When a Hand Up Supports a Future Star

Kiwanis Christmas in July

Saturday, July 28, 2018 marked the third annual Kiwanis Christmas in July event and as I watched the room expand with love, I held back tears of joy. 2500 homeless and at-risk students and their families were registered and selected from the Collier County school system to participate in a beautiful event. In 2016, nine Kiwanis Clubs of Collier County united to launch a local campaign of “Christmas in July” designed to give students who are homeless or at risk of being homeless in Collier County the basic necessities of clothing, shoes, backpacks, school supplies and personal care items so that they have the opportunity to start the new school year off with a positive light and focus on their schoolwork.

Families were greeted at the door of the Florida Sports Park by smiling and caring Kiwanis members who ushered them into a picnic lunch extravaganza of hot-dogs, freshly made popcorn, potato chips and delicious Kilwen's ice cream. The glee and hope in their eyes was electric.

**Ho Ho Ho and a room full of JOY. Photo by Sarah Dudley Wayne.**

The day before I helped pack backpacks with clothing and other personal items and marveled at the 200 shiny 2-and-3 wheelers which Bikes for Tykes donated. Just getting the bikes ready for new homes and adjusting bike helmets to fit the kids was a big job on its own. In all my years volunteering I have never seen a more smoothly operated large event like this one. While families waited patiently in a long line for various supplies, there was excitement in the air everywhere I looked. Backpacks of every color were custom filled with everything each child could need for the upcoming school year. Kiwanis members tagged each backpack with the name and clothing sizes for each student, appropriately for their grade. Families were able to hand select school supplies and some were also registered to receive a bike that they could take home right away.

Photos by Sarah Dudley Wayne

“No matter what your background, when you see empathy and compassion in action, it is a moving experience.”

The experience which impacted me the most was meeting a tall 15 year old who was wearing a math competition T-shirt with an illustrated wired brain. Curious, I asked him if he liked math and in a quietly composed manner he told me he competed in the competition. Later, when I walked around to the tables where families were enjoying their lunches, I spoke with his mother and siblings. They all verified he was a math wiz and were excited to be at the event, meet Santa and also hoped to get a bike. Talking with this young man reminded me that we never know when we meet anyone—whether privileged or at-risk—what future opportunities lay ahead for them. On meeting this confident young man I immediately saw the impact of the event. We've heard it many times—unless we walk in someone else's shoes we can never know circumstances different than our own. These young people hold much promise to collectively help solve future societal problems, locally and globally and they need support from caring people who provide a hand-up in the community.

Some could view an event like this as a bunch of free give-aways. I see it as an investment in the lives of those who have the potential to make a difference in our world as they grow and mature. They may come from lesser financial means, yet they are worthy of support to bring them to a place where they have the ability to make a social impact of their own. That’s what a ripple effect is. No matter what your background, when you see empathy and compassion in action, it is a moving experience. I have complete trust the children and families at the Kiwanis Christmas in July will have a long memory of what it feels like when a community cares.

As a community and a nation, it is important to look on the side of optimism and strive to support the good we see in life. Let’s also not forget how essential our teachers and administrators are—they closely watch out and nurture our young people. They need to be appreciated and applauded for their daily hard work. The Kiwanis Christmas in July is proof that public-private partnerships are fundamental to the growth and public good of our community, and to raise rising stars of the future. Next year, be sure to Sponsor an Angel, or two.

Volunteers create wall of food donations from the Salvation Army, one of the Kiwanis partners.

For more about the day:

https://www.kiwanischristmasinjuly.com

https://www.naplesnews.com/picture-gallery/news/2018/07/28/photos-kiwanis-christmas-in-july/37176987/

https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/communities/the-banner/2018/06/07/kiwanis-prepare-homeless-students-school/656101002/

Why Catholic Charities New Family Resource Center Ensures No Waste

I recently visited the new Judy Sullivan Family Resource Center in East Naples which was redeveloped by Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, Inc. (Catholic Charities DOV). The last time I worked with Catholic Charities was right after Hurricane Irma when I documented the work of Sharon Aragona, Chief Operating Officer and Mary Shaughnessy, Regional Director of Collier County while they were delivering baby diapers and food to families hard hit in East Naples. At that time the plans for a center were in the early stages of redevelopment. Hurricane Irma caused a slight delay, but Catholic Charities DOV made a commitment to get the building open quickly since they outgrew their previous space and the rental lease was coming to an end. That’s when the Board decided the time was right to purchase a property. They applied twice for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and once the project funds were approved they worked closely with the Community and Human Services Division of Collier County.

