dhellie's blog

Please join the Rochester International Film Group (RIFG) for the 12th annual Rochester International Film Festival to be held May 4-10 at the Chateau Theatres! You can see great films from around the world. You can buy single movie tickets, a 4-punch pass for $30, or a 10-punch pass for $50 at the Chateau Theatres. You may want to purchase your tickets in advance.

The following films are scheduled for this weekend (see www.rifgweb.org for last-minute changes):

Friday, May 4
7:15PM Me and My Sister France 93min
9:15PM Schnitzel Paradise Netherlands 82min

Saturday, May 5
1:00PM The World According to Shorts Norway 95min

Christmas Anonymous has been providing gifts to needy families with children and low-income seniors for over 50 years. Last year Christmas Anonymous provided gifts to over 600 families and 300 senior citizens in Olmsted County. Christmas Anonymous is an all-volunteer organization so 100% of your donations are used to help needy families. For many families, the only gifts they will receive will be from Christmas Anonymous.

Each child or teen in the family receives a new toy or other gift, "stocking stuffers", used toys, a new article of clothing, and a hat or mittens. Each family receives a food box and chicken or turkey so they can cook a holiday dinner. Some used bicycles, skates, boots, and used outerwear (coats, snowpants) are also available. The parents attend the Christmas Anonymous "store" to choose gifts that their children would like on Saturday December 9.

On Tuesday November 28, the American Association of University Women, one of the oldest nonprofit organizations dedicated to advocating women's rights, celebrates its 125th anniversary! AAUW was founded in 1881 by 17 female college graduates and today has more than 100,000 members including more than 150 members in Rochester!

At 10:00AM Tuesday at Rochester City Hall, Rochester Mayor Ardell F. Brede will declare Tuesday "AAUW day".

Some of the accomplishments of AAUW include:

-- Provided Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie $156,413 toward the purchase of one gram of radium

-- Lobbied for the passage of Title IX, the law that prohibits sex descrimination in schools receiving federal funds. Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI), an AAUW member, co-authored the law.

Thank you to Bill Boyne for his excellent blog on the Decorah Edge! Please attend the next Coffee and Conversations which will discuss Clean Water.

Clean Water: Legacy or Memory?
Saturday, April 22, 2006 -- Earth Day!
8 – 10 a.m.
Quarry Hill Nature Center
701 Silver Creek Road NE
(see PDF flyer)

Mr. Craig Johnson, League of MN Cities, and Mr. Terry Lee, Olmsted County Environmental Resources, will lead a discussion of the clean water proposals currently before the legislature. Round table discussions will follow with fellow community members and local legislators. Handouts outlining the proposals will be available at the Forum.

Congratulations to Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Rochester (IHN) on their 5th anniversary of serving homeless families in Rochester! Thank you to Joanne Markee, Executive Director; Emily Otto, Family Stabilizer Counseler; and over 1200 volunteers for helping homeless families get back on their feet.

Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Rochester http://www.ihn-greater-rochester.org/) provides temporary housing and assistance to homeless families with children. IHN is part of a national organization called Family Promise. (www.nihn.org).

IHN of Greater Rochester has over 39 congregations involved! The host sites take turns providing temporary overnight housing for the families for 1 week at a time. The support congregations help to cook dinner for the guests, play with the children, and help children with their homework. There is a day center where families can go during the day. The day center also provides guests with a mailing address and a base for housing and employment searches.

Many community organizations sponsor free or inexpensive family activities. Some of the upcoming events include:

Free Family Movie Night showing "Spirit"
7:00PM Friday March 31
Christ United Methodist Church
400 5th Ave SW Rochester

Friday March 31 at 7:00PM Christ United Methodist Church will have free
"Family Movie Night". The movie "Spirit" will be shown. Anyone is
welcome to attend. (www.cumethodist.com)

Spring Children’s Theatre Production of “Rumpelstiltskin: The Truth”.
Adapted, written, and directed by RCTC's very own director of theatre,

The Rochester Diversity Council invites you to join their dialogue on Gender and Sexism.

A Time to Talk: Dialogue on Gender & Sexism
Thursday, March 30, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Heintz Center Commons

Phrases like "runs like a girl", "man's man", or "feminazi" show that our ideas about gender are still defining women's and men's roles in our community. While these ideas may seem harmless or old-fashioned, they manifest themselves in very real ways, such as wage disparity, harassment, and unequal opportunities for both men and women. Our ideas about gender affect us all-regardless of our sex.

March is Minnesota Foodshare Month. As of March 16, the community raised 34,000 pounds of food and $35,000 towards the goal of 50,000 pounds and $100,000 for the Channel One Inc. Food Bank and Food Shelf campaign.

In addition to providing food for individuals in need, Channel One provides food to many other programs including two that I volunteer for: Saturday Noon Meals and Interfaith Hospitality Network.

Saturday Noon Meals has served a nutritious hot meal to persons in need every Saturday for 12 years. Saturday Noon Meals serves between 60 - 90 people every week. The people served are needy for many reasons - some have mental illness or addiction problems, many are seniors with a limited income, some are homeless, others have serious health problems. Because of the low cost food available from Channel One (Saturday Noon Meals pays 4 -18 cents per pound of food for processing fees) and the many volunteers who help cook and serve the meals, Saturday Noon Meals can afford to feed people every Saturday.