Recollections – by Judy

It is quite possible that you have a memory of a grandparent that made an impression on you. I recently received a copy of A Grandparents Love by Jackie Corley. Since I am a newly-minted grandmother, I consumed this collection of quotes in one sitting.  I found myself smiling, laughing and agreeing with the content.  Jackie Corley is a prolific communicator and her research, collection and presentation is insightful.  She brought back memories of my paternal grandmother, Bertha Odessa Chapman (we share the same middle name). My father never got an argument when he took us to visit her. After welcoming hugs, the cookie jar and glasses of milk appeared on the kitchen table. When I think of her, I think of cookies – real, homemade ones. My grandfather was around but do not remember much contact with him.  I have few thoughts about my maternal grandmother because she abandoned her 3 girls (my mom was the oldest).  That grandfather did not create any fond memories. However, with my marriage, I acquired Gramma Suzy, a widowed invalid who had remarried.  She was amazing. From her wheelchair, she was in charge.  We would drive 3 hours to visit her in Scotia, NY and she would always say we were late. “The food is getting cold.”  When my parents sold everything in Roseland and moved to Florida “to be near the grandchildren” I did not get it. Now I understand the gravitational pull that grandchildren have, and I realize what a smart move that was.  A cover quote by Margaret  Mead has stayed with me:

“In the presence of grandparent and grandchild, past and future merge in the present.”

Since 1970, students from East Asia have outscored their U.S. counterparts on every international student comparative test. Every test over 50 years; no exceptions. “Why is this always true?” asked Dr. Cornelius Grove. Now he has answers.

“I approached this as an interculturalist and an educator. I wanted to uncover the historical and cultural factors behind East Asian students’ repeated successes,” Dr. Grove explains.

Immersing himself in hundreds of research reports concerning East Asian children’s learning advantages, Dr. Grove resurfaced with two principal reasons for their academic prowess. The first is that they are raised at home in such a way that they arrive at school with a drive to learn academically. The second is that during their most impressionable years (preschool–grade 5), they are taught by means of lessons that are knowledge-centered, not teacher-centered.

“Please take my son and give him an education”.

 This desperate plea by a widowed young mother from Tibet who had fled from her village  to Beijing, China in an effort to make enough money as a street peddler of Tibetan jewelry to educate her son was a real life experience of journalist and filmmaker, Jocelyn Ford. It became the motivation for her powerful documentary, Nowhere To Call Home.

The young boy is now a high school student in the United States, his mother lives in Beijing.

This is the trailer:

(Eastern Bergen County, New Jersey; September 24, 2020) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact and affect peoples' lives and our elections, the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley (LWVNV) wants citizens to know how to participate in the upcoming 2020 General Election.  With a lot of misinformation circulating about this election, the LWVNV encourages voters to fact check information and seek out reliable resources.  This election offers multiple options for casting a ballot.  The League is working to ensure voters get accurate, nonpartisan, and trusted election information.

"This year, people need to be diligent and educate themselves about the voting process and exercise their right to vote.  Between now and the General Election on November 3, the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley plans to provide ongoing, updated Voters Service information to the public," said Joyce Luhrs, Vice President of Marketing, League of Women Voters of Northern Valley.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley celebrates Women’s Equality Day on August 26, 2020 and the advancements made towards achieving political, economic, and social equality.  The date commemorates the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th constitutional Amendment, granting women the right to vote in the United States.  During February of this year, Leagues nationwide also celebrated the organization's centennial birthday.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley, a chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV), is a non-partisan, grassroots civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.  The LWV was an outgrowth of the 19th Amendment passed in 1920 giving women the right to vote.  Today, the LWV operates at the state and local levels through more than 700 state and local Leagues in all 50 states and in Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. 

Her first historical novel -  Freedom Dues – is a well-researched, authentic period piece. Set in 1729 England, the story line describes individuals forced to face the grueling hardships of indentured servitude.  Although the characters are figments of her imagination, the narrative of the culture at the time is very authentic.

How does a young woman- having left her mother country of Vietnam when she was five years old – chart a career to become the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Workforce Software, a leading global provider of cloud-based workforce management solutions. The company creates business plans to make work easy for customers by digitalizing time sheets, scheduling and leave management which can be time consuming for enterprise businesses.
In order to appreciate her tremendous fortitude, one can assume that she was not only intelligent and determined, but also had the unique ability to seize opportunity when she saw it. Seeing opportunity rather than obstacles is always vital to success.

All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World — Essays on Equality, Justice, and Freedom.