The beautiful new 10,000 square foot building sits on a corner corner at 3174 Tamiami Trail East across from the government offices and opened just in time to mark their 50th Anniversary. The building's namesake, Judy Sullivan founded Catholic Charities in Collier County in 1968 and this important family resource center is central to the needs of impoverished families, seniors and food insecure children in Collier County—all working poor who need a helping hand, especially after major hurricane events, which cause gaps in employment. The building was designed by award-winning Corban Architecture known for their civic projects in SWFL. The building has signs of being LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, which means it is constructed using the green building rating system. As you walk through halls and in-and-out of rooms the lights automatically go on-and-off and the environmental landscape design took an overgrown and unattractive lot and created a beautiful garden. Overall, the Judy Sullivan Family Resource Center is highly efficient and provides cost-saving sustainability to its East Tamiami Trail location. But there's much more.

“I was greeted by a wonderful case worker with the most compassionate smile and when I told her my story I could see her eyes become watery and that’s when I knew I was in the right place."

—Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, Inc Grateful Client

Working in partnership with the Harry Chapin Food Bank and other partners including Whole Foods and Publix, one of the major aspects of the new facility is a larger, brighter and more efficient “Choice” food pantry with industrial equipment and freezers. A choice food pantry means there’s a daily selection of grocery store items on the shelves letting shoppers choose exactly what they want and are familiar with so there is no food waste.

There’s also a food rescue program where instead of throwing away fresh foods set to expire, the very next day the major grocery retailers place the goods with the food pantry for immediate consumption. This includes fresh produce, meats and bread. Several carts of bananas were in a ripened stage and when that situation arises, family members can choose an unlimited quantity, otherwise they choose one of each item. Families are selected depending on income need and provided with one food shopping day per month. Depending on how much inventory there is in any given week, a family of four will have food stability with at least 3-4 days worth of grocery items.

"The organization helps people gain self-sufficiency by connecting them with appropriate programming needs including educational programs at VoTechs, as well as job and career training—helping the poor to elevate their condition so they can become self-reliant.”

—Sharon Aragona, Chief Operating Officer | Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, Inc.

Additionally, there’s a host of community resources. Catholic Charities DOV partners with community members like Bikes for Tykes which provides bikes for adults who need transportation to and from work, and SHINE (Serving Healthcare Insurance Needs for Elders) an organization that helps seniors with their Medicare applications and insurance health-related needs. They also offer empowerment programming, coordinate a mailbox food drive, weekend power pack lunches for food insecure children and will soon begin to deliver food to farm worker’s families throughout Collier County.

Since the facility has only been open for a few months, educational and training programming is also in development. There’s a large educational and recreational room where cooking demonstrations and other classes will take place. The first class conducted in the space was jewelry-making taught through the Naples Art Association. According to Catholic Charities DOV Program Director, Allegra Belliard there are also three caseworkers on site and a small computer lab where people can work and do job searches in a quiet space. Counseling services and the assistance of case managers connect people to needed local services and programming. These services are not new to Catholic Charities, but now they have room for expansion. “We are here to help and direct clients to apply for benefits and achieve a normal life again, especially with a loss of their home or employment after a disaster like Hurricane Irma,” Sharon Aragona explained. “The organization helps people gain self-sufficiency by connecting them with appropriate programming needs including educational programs at VoTechs, as well as job and career training—helping the poor to elevate their condition so they can become self-reliant.”

Basic family needs from food to health and social resources make the new center a welcome neighbor in East Naples. “It is a great accomplishment for us, and will benefit our clients today and for years to come,” said Mary Shaughnessy. One of their client’s can attest to that, “I was greeted by a wonderful case worker with the most compassionate smile and when I told her my story I could see her eyes become watery and that’s when I knew I was in the right place. I recently lost my job, my home and my car. She helped me with things from the food pantry and more. I don’t have words to describe the generosity.”

