Billionaires gather in Arizona to discuss giving
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Saturday, May 07, 2011
Thursday, May 05, 2011
people living in the woods
Virginia has a lot of beautiful trees. I have enjoyed watching them bloom this Spring.
In my work I recently learned some sad news. This may surprise some that read this blog from other parts of the world. In the richest country in the world (still the United States of America), there are people living homeless in the woods. In fact, not far from our new apartment is a homeless colony.
On a recent Sunday Kenyon and I were exploring our new surroundings. A group of homeless individuals were hanging out with their signs, sitting on the curb in a restaurant parking lot. Not far behind them in the woods, through the trees, I could see the tarps they use as shelter.
A couple of community organizations I am working with want to help by providing respite care for this group. I admire their compassion and commitment.
How many times has your doctor told you to go home and rest? Or given a family member instructions to help take care of you? Have you ever thought about what happens if you didn't have a home? Could you imagine having to go back to the streets sick? Talk about being vulnerable!
just Sheri, rediscovering my homeland
In my work I recently learned some sad news. This may surprise some that read this blog from other parts of the world. In the richest country in the world (still the United States of America), there are people living homeless in the woods. In fact, not far from our new apartment is a homeless colony.
On a recent Sunday Kenyon and I were exploring our new surroundings. A group of homeless individuals were hanging out with their signs, sitting on the curb in a restaurant parking lot. Not far behind them in the woods, through the trees, I could see the tarps they use as shelter.
A couple of community organizations I am working with want to help by providing respite care for this group. I admire their compassion and commitment.
How many times has your doctor told you to go home and rest? Or given a family member instructions to help take care of you? Have you ever thought about what happens if you didn't have a home? Could you imagine having to go back to the streets sick? Talk about being vulnerable!
just Sheri, rediscovering my homeland
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Lacrosse National Collegiate Champions
This weekend was the National Collegiate Championship for Lacrosse. I attended in support of Pablito.
I still cannot say I fully understand the rules of Lacrosse. Players can smack each other hard with their sticks...no penalty. But, there was a penalty called for holding and I swear I didn't see anything happen - nothing at all. I do know it is not uncommon for Lacrosse players to have bruises or suffer from concussions.
It was a close competition between Lynchburg College and their competitors, the University of Cincinnati, but in the end Lynchburg was the victor. Hooray! They even get a nice trophy (and free t-shirts, very popular with the college kids) to show for it.
Hooray!!!!!
just Sheri, cheering from the sidelines
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
wedding shower + reunion = fabulous!
This weekend I drove in to Washington DC for a special event. I don't often do this (driving in to DC) for a couple of reasons. First, the traffic is bad no matter what time of day nor what day of the week, thus taking the train is preferred if the destination is within reasonable walking distance from a train stop. Second, finding parking is worse than the traffic. But, for this event I made an exception.
The special event was a wedding shower.
The party was in honor of Emily. Emily has been looking for her Prince Charming for some time now. It turns out she has known him for about 15 years, as a friend...and didn't see him as anything more until recently.
A few years ago I met Emily. We worked together and a had shared passion for building community and capacity overseas. She now works in the Office of Global AIDS Commission in DC, overseeing the work in Southern Africa.
The shower was a lovely celebration and a gathering of strong, intelligent women...all of which are doing interesting work (with many high powered organizations) around the globe. There were some new faces, but many familiar ones...though I had not seen them in a couple of years.
And, Christine. I met Christine in her role as a researcher for Johns Hopkins. We had contracted with the organization to evaluate our largest, multi-country program. Spending time in the African bush together is a VERY bonding experience! When Christine moved back to the US to start her family...turns out she moved to Fredericksburg. Over the years we would get together for tea and chats when I was passing through the area. Then I moved overseas. It was great to reconnect with Christine...and learn that she is pregnant with her second child.
These were only the familiar faces. It was a wonderful gathering of women. Strong, intelligent, world changing type of women. I love that we have shared passions and experiences and I especially love that we can get together and celebrate a wonderful moment in the life of another.
Congratulations to Emily! Thanks for providing a venue for a fabulous reunion.
just Sheri, still realizing the perks of our new location
The special event was a wedding shower.
The party was in honor of Emily. Emily has been looking for her Prince Charming for some time now. It turns out she has known him for about 15 years, as a friend...and didn't see him as anything more until recently.A few years ago I met Emily. We worked together and a had shared passion for building community and capacity overseas. She now works in the Office of Global AIDS Commission in DC, overseeing the work in Southern Africa.
The shower was a lovely celebration and a gathering of strong, intelligent women...all of which are doing interesting work (with many high powered organizations) around the globe. There were some new faces, but many familiar ones...though I had not seen them in a couple of years.
The hostess of this gathering is Allison.
I met Allison at a large HIV conference on the West Coast of the US about four years ago. She was the speaker and I found her research intriguing. We stayed in touch professionally, and with so many common conferences and complimentary work projects - a professional relationship also became a personal one.
She was working at Harvard at the time of our meeting. She is currently a PhD student at Johns Hopkins and the co-author of two books and many articles, one of which I have posted before on this blog...but I didn't devulge that I knew the co-author personally. To read the article click here.
I met Allison at a large HIV conference on the West Coast of the US about four years ago. She was the speaker and I found her research intriguing. We stayed in touch professionally, and with so many common conferences and complimentary work projects - a professional relationship also became a personal one.
She was working at Harvard at the time of our meeting. She is currently a PhD student at Johns Hopkins and the co-author of two books and many articles, one of which I have posted before on this blog...but I didn't devulge that I knew the co-author personally. To read the article click here.
In the pink on Emily's right is Janae.
I also met Janae in my former work. She had been hired as a contractor to do some assessments for HIV programming. She now works for the State Department.
Turns out she also is friends with someone I hung around with when living in Phnom Phen, Cambodia...it is a small world after all.
And, Christine. I met Christine in her role as a researcher for Johns Hopkins. We had contracted with the organization to evaluate our largest, multi-country program. Spending time in the African bush together is a VERY bonding experience! When Christine moved back to the US to start her family...turns out she moved to Fredericksburg. Over the years we would get together for tea and chats when I was passing through the area. Then I moved overseas. It was great to reconnect with Christine...and learn that she is pregnant with her second child.These were only the familiar faces. It was a wonderful gathering of women. Strong, intelligent, world changing type of women. I love that we have shared passions and experiences and I especially love that we can get together and celebrate a wonderful moment in the life of another.
Congratulations to Emily! Thanks for providing a venue for a fabulous reunion.
just Sheri, still realizing the perks of our new location
Monday, May 02, 2011
Arts Council Community Event
They had demonstrations of lace making, quilting and painting. The work of local artists on display and live performances.
It was a nice way to spend a lazy Saturday. We collected lots of flyers for future events at the performing arts center, the repertory theater, and more...these will likely be the subject of future posts.
The only downside, the event wasn't well attended. Apparently that is a common issue in these parts. Inside the District there are many events that draw large crowds. We live outside the District in the Commonwealth of Virginia where most people simply reside and commute long hours for work. When home, they don't get out much...at least not for community events like this one.
We will keep trying these out. Someone (or a group of someones) put a lot of effort in to planning this event. We will continue to support this effort. It was well put together, despite the small crowd.
just Sheri, appreciative of the arts
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