Women of color have long been silenced even while social movements have flourished. All the Women in My Family Sing amplifies the voices of women and shows what it means to be a woman of color in today's world. Sixty-nine authors, including America Fererra and Samina Ali, lend their voices to broaden cross-cultural understanding and to build bridges to eachothers' histories and daily experiences of life.

This new book from Nothing But The Truth Publishing, LLC is an anthology documenting the experiences of women of color at the dawn of the twenty-first century. It is a vital collection of prose and poetry whose topics range from the pressures of being the vice-president of a Fortune 500 Company, to escaping the killing fields of Cambodia, to the struggles inside immigration, identity, romance, and self-worth.

Contributors include America Fererra, Samina Ali, Natalie Baszile (Queen Sugar), Porochista Khakpour (Sons and Other Flammable Objects), Lalita Tademy (Cane River), Mila Jam, Marian Wright Edelman (Children's Defense Fund), and many more.

The question is: will my idea materialize into a successful business?  The answer is: Do you see a need that your business  idea will fill?  Answering this question is a critical first step in your business plan.

The Little Daisy Bake Shop is a very successful business carefully nurtured by entrepreneur Jennifer Snyder in Montclair, New Jersey.  Through her love and expertise of baking healthy for her family, she saw a need.  Serving confections to her daughter’s kindergarten class, she noticed one young girl had removed herself from the group and was snacking on something from home.  Jennifer subsequently learned that the child suffered from a peanut allergy.  It bothered her that the child could not participate with her classmates

This is a worthy event that I attend and wanted to share with you:

Trailblazing and Emerging Leaders Honored at The Community Chest's Women's Leadership Luncheon

(Eastern Bergen County, NJ; June 3, 2019) 

Women leaders from a range of disciplines were honored and recognized at The Community Chest's second annual Women's Leadership Luncheon and Scholarship Presentation, “Toasting the Elizabeths: Celebrating Women Leaders in Bergen County".  The leadership ceremony was held at The Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood, New Jersey on May 16 and honored women leaders of the past and present and emerging ones.

The luncheon remembered three trailblazing women leaders in history from eastern Bergen County:  Elizabeth Cutter Morrow, the founding board chair of The Community Chest during the Great Depression, who lived in Englewood; Elisabeth Morrow Morgan, the founder of The Elisabeth Morrow School, who grew up in Englewood; and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leader in the suffragette movement and a Tenafly, New Jersey resident. 

Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer, executive director of The Community Chest, and Hanita Walia, president of The Elisabeth Morrow School board of trustees, welcomed everyone to the luncheon.  Margaret Silver, the great granddaughter of Elisabeth Cutter Morrow, provided a special greeting and discussed her family's involvement in the field of education as teachers.  Musicians from The Elisabeth Morrow School performed a special violin concert.

I love the opera so thought I would share this with you all.

Boheme Opera NJ returns to Grounds For Sculpture on Sunday May 19 from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm in celebration of its 30th Anniversary Season.  Experience live recital performances by operatic voices during Boheme's Reunion Concert commemorating this exciting milestone. WWFM, The Classical Network, joins Boheme as it broadcasts the concert LIVE on-air from the GFS East Gallery. Boheme Artistic Director Joseph Pucciatti and WWFM Host of Sunday Opera Michael Kownacky will co-host the event, which will include on-air artist interviews.  The concert is free with entry to the Grounds.

Suchitra Kamath, Minuteman Press Franchise Owner in Edison, NJ, Honored at Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards 

EDISON, N.J., Oct. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Suchitra Kamath, President/Owner of the Minuteman Press franchise in Edison, NJ, was honored with the Rising Star Award at the Sixth Annual New Jersey Immigrant Entrepreneurs Awards at the Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce Multi-Chamber Event in Monmouth Junction on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. “We congratulate this year’s winners for their contributions to the State of New Jersey and recognize the importance of immigrants to NJ’s economy and society,” says Katherine Kish, Executive Director, Einstein’s Alley.

Create a colorful and fragrant fall finale in your garden with groundcovers and vines. Blanket the earth with hardy groundcovers that add seasonal interest. Then direct your eye skyward with vines climbing on trellises, fences and arbors.

Add a cloud of fragrant beauty with the white flowers of sweet autumn clematis. This vigorous vine quickly covers arbors and trellises, providing a colorful screen, vertical accent or backdrop for other plants. Double the impact and increase bloom time by combining it with a hardy rose or the annual hyacinth bean vine.