“It is a great accomplishment for us, and will benefit our clients today and for years to come.”

— Mary Shaughnessy, Regional Director of Collier County | Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, Inc.

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Catholic Charities DOV’s main mission is to serve the poor and underserved by empowering their clients without any recognition of race, nationality or religion. Operating in 10 counties in SWFL, they serve over 10,000 square miles and all the individuals who are in need of assistance. Charity Navigator, the number one reviewer of philanthropic accountability and transparency has given Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, Inc a coveted four star rating which means the organization is of the highest level of integrity and ethics for nonprofit funding and programming. For more information visit their website. | Donate to the new center

The Inspiring Women's March

Women United, Together We Rise

The Women's March on NJ was an awe inspiring event and I was very happy to witness what turned out to be 7500 people who had something to say about saving our civil rights. I have been working in media advocacy for the past ten years and I was initially somewhat ambivalent about how the event would turnout. Often it is a small group of people who make change happen. As I drove into downtown Trenton, as I have on many occasions, I noticed something different. There was a steady stream of people parking and walking to the War Memorial. As I turned the corner I saw hundreds of people standing outside, and they kept coming. Little did I know until later, the building was filled to capacity inside. I kept looking for the speakers and wondered where their voices were coming from. But, there was plenty of action outside.

As I kept walking around taking photos and video of the participants, I became immediately uplifted. All the news throughout the election campaign took a toll on me. Advocacy work is difficult at best and change takes guts and perseverance. Hearing and reading real news, fake news, "alternative facts," and the growing division between people on social media has become unbearable. The Women's March helped to bring some heart, soul and a collective voice on democracy into plain view. Being on the ground, even on a grey, drizzly day brought a sense of peace and a feeling I clearly was not alone. I was immediately engrossed in all the handmade signs and symbols people came with. This was the strongest grassroots effort I have ever seen put forth—and my favorite—from the bottom up.

Edith Savage-Jennings

”I truly hope and pray this movement today, will send a message that we no longer are going to stand for anything that’s not right…I personally know the President, don’t let him take us for granted, stand up for what you believe in, what you feel you know is right.”

Over the years as I’ve worked on advocacy for addiction, criminal justice, health and environmental issues and often feel there’s not enough support from everyday citizens. The Women’s March on NJ showed citizens—women, men, teens and kids together passionately supporting human rights. The creativity and diversity of voices spoke loud and clear. Hearing Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman brought me back to 2009 when she was NJ Assembly Majority Leader highly engaging in inclusive and democratic prison reform legislation. At that time we were all asked to do our part and I did mine. But, since then I have not found the same civic eagerness, which is what led me to create a series about civic engagement, entitled Engaging People.

“This was the strongest grassroots effort I have ever seen put forth in over 10 years of media advocacy—my favorite—from the bottom up. ”

I know I am in my element, as one of my friends, a colleague on criminal justice reform said, “Lori, I know you’re loving this,” adding a little emoji of a woman boxing. I have to widely praise Elizabeth Meyers who organized and coordinated the Woman’s March on NJ with a coalition of individuals and groups. It’s amazing to see a women who has the passion, energy and spirit to take on grassroots organizing at it’s best, with little past experience for managing an event as large successful as this one was.

Now, what’s even more important are the next steps—keeping up the dialogue, events and action. As Edith Savage-Jennings reminded us, ”I truly hope and pray this movement today, will send a message that we no longer are going to stand for anything that’s not right…I personally know the President, don’t let him take us for granted, stand up for what you believe in, what you feel you know is right.” She then led everyone in singing TOGETHER: Deep in my heart I believe WE SHALL OVERCOME! YES WE CAN!

