Category: Our News

Project Elf and Getting Creative!

Posted on Updated on by John Skinner (MT)
The YMCA of Greater Tulsa has been serving our community since 1909.   Over the past 111 years, we have adapted to meet the ever-changing needs in Tulsa.  That is no different today.  While the world navigates a pandemic which is having rapid and severe impacts on our collective quality of life, health, wellness and safety, the YMCA of Greater Tulsa is making strategic and operational pivots to fight COVID-19.  In addition, we are providing services to our community members who are most impacted and most vulnerable.  Even with our branches temporarily closed, the YMCA’s mission-focused work continues and growing by the day to meet our community’s needs.  Below is an update on what we have done so far.   Thank you for staying with us!”The Families we are serving do not have the supplies they need”

As we navigate the impact of COVID-19, the Y is working to find solutions to critical needs today and helping us all emerge from this pandemic stronger. One of those needs we are helping to address is ensuring that our children have the school supplies they need at home while they are adjusting to their temporary virtual learning space. To assist with this, we have partnered with a local non-profit called Project Elf. Project Elf is a volunteer-based organization that works wonders for Tulsa schoolchildren in need of the basics most of us take for granted, such as clothes, shoes, school supplies, and personal hygiene products. This week the team from Project Elf brought the supplies to the Tandy Family Y so the YMCA staff could bag up the school supplies and prepare them for delivery. The Project Elf Team then headed to the streets to deliver these bags to their doorsteps. The 500 bags included: color markers, index cards, blunt tip scissors, colored pencils, pencil sharpener, journal, ruler, dry erase board, glue stick, stickers, and an activity sheet on suggestions on different ways to use the supplies.

Here is a quote from the Executive Director of Project Elf Terri Hozhabri. “I am very excited about the partnership with Project Elf and the YMCA. Non-profits working together is what it is all about, especially during these times. Our counselors and social workers are grateful to have found this resource. The families we are serving do not have the supplies they need at home to assist them with learning and other activities that can be done at home. This is a beautiful relationship.”

Here is a quote from the co-founder of Project Elf and YMCA volunteer Laurie Tilley. “The Y has always been a great partner to Project Elf, and so it was no surprise when we asked for help assembling home activity kits for students at home the answer was a resounding “yes!”

Project Elf is a small non-profit, but we wanted to do whatever we could to provide a creative outlet for as many children as possible. To date, the Y has safely, and with social distancing, built 500 kits that counselors and social workers are delivering to the doors of students in Tulsa. Our gratitude for the Y, its great team!

YMCA’s Day of Giving

Posted on Updated on by John Skinner (MT)

TULSA, Okla. — The YMCA is of Greater Tulsa is launching “Day of Giving” to raise money that will be provided for families who otherwise might not be able to afford programs or a membership at the Y.

The campaign will kick off on Tuesday, March 3.

“We are going to visit businesses and individuals throughout the course of the day… to be able to have conversations with them about the work of the YMCA,” explained Kyle Wilkes, the vice president of mission advancement.

The goal is to raise $500,000. All the money will go toward financial assistance.

“We gave away $1.7 million in scholarships last year,” said Wilkes.

If you wish to donate and participate on Day of Giving to support the YMCA, visit its website.

Source: https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/ymca-to-launch-day-of-giving-on-march-3rd

The King and Y

Posted on Updated on by John Skinner (MT)
by Hannibal B. Johnson

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., WAS A Y KID, TOO

Before civil rights champion and humanitarian Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott in 1955, before he delivered his universally-acclaimed “I Have A Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington, and before he claimed the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, in 1964, Martin King was just another kid—a kid who found a second home at the YMCA. As a boy, Martin learned to swim at the Y in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. King is but one of many African Americans with ties to the Y. Indeed, the Y has long been a refuge for black folks.

In 1853, years before the Civil War, Anthony Bowen, a freed slave, formed an all-black Y in Washington, D.C. That branch ranked among the first African American organizations in the nation.

Black History Month traces back to the Y. Begun in 1976 as the successor to Negro History Week, founded in 1926, Black History Month comes around every February. It originated in a meeting at a Chicago Y.

Historian and professor Carter G. Woodson found inspiration in a 1915 Chicago emancipation celebration. He later gathered associates at Chicago’s Wabash Y to form the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. That meeting became the seed from which, first, Negro History Week, and later, Black History Month, germinated.

Still another link between the Y and African Americans involves lodging. Y housing began in the 1860s to give young men moving to cities from rural areas safe and affordable shelter. Facilities included gyms, auditoriums, and hotel-like rooms. Notable African American leaders, including Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, sought safe haven at the Y.

Today’s Y, with its focus on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility, dovetails beautifully with Dr. King’s vision:

Join with the Earth and each other, to bring new life to the land, to restore the waters, to refresh the air, to renew the forests, to care for the plants, to protect the creatures, to celebrate the seas, to rejoice in the sunlight, to sing the song of the stars, to recall our destiny, to renew our spirits, to reinvigorate our bodies, to recreate the human community, to promote justice and peace, to love our children and love one another, to join together as many and diverse

expressions of one loving mystery, for the healing of the Earth and the renewal of all life.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we celebrate Dr. King and live his legacy, let us consider what he would have us do to empower our children. Let us ponder how we might use the Y to instill in them the capacities and virtues needed to live meaningful lives.