Enjoy the colorful fruit of the native American bittersweet on the vine or in fall decorations. A relatively new introduction Autumn Revolution™ is self-fertile. That means only one plant is needed to produce fruit. No more planting at least two, a male and female, plant to enjoy the colorful fruit display.

The fanciful leaves of hostas provide texture and beauty at ground level. Enjoy their lovely yellow fall foliage that echoes the yellow fall color of ginkgoes, witchhazel, birches, and many other trees and shrubs.

The subtle reddening of barrenwort’s (Epimedium) heart shaped leaves add a delicate beauty to any shady spot. Watch the bold leaves of Bergenia transform from green to red. The large leaves persist through winter and combine nicely with early spring bulbs like the squirrel resistant Crocus tommasinianus.

Add a splash of reddish purple to the fall landscape with perennial geranium. The lobed colorful leaves persist through mild winters, adding color to the winter and early spring garden.

Entrepreneur, mother, and 9/11 widow Lisa Luckett was one of thousands whose life was forever-altered that fateful day. With the clarity that only comes with time and distance, Luckett discovered the resiliency and beauty of the human spirit and vowed to not allow her husband’s death to be in vain by making something positive rise from the ashes of this tragic nightmare.

Thomas Edison State University just released the following Press Release:

TRENTON, N.J. – Thomas Edison State University has received a $30,000 grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb in support of the institution’s Accelerated 2nd Degree BSN Program (Accelerated BSN).

This grant provides financial support to help cover tuition costs for up to 15 nursing students enrolled in the 2017-2018 Accelerated BSN cohort. Students in this program already possess another baccalaureate degree and thus face unique financial struggles. Their eligibility for Pell grants and other financial aid is limited, as 95 percent of them already carry loans from their previous baccalaureate degree programs. Additionally, students in the Accelerated BSN are strongly discouraged from working while enrolled due to the program’s rigorous nature.

ROSELAND, N.J. — Sarah Krom, CPA, managing partner, SKC and Co., CPAs, LLC of Boonton Township, New Jersey, has become the president of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) for the 2018/19 term. She is the youngest to hold the office at age 35 and is the third female president.

Krom joined the NJCPA in 2003. She is also a member of the Strategic Planning Committee and previously chaired the Young CPAs Council, which is now called the Emerging Leaders Council.

When Michelle Dickinson-Moravek started writing her book Breaking Into My Life, she assumed that Part 3 would be about coming to terms with growing up as the daughter of a bipolar mother. After years of playing the role of child caregiver, writing her memoir launched Michelle on a journey of self-discovery that would prove surprisingly healing. Coming to terms, she realized, was no longer enough. She had to break into her own life, a quest that literally played out as she was writing the final pages.

Save the Date - Saturday February 24th at 8.30am

We have finished the planning for the 5th Annual Business Education & Career Summit for High School Girls a joint event between our foundation and the Rutgers Business School.

Pre-register Now

Of the many items that come across my desk, this article got my attention. Published by "The Conversation" and sent out as a e-mail for sharing, the article looks at how well prepared our high school students are for their careers  To quote their e-mail:

In 2018, we've resolved to dispel the myth of the career-ready high school graduate. In a new piece at The Conversation, we argue that the American education system must evolve to meet the economic demands of the 21st century and lift up the forgotten half of young people who are failing to successfully launch their careers. The reality is that there is not enough room left in the high school curriculum, which is dominated by college prep coursework, to successfully prepare students for careers. It is past time to stop pretending otherwise. 

Take a moment to read the full article and share with your friends.

Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver Keynotes 3rd Annual Teen Summit

On October 21, Oasis hosted its 3rd Annual Teen Girls Leadership and Success Summit, with over 60 teen girls in attendance. The day began with a college and career fair, with tables from William Paterson University, Berkeley College, Passaic County Community College, and Sisters in the Brotherhood. Students also participated in zumba and taekwondo throughout the day.  Joanna Gagis, Oasis Board Member and host of NJTV's "Life and Living with Joanna Gagis," moderated the event.

Assembly Speaker Emeritus and Lieutenant Governor candidate Sheila Oliver kicked-off the conversation, encouraging teens to surround themselves with the right people in order to make good decisions for the future, saying "Don't let anyone interfere with your vision of success for yourself."  Other speakers contributed on three panels throughout the day - Women in Politics, Women in Military and Law Enforcement, and Culture and Careers. Check out their Twitter feed to read words of advice from the speakers, and their Facebook page to see more photos from the event.

We wre happy to participated, sponsored, and help organized this event,