 or via email at iarrieta@qwestoffice.net.

Reading Camp for elementary through high school students. One hour of tutoring in building reading comprehension to help get students

ahead before the school year starts. Based on grade level, the camp runs from 1 to 4pm. The Reading Camps is being given in collaboration with our partners Andele Tutors.

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July

dates to remember For additional information please contact us at 575-882-5556 or the contact number listed next to the event announcement.

Diabetes Workshops: Learn about the 5 most impor-

tant Diabetes tests; how to talk to your health provider about your health and the medical exam results; how to prepare healthy meals for you and your family; and why it’s important to be physically fit. The workshops will take place on Fridays from 1-3pm on July 5, 12, 19 and on September 27. Olga Hernandez and Amir Hernandez will facilitate classes.

5–Sept. 27

Feminine Fuerza Camp for teen girls ages 13 to 19 years old. Three days of empowerment where outer beauty meets inner

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Martin Luther, Jr. said that the most urgent question we could ask ourselves is What are we doing for others?” If you response is I don’t have money to give or I don’t have time to help please note that there is a variety of simple ways to help others. It can be as simple as opening a door for a stranger or as extravagant as creating an endowment for your favorite charity. There a million ways to help. At WInC we provide opportunities for you to help us help others through every day tasks. Visit http://www.womensinterculturalcenter.org/donate and select the option that works best for you. Let’s get you started on doing something for others. In the mean time, we would like to take this opportunity to showcase two individuals that go above and beyond for others by allocating a quarterly and monthly donation. Thank you Hugh Doyle for your continued support of the Center. Your generous donations help us to transform the lives of the women that walk through our doors. T.M. Malumphy we are truly blessed with your generous monthly donation and your request to not provide a thank you card because you want us to save on the postage. Donors like you is what drives our organization and ensures our sustainability.

Thank you for your support!

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Women’s Intercultural Center WHERE IT STARTS

303 Lincoln Street / PO Box 2411 Anthony, NM 88021

575-882-5556 Fax: 1-866-285-7245

www.womensinterculturalcenter.org