The mission of the Y is “to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.” Young Martin, the kid who learned to swim in that Y pool in Atlanta, wholeheartedly embraced that mission. In adulthood, and as an ordained Christian minister, Dr. King lived a life defined by faith and loving-kindness.

We could learn a lot from the Y, just as we surely could from Dr. King’s example.

We celebrate the remarkable humanity of Dr. King. We honor the Y for being a part of his life and his life’s work. It is fitting, then, that we recall the profound phrase Dr. King uttered when, at age 35 in 1964 at Oslo, Norway, he became the youngest recipient to date of the Nobel Peace Prize: “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”

Both Dr. King and the Y stand unequivocally for unarmed truth and unconditional love. For that, we are all better.

Hannibal B. Johnson is a Harvard-educated attorney, author, consultant, and college professor

Let’s TACO about it!

Posted on Updated on by John Skinner (MT)

Who would have thought that Mexican food could offer a dish that comforts the soul and renews the spirit?

Beyond the rice and frijoles that America’s most ubiquitous ambassador of Mexican food – Taco Bell – has deployed for the international appetite, exists a genuine plate called ‘Breakfast Tacos,’ which is rich in history and flavor.

Yes, they are still street food, but they are also an exotic vacation for the mouth. Indeed, a taste of Austin and Mexico in one bite.

A Breakfast Taco reflects innovation, resourcefulness, and a cultural mix. All of this which can be found in and around Austin, Texas.

“These tacos are genuine, authentic, unpredictable,” said Mando Rayo, taco journalist and co-author of the book Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day, during a phone interview from a taco stand in Texas– of course, right after lunch time!

“If you want to eat the real deal, then you must eat them while you are visiting Austin; otherwise you are not having Breakfast Tacos. There is one exception, and that is if abuelita is making them. In that case, the place does not matter.”

Rayo, who is a Latino engagement strategist and founding member of the SXSW Latino interactive movement, The Social Revolución, along with co-author, Jarod Neece, a producer and senior programmer at SXSW, and Rayo’s co-founder of the blog site Taco Journalism – explored almost 400 taquerías and collected about 40 different recipes of the so-called Breakfast Tacos in Austin.

“It is a fusion and explosion of ingredients,” said Rayo while describing every bite and some unpublished anecdotes related to really spicy salsa. “The best of all is that you can have this type of breakfast at any time, early morning, lunch, dinner and of course right after la fiesta or el baile.”

But among so many recipes and versions, the million dollar question arises: Is there an original Breakfast Taco? “Yes and no,” said Rayo who paused for a few seconds and then started describing different versions of the dish. “The most important thing is la tortilla, there is no Breakfast Taco without tortilla.”

According to Rayo, tortillas must be fresh and the home-made type. “It should be abuelita-style,” he said.

Using our imagination, we can recreate the process of making the Mexican version of comfort food. First, we will have to take the corn and grind it on the metate – a flat stone mortar – then make a ball, flatten it out and it is ready for the comal.

“Who can resist a steaming tortilla?” asked Rayo, who explained that flour tortillas are the most common for this breakfast treat.

Of course, a Breakfast Taco needs to have huevos (eggs), bacon and spicy salsa. “Muy picante [very hot],” said Rayo. Then, a variety of ingredients create a parade of flavors: Ham, spinach, jalapeños, beans, avocados, chorizo and so on.

However, Rayo’s book is filled with more than tacos, “It is about history, culture, tradition. It is about our roots,” commented Rayo. “You note that in Mexico, what constitutes the authentic national food has been an ongoing discussion and Breakfast Tacos is part of that too.”

Austin Breakfast Tacos approaches that angle and provides some light to the question of when the taco became a mainstream American Food.

Both Rayo and Neece embarked on a sightseeing tour for the origins of this plate, researching the myth of the vaqueros, the Texas cowboys and the first Mexican immigrants to arrive in what is now Austin, developing a unique overview of a cosmopolitan treat made in a peculiar street kitchen: taquerías.

In the meantime, while you wait till your book arrives (available online), try making a Breakfast Taco for yourself: Grab a warm tortilla, scramble some eggs with grilled corn, a hint of roasted poblano, top with cheese, bacon and refried black beans.

¡Buen provecho!

The future #forall is now!

Posted on Updated on by John Skinner (MT)

5-million young people, 18 and younger, has left the YMCA in the nation since 2014. At the same time, the U.S. is getting younger and diverse; however, YMCAs across the nation are getting older and less diverse. “ We must change that. Now!” said Kevin Washington, President and CEO of the Y of the USA. His powerful speech at the 2019 DIG Conference in Baltimore last week inspired us to move forward, to disrupt and to change the system to promote equality, justice and social responsibility.