Reflections of the 2016 Dodge Poetry Festival

Through the years I had always been curious about the Dodge Poetry Festival. The closest I got to it was while living in Hunterdon County, New Jersey when it was held in quaint Waterloo Village in Stanhope. But for one reason or another I never went. Finally, this year, on the 30th anniversary of the festival, I didn’t have to think twice about getting a four-day pass to the event. It was held in Newark at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) as well as several other venues, including two historic churches, the Newark Museum, Aljira Art Gallery and North Star Academy. At first I was worried I would have to walk all over Newark for the readings and events, but nearly all were close by, including a tent for open mic each day in Military Park. That was a thoughtful touch for people who wanted to simply test out their poetry mojo in a public space, and I watched a few people give performances there. I attended the festival for three-out-of-four days, and was somewhat disappointed on Day One, but the second and third days more than made up for it. Unfortunately, I could only speak to a few of the terrific poets, and I’m sure missed others who would have provided me with further insight into the role of poets and poetry in our society, which is the education I was seeking going into the festival.

Martin Farawell, Director of the Dodge Poetry Program asks audience to give a hand to ten poets and two musical groups at Poetry like Bread: Poems of Social and Political Consciousness.

I should be transparent right up front: all readers of this post, poets and artists alike, may find my knowledge of poetry somewhat lacking. But I do know quality and what touches me emotionally. I went to the festival with no preconceived notions of what I might find. I was concerned about whether I might become bored, bouncing around on my iPhone, and from time to time I did do that. Dodge must have realized there would be people like me and they created an app to check in, see schedules, get information about the poets, map locations, look up restaurant information, post photos, make comments and rate each session, all of which I used. The app was a closed forum and only a handful of other people posted photos, discussion, likes and comments. I wondered why Dodge spent the money on an app and didn’t just open the social media to their Facebook page instead. Nonetheless, I found myself mesmerized by the poets and words spoken. Mark Doty, Mahogany L. Brown, Juan Felipe Herrera (NJ and US Poet Laureate), Alicia Ostriker, Anne Waldman, Jane Hirshfield, Martín Espada, Tim Seibles and Claudia Rankine stood out to me because their collective voices mirrored the human condition from the past, as it exists at this moment and could be seen as through a crystal ball into the future. The festival is certainly not for the weak of heart or mind. Or, as my husband suggested, only for progressive thinkers in NJPAC’s Prudential Hall on Saturday night.

On opening day I went to several sessions. One was “Poetry and Storytelling” with Katha Pollitt who also writes for The Nation. The venue, Peddie Baptist Church, is undergoing exterior renovation, but it is just gorgeous inside. A few of the things Pollitt said resonated with me: “A poem doesn’t need to be narrative, but still needs to tell a story… and poems have a resonance with other poems, in tone, sound and images.” She spoke about poetry being “open to many interpretations” and having a sense of “ambiguity,” which confirmed my thoughts as a maker of film poems. I thought since she spoke a good deal about visuality and images she would have an interest in filmpoetry. I patiently waited for her to sign books for two young women, probably seniors in high school. After they left I asked her about filmpoetry and she said she had little to no knowledge about the subject. I explained about visual storytelling and poetry as a collaboration and I could see her eyes glaze over. I guess I’m accustomed to the online poets and mixers from Moving Poems and Poetry Storehouse who have been nothing but passionate, encouraging, and enthusiastically supportive. With that experience I decided to hang back and just listen to each session without trying to push my personal thoughts and just let things happen naturally. That worked well and the best experiences were simply led by serendipity.

I sat in on a Poets Forum Conversation: Poets on Poetry (all Poets Forums were sponsored by the Academy of American Poets) with Linda Gregerson, Alicia Ostriker and Alberto Rios. Alicia Ostriker read Muriel Rukeyser’s “Poem,” written in 1968 and I was astounded with the parallel to today’s world. (See “Learning to Breathe under Water: Considering Muriel Rukeyser’s oceanic work” by Alicia Ostriker.)

Ostriker explained the poem as “a balancing act between despair and hope… We write poems for ourselves with the hope they will reach others.” Linda Gregerson said poetry is an “urgent form of sanity-making.” For me these thoughts hit right to the core of why I am so drawn to poetry. The concept of poetry as a way to “draw our dreams into daylight” and its “ability to be meditative” are ideas which make poetry so alluring to me and why I feel compelled to create filmpoems. In another forum, Elizabeth Alexander also referenced Rukeyser’s “Poem” and thought Rukeyser’s approach was to “help heal a broken society… Poets have a stable place to discuss the world and record human feeling.”

