Stand With Us Blog

Stand With Us Blog http://standwithus.posterous.com Most recent posts at Stand With Us Blog posterous.com noMost recent posts at Stand With Us Blog Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:11:00 -0700 Rep Hornstein donates salary during the shutdown to local organizations http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/3uIATfCrqsw/66609063 http://standwithus.posterous.com/66609063 <p> <div class="entry-body"> <p><a href="http://plannedparenthoodadvocate.typepad.com/.a/6a0147e284dcb2970b015433936a03970c-pi" style="float: left;"><img class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a0147e284dcb2970b015433936a03970c" title="Photo" src="http://plannedparenthoodadvocate.typepad.com/.a/6a0147e284dcb2970b015433936a03970c-320wi" border="0" height="164" alt="Photo" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" width="198" /></a><span style="float: left;"> </span> Representative Frank Hornstein (DFL 60B) of Minneapolis has long been a supporter of Planned Parenthood, pro-choice policies, and a champion for comprehensive sex ed, but we were still surprised to see him yesterday when he stopped by our Minneapolis office to drop off a donation for Planned Parenthood.<p /> As a legislator working toward a budget resolution, Representative Hornstein is eligible to receive a paycheck from the state--- even when the state government is shutdown. But wanting to stand in solidarity with fellow state employees who have been laid off because of the shutdown, Rep Hornstein decided to donate money he earns during the shutdown to local organizations that serve people in need in his district.</p> </div> <p>“Planned Parenthood serves tens of thousands of women and families across this state and countless numbers of them will be hurt by this government shutdown. This is an extremely difficult time for the people of Minnesota and I want to do whatever I can to help. We need a balanced budget solution that protects the most vulnerable Minnesotans," said Rep. Hornstein.</p> <p>We are humbled by Representative Hornstein’s generosity and thank him for standing up and taking <span style="font-size: small;">action to help the many in need in our state.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #ff69b4; font-size: medium;"><em><strong>Thank you Representative Hornstein!</strong></em></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/66609063">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/66609063#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/3uIATfCrqsw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/66609063 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:20:00 -0700 The Power of Parent-Child Connectedness http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/3eTzAOCSrvc/the-power-of-parent-child-connectedness http://standwithus.posterous.com/the-power-of-parent-child-connectedness <p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">What if there were a strategy that you, as a parent, could use to keep your kids healthy? To buffer them from the many challenges and risks they face? <span> </span>A tool to help protect them against unintended pregnancy, violence, drug use and depression and more? <span> </span>And what if this strategy were so powerful that the public health world referred to it as a <strong>super protector</strong></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">? You’d be all over it, that’s what. <br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It’s called Parent-Child Connectedness or PCC, and it’s at the heart of our education efforts at Planned Parenthood. Our sexuality educators just <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/mn-nd-sd/files/MinnesotaNorthDakotaSouthDakota/PCC_final_v.2_all-in-one.pdf">released a report</a> on the concept that will help parents and communities build healthier futures for Minnesota youth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">PCC is a strong emotional bond between parent and child that is both mutual and sustained over time. It’s beyond providing the basics for our kids, like food and shelter. It’s about time together, building a climate of trust, structure and open communication.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As the school year draws to a close, there’s a good chance that you’ll have more face time with your kids. From summer vacations to long weekends together, the months ahead present a great opportunity to slow the pace and reconnect. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Screen_shot_2011-06-02_at_12" height="292" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-06-02/wJCeppbJaeAwscCjgvbtnFFkpCngCgyFsbxlFrIEBaCagIFgdiqdGGEakjaC/Screen_shot_2011-06-02_at_12.24.56_PM.png.scaled500.png" width="234" /> </div> <br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">And, believe it or not, parents have more influence in the lives of teenagers than anyone else. In fact, the top reason that teens delay intercourse is that one or both of their parents object. And when asked to reflect on <span> </span>decisions about sex, teens cite parents as the most influential (46%), ranking more than twice as high as their peers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We know that training to be a parent happens on the job, so the report explains PCC and provides tools that parents can use right away to begin building and strengthening their connection to their children, no matter what age.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">One great strategy is spending time with your child. The time we spend with our kids lets them know we value them. <span> </span>It can be as easy as enjoying entertainment or just being together.. You don’t have to have a purpose. It’s the time itself that counts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Another easy way to create and strengthen PCC is to have dinner together.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 4.5pt; line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Planned Parenthood’s Education and Outreach department has created the <strong>Let’s Eat, Let’s Talk . . . Let’s See Where It Takes Us! Tablemat</strong></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> to help families engage in healthy discussions at the dinner table. The tablemat is available in English and Spanish and features questions like:</span></p> <p style="line-height: 15pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">What is love? </span></em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em><br /> <em>What are three things you can do to be healthy? </em><br /> <em>What helps a person be a good parent?</em><br /> <em>How have you changed in the last year?</em></em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/mn-nd-sd/lets-talk-tablemat-30556.htm">You can download it here</a> in English or Spanish and check out a great video explaining the importance of family meals from our experts!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Georgia;">For more Parent-Child Connectedness strategies that you can try right away, <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/mn-nd-sd/files/MinnesotaNorthDakotaSouthDakota/PCC_final_v.2_all-in-one.pdf">read our report.</a><span>  </span></span></p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/the-power-of-parent-child-connectedness">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/the-power-of-parent-child-connectedness#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/3eTzAOCSrvc" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor no What if there were a strategy that you, as a parent, could use to keep your kids healthy? To buffer them from the many challenges and risks they face?  A tool to help protect them against unintended pregnancy, violence, drug use and depression and m What if there were a strategy that you, as a parent, could use to keep your kids healthy? To buffer them from the many challenges and risks they face?  A tool to help protect them against unintended pregnancy, violence, drug use and depression and more?  And what if this strategy were so powerful that the public health world referred to it as a super protector? You’d be all over it, that’s what. It’s called Parent-Child Connectedness or PCC, and it’s at the heart of our education efforts at Planned Parenthood. Our sexuality educators just released a report on the concept that will help parents and communities build healthier futures for Minnesota youth. PCC is a strong emotional bond between parent and child that is both mutual and sustained over time. It’s beyond providing the basics for our kids, like food and shelter. It’s about time together, building a climate of trust, structure and open communication. As the school year draws to a close, there’s a good chance that you’ll have more face time with your kids. From summer