It was a huge event: 530 people, 18 countries and 93 cities. A record! Including 31 CEOs, but the most important part was to frame this intense work with lens of social justice. “The work of justice is almost always the work of equity,” said DeRay McKesson, civil rights activist and author. “Bring the truth with you into every room you walk into. It is more courageous to tell the truth to people you know.”

The conference was organized, led and powered by young people. The air was filled with hope and energy. And this was confirmed by Carlos Sanvee, Secretary General of the YMCA World while receiving the first Carlos Sanvee DIG Legacy Award for his unwavering commitment to social justice and empowering youth. The place of the reception could not have been better: The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture.  “This award is for all the young people. It is for you,” he said. His efforts to make our global YMCA movement communities stronger are extraordinary, said Kevin Washington, while presenting the award.

The final general session had an exceptional leader. She’s not a leader of the future, she’s a leader today! Mari Copeny, known as Little Miss Flint, is 12 years old. A brave and unapologetic activist who brought national attention to the water crisis in Flint, MI. She’s a changemaker who is building a thriving and equitable future for all! And yes, she’s just getting started.

It is impossible to capture 2019 DIG in words. Therefore, we must commit to action as we return to those who are watching and waiting.

The next DIG Conference will be in Bogotá, Colombia in 2020. So, it is the time to improve your Spanish. ¡Nos vemos en Colombia el año que viene!

Frida, universal Latina!

Posted on by John Skinner (MT)

It was 112 years ago that Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was born in a small blue house in the neighborhood of Coyoacán in Mexico City. Her works immortalized her, and the planet came to know her simply as Frida, a Hispanic who went from being a Mexican to becoming the world’s heritage.

“Frida turned pain into art,” said Flora Peña, a former resident of the Mexican state of Veracruz who is now living in Tulsa. Her home in east Tulsa is a sort of museum honoring Kahlo. “This painting is enveloped in a jungle that may one day give me bananas; for now, I guess it will serve as food for the monkeys.”

Peña discovered the artistic legacy of Kahlo as a teenager. “I grew up in Mexico City and thanks to a visit to Coyoacán, I was able to learn not only about Frida’s work, but her history, the mark she left on Mexico and the world. She was a woman ahead of her time. Even today, her thoughts are very progressive.”

She has many books, paintings, posters and Kahlo keepsakes, but Peña says her collection grows smaller as her friendships grow. “I always ask my friends: Do you know who Frida was? No matter what they answer – yes or no – I give them something about this great artist so that they will remember her and so they will continue to promote her work.”

Venezuelan artist Elisa Abadí, who regularly dresses in the style of Kahlo but with a Caribbean touch, said via phone that Frida has been a major influence “because I lived in Coyoacán, next to her house.”

Abadí, whose art is influenced by German expressionism and is splashed with tropical colors and inspired by the turbulent social reality of Venezuela, said that “you cannot imagine the feelings there are in her house,” referring to the famous blue home. “It seems like she is giving you a tour of her space, her room, her kitchen, her studio, her paintings, her easel, her wheelchair. Everything is impressive.” She added: “For me, Frida in four words is: passion, strength, color, life.”

Lozada Angeles, a newcomer to Tulsa from Mexico, is a Frida fan. “I love her, especially because she was a woman who fought for things, and was very proud of her Mexican roots,” she said from her home in south Tulsa while showing a poster bearing many images of the painter’s face. “She is a real woman, no Photoshop. Flesh and bones. I am fascinated by her because she is real.”

Monica Bello, a Tulsa resident who is originally from Guatemala, said “Frida is an example for all women” because “she suffered, but was able to bear her pain with dignity. She fell in love, broke rules, and always, always, was proud of her people.”

Bello has a Kahlo-inspired doll covered with a white mantilla and bearing a crown of flowers. “She looks like a virgin, or better yet, an Indian woman about to marry,” she said. “I bought it for 20 pesos in Coyoacán, many years ago.”

Artist, feminist, dreamer, but above all talented, Frida Kahlo created a magnificent showcase for the world to notice and enjoy Latin American art.

Simply Frida: Born in Coyoacán, Mexico, on July 6, 1907. She died there on July 13, 1954. The last words she wrote in her diary were: “I await the exit happily and I hope to never return.” Her life was marked by physical suffering, pain and illness. The first of these misfortunes was when she contracted polio in 1913, which led to a series of ailments, injuries, accidents and operations. The first illness left permanent damage: a right leg that was much thinner than the left. In 1925 she was in a serious bus accident with injuries that affected her for the rest of her life. She married artist Diego Rivera in 1929. Ten years later she divorced him.

In 2007, coinciding with the centenary of her birth, Mexico’s Palace of Fine Arts displayed 354 of her works in an exhibit titled “Frida Kahlo 1907-2007. National Homage.” It was estimated that the exhibit attracted more than 415,000 visitors, a record number for any artist in that venue.

Did you know?

Kahlo’s life has been twice presented in movies. The first was “Frida, naturaleza viva,” with actress Ofelia Medina, and more recently, “Frida,” with Salma Hayek.