Another Poet’s Forum, Poets on Activism included Juan Felipe Herrera, Brenda Hillman, Khaled Mattawa and Anne Waldman. Waldman spoke to what she has found to be a “cognitive dissonance” in our society. As a divided nation (which is obvious to anyone in this election cycle, unless you’ve decided to hide under a rock), we are simply overwhelmed and stressed out. These poets encouraged risk-taking, collaborative work and living in a way which supports what you believe. Herrera spoke about when he first began to “stand up and project his voice” in third grade. He said his voice took shape through song, encouraged by a teacher who told him he had a beautiful voice. She was right: his voice and wonderful cadence was demonstrated beautifully on Saturday night when he enlisted a drummer from one of the music groups to accompany him on a few poems. A student asked the poet mentors a relevant question: “What is the greatest risk in activism?” Answers included, “speaking truth to power” and the “risk of being embarrassed,” but regardless, as citizens the responsibility, as Brenda Hillman stated, is to “get off your ass and do something.” I completely agree.

“I lived in the first century of world wars.
Most mornings I would be more or less insane,
The newspapers would arrive with their careless stories,
The news would pour out of various devices
Interrupted by attempts to sell products to the unseen.
I would call my friends on other devices;
They would be more or less mad for similar reasons.
Slowly I would get to pen and paper,
Make my poems for others unseen and unborn.”

— Muriel Rukeyser

Read the entire article on Moving Poems Magazine

Pokémon Go: Privacy and Security in the IoT Age

On Wednesday July 13, Ryan, a summer intern came into my studio and started talking about Pokémon Go and how he'd been playing for weeks. He's a wiz with technology, which probably goes without saying and he gave me a tour of the app on his iPhone. The first thing that hooked me was that it's an augmented reality game app, which really wet my appetite. The last time I played around with augmented reality was in 2010 with Second Life. I remember it was a drain on my iMac at the time, but it was interesting to walk through so many different environments and meet up with different avatars. But Pokémon Go is more interesting because it's a free-to-play location mobile game which can be played anytime anywhere.

Ryan and I talked a bit about the Pokémon brand, which I was familiar with and he pretty much grew up on. I asked what year it was developed—apparently it was the late 80s. Ryan told me there were kids out until midnight playing the game in the streets. A day earlier while I was walking my Boston Terrier I met up with my neighbor's kids, around 12 and 8 years old and the older one was holding the phone and her cousins, the twins, were excited, "We're playing Pokémon Go!!!...We have all kinds of things to find." I told them to have fun and their enthusiasm with the digital game made me smile.

After Ryan showed me the game I decided to download the app myself. It took me about 5 times to register to get a username. We were laughing that my names were already taken. I was just about losing my patience with numerous errors stated, when my username was finally accepted. In the next stage I had to sign in with my gmail credentials and I wasn't thrilled with that idea. I had to think a minute about whether I wanted to expose myself once again. As a heavy tech user, my credentials have already been breached by several supposedly well-respected companies. Ryan of course sounded like one of my students when I said I didn't like the idea of not just registering with a username and password, he said, ”At this point we’re all just making a deal with the devil..." Well I'm not fond of this thought process, especially when it comes to hacking, but I laughed and went right ahead allowing the app developed by Niantic to have access to my google account credentials. Red Flag 1. Bad idea, and I knew it at the time, but I had an itch I had to scratch.

I enjoyed choosing my avatar with purple hair, cool backpack and sleek, simple athletic outfit. The other thing is you can buy things for your avatar. Second Life was the same way. I doubt I'll be purchasing things in the app, but I can clearly see how corporations and businesses will benefit in the future from advertising and providing incentives to make their business a PokémonStop. I only wished I had used the Pokémon Go example in a Film and Media course I had been teaching weeks earlier. Instead we looked into Facebook’s user policies, which illustrated there’s very little privacy and we’ve pretty much given the rights to all our content to Facebook. Pokémon Go would have been another interesting experience had it happened during the course, especially because it’s a game.

I LOVED the app. The first day I had to do some errands. While at the grocery store I was looking at the app because I was sure there were a couple of stops where I could get some extra points. Before I asked the teenager behind the deli counter for my chicken breasts, he noticed I had the app on my screen and he asked, "Are you playing Pokémon Go?" I laughed and said yes, and he enthusiastically replied, "We're playing it back here too!” I thought I was going to die laughing. For a minute I thought I was kind of cool connecting as an adult to this young kid and thought how the app had the potential to be a great engagement tool on many levels.

On my first day I walked into a low hanging planter outside a Coldwell Banker office while I was looking down at the app. THUD!! Totally ridiculous. When the app starts up it tells you to be alert and watch where you're going. I'm an adult and I was already having problems. But, it was a lot of fun and by day 2 I had already moved to level 4. Each time I took my walk I played it and liked the idea that kids could learn a little bit of local history by going to the PokémonStops. Even though Pokémon Go could be a huge time suck, I was multi-tasking while exercising and looking forward to getting to level 5 when I could then become a trainer where the real game probably starts.

But, day 2 while playing, suddenly the app would freeze and I couldn't move my avatar. I had to restart the app and play again. I would make one play and then again it would freeze. The next morning I went for my walk and it was having some trouble recognizing stops as well as freezing my avatar. I was pissed. What the hell is wrong? I had zero patience for these errors. How could they? The final time I restarted my app I was really angry that I had a Pokémon character to capture—it was right in front of me and I couldn't move the ball. That was the last straw. I went online and read about different ways to fix the issue on an iPhone. One way was to simply remove the app and re-download it, so that's what I did. I also contacted tech support to resolve the issue and received an email back from them in a few minutes.

By July 15th Niantic Tech Support was fully aware their servers crashed, which would have been a more effective and appropriate user communication, which would have told me not to delete the app and reinstall again. In a crisis honesty is the best w… — By July 15th Niantic Tech Support was fully aware their servers crashed, which would have been a more effective and appropriate user communication, which would have told me not to delete the app and reinstall again. In a crisis honesty is the best way to handle communication.

The tone of their email showed they couldn't care less about my problem. Their website stated that if you re-installed the app all the game information was saved online. I already had a similar experience with another app I had to reinstall, and when I signed back into the app it had all my saved data. But, once I reinstalled the Pokémon Go app there was no way to sign back in with my username. The app wanted me to register again. Red Flag 2. I googled Pokémon Go app and found out that their servers went down and it was also reported they may have been hacked by some entity named Poodlecorp.

I kept tabs on what was going on, there was quite a bit of news on Twitter, but what I realized about Niantic—the corporation itself certainly wasn't forthright in the support email I received. Clearly their roll-out of the app to other countries crashed servers, regardless of any rumor of a hack. In fact, when it was rolled out in Canada servers were down again. The corporation clearly isn't concerned or is unable to deal with crisis management. As of this writing there are still server outages everywhere. Perhaps in the end it won't matter. Once the servers are back up running everyone will still want to play the game, but it's irresponsible for Niantic (with partners Nintendo, the Pokémon Company and Google) to not to be honest and say there's a problem with the servers and app and tell their users to please be patient. Anyone can understand tech support framed in those terms.

The way Niantic handled the situation sure didn't give me confidence in them and I deleted the app immediately. Then I considered how to protect myself from the potential hack. Since I was forced to use my google credentials I changed my Google account password. One of the problems apparently with the Google registration was that unwittingly it actually forced players to allow Niantic, and potential hackers to use your account to send emails, read emails and get all data in a personal Google account. That's a severe privacy and security breach. Through my research, I found out that Google fixed the gap on day 2 of my user experience, however, again I didn't get the information directly from Niantic even saying it could be a potential problem with the fix instructions. I had to go search for it. Red Flag 3.

What I learned is Niantic isn't concerned at all about customer privacy and security issues and have no idea how to employ crisis management or solid communication practices to inform their players, or "trainers" as they call them. Perhaps youth don't care about those issues, or on the other hand, Niantic doesn’t care about young people’s privacy, but Niantic has the privilege of having a wider audience of adult users as well and they should be more serious and respectful of user's personal information. I'm sure many of the millions of young users aren't worried now. But, what about when they have enough income and property to suffer from identity fraud?

The Internet has become its own economic engine with the proliferation of new technologies and services developed with growing customers everyday as Pokémon Go illustrates. In a capitalist culture, as we move into Internet of Things (IoT), digital wallets and purchasing from mobile devices, ALL companies need to focus on the privacy and security of their users. Developers, corporations and smaller businesses owe their customers the civil right to privacy and protection, especially since entertainment and consumption seem to be more important than the public good. Consumers should demand the right to online privacy and security.

On the positive side Pokémon Go has some helpful mental health benefits to relieve everyday stress and anxiety with a fun game that gets people moving and learning. But, while we try to keep ourselves sane during a time when the media reports nonstop fear, global terrorism, gun violence and political polarization in an election year, it would be nice to not also have to worry about being hacked or having our identity stolen when downloading an app. While I understand the rollout of a new product or service has inherent risks for both parties, companies need to keep consumer privacy and security as their #1 priority. TechCrunch reports that two weeks after the US app launch, Niantic has made in excess of $35 million and surpassed Twitter and Facebook user engagement. It’s unacceptable for consumers to "make a deal with the devil" when using their hard earned money to purchase goods and services on mobile devices. These companies owe it to Americans to fix these issues and fix them fast—before they reap in millions of dollars. For now I’ve experienced one too many red flags from Niantic to download the app again. Instead I’m having fun with Dr. Driving, hoping Apple cares more about protecting my privacy and security than Niantic—but I’m not sure.

Some other resources:

http://www.wired.com/2016/07/pokemon-gos-servers-go-youre-not-loser

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2016/07/18/this-site-can-tell-gamers-when-pokemon-go-servers-are-about-to-crash/#362d581c4271

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/07/18/pokemon-go-retention-rates-free-to-play-bigger-than-google-maps/

http://fortune.com/2016/07/12/pokemon-go-google

http://www.macworld.com/article/3092458/ios/pok-mon-go-for-ios-requires-full-google-account-access.html

Voices of Hope Productions Documents UBELONG's First Expedition to Havana, Cuba

“This was not a pre-packaged Havana. We got to see the real Havana—nitty-gritty-old-new-emerging-broken. I loved that. We have such a sense of experiencing the reality of Cuba, at a time when very much is changing and will change in the time ahead.”

— UBELONGer, Steve

UBELONG just completed it’s first ever Expedition to Cuba and Voices of Hope Productions was there every step of the way to document the experience. It was an emotional journey I am still processing and re-living through the photography and videos as I create several pieces about Cuba. Cedric Hodgeman Co-founder of UBELONG explains their philosophy, “One of the things that’s really at the core of UBELONG is the notion that we aren’t a charity. We are way beyond the top-down model of International development where you come in and handout a lot of money and hope it solves problems. We don’t do that. When we go into a country we don’t come in as superior, we come in as equals. We are there to share and want to empower people to help them—help themselves.”

**Group of UBELONGers in Cuba, with Co-founder Cedric Hodgeman on bottom right**

The 9-day Expedition, which took place March 12 to March 20, 2016, was led by UBELONG Co-Founder Cedric Hodgeman and Rice University Professor Luis Duno Gottberg. 29 participants came from the Prouty Project, a leading consulting firm in Minneapolis that every other year does a “Stretch”, or service trip abroad with its employees, clients and friends.

The expedition journeyed into the heart of Cuban society. It was designed to promote cultural exchange between the team and local Cubans, and provide participants with an authentic, ground-up perspective of life in Cuba. We started in Havana and lived with host families in the traditional Vedado neighborhood. According to expedition participant, “UBELONGer”, Steve said, “This was not a pre-packaged Havana. We got to see the real Havana—nitty-gritty-old-new-emerging-broken. I loved that. We have such a sense of experiencing the reality of Cuba, at a time when very much is changing and will change in the time ahead.”

“One of the things that’s really at the core of UBELONG is the notion that we aren’t a charity. We are way beyond the top-down model of International development where you come in and handout a lot of money and hope it solves problems. We don’t do that. When we go into a country we don’t come in as superior, we come in as equals. We are there to share and want to empower people to help them—help themselves.”

— Cedric Hodgeman, UBELONG Co-Founder

**UBELONGER, Tharangi (l) works with a Cuban man, Rene to improve his English, while she polishes her Spanish skills.**

There were discussions and workshops with Cubans of all backgrounds. Team members volunteered with local artists on a community beautification project and taught English to local Cuban entrepreneurs. Luis Gottberg, who has been to Cuba many times over the last 20 years said, “The group was delightful to work with because on top of their enthusiasm for learning, they had a tremendous passion for contributing to society. I don’t think I’ve been with a group more ready to establish a respectful conversation and make an impact in a community…The Cuban families, artists, and people who were receiving the classes were constantly telling me about the quality of the people—that they were kind and how authentic they were.”

Numerous distinguished guests provided insight through group discussion, including filmmaker Miguel Coyula and the head of the World Food Program, Laura Melo. Cultural outings included visits to Old Havana, the Malecón, and a cigar factory. UBELONGer, Tanya, a PhD candidate remarked, “There is a strong feminist power in Cuba that is remarkable and inspiring to see. The women in the cigar factory illustrate roots from the US labor force. It was a way the women were able to come into the labor force by working in the factories and doing fine-skilled labor, which allowed them to gain a wage and to contribute to their families. The same is happening in the cigar factories. No matter what you think about smoking or cigars, or factory work, it’s truly a way for women to gain some power through a monetary system. It was clear from our tour guide—the men look up to the women—they are skilled and they run that factory.”

“There is a strong feminist power in Cuba that is remarkable and inspiring to see. The women in the cigar factory illustrate roots from the US labor force. It was a way the women were able to come into the labor force by working in the factories and doing fine-skilled labor, which allowed them to gain a wage and to contribute to their families. The same is happening in the cigar factories. No matter what you think about smoking or cigars, or factory work, it’s truly a way for women to gain some power through a monetary system. It was clear from our tour guide—the men look up to the women—they are skilled and they run that factory.”

— UBELONGER, Tanya

The Cuban people are very warm. My roommate, Melanie (top right) and I were walking back from a bazaar one early afternoon and I stopped to talk with Edward, who told me he worked at the church in our host neighborhood. He asked if I was American and with just enough English he invited us into his home. His wife Sared (top left, and bottom right) was sweet and they were proud to show us family photos. I found this to be an intimate experience, that also showed us how people live in Cuba—they feel safe in their community. I can't imagine an American family allowing a stranger into their home. In fact, we had a delicious glass of fresh mango juice and after about 15 minutes said goodbye to new friends.

Edward and Sared bid  us an  hasta la próxima (until next time)—with a kiss. — **Edward and Sared bid us an hasta la próxima (until next time)—with a kiss.**

The final weekend, the team headed to Varadero, a more rural part of Cuba to take part in two days of team building activities and reflection. In line with UBELONG’s mission of promoting people-to-people dialogue, the team also put in place a plan to publicly broadcast the team’s findings over the next months. Another UBELONGer, Janis, explains, “There’s always a bridging of cultural understanding, but the bigger impact is what you share when you go home. You are going to have more conversations with a variety of people and if you can express it in a way that people can access the information your impact spreads further. Yes, there is impact while you are there, but I’m really glad to travel in a way that shares and doesn’t just take from the culture, but gives a little bit.”

The group collectively took hundreds of photographs and have numerous stories and information to share. Recently Facebook page was created to further discussion between Americans and Cubans. If you have been to Havana Cuba, or are interested in going sometime in the future, please JOIN THE FACEBOOK PAGE and contact me to connect you to UBELONG. Look for posts and video upcoming in several weeks. Until then take a look at some PHOTOS here and on Facebook.

“There is a small impact made while you are there, but I’m really glad to travel in a way that shares and doesn’t just take from the culture, but gives a little bit. ”

— UBELONGer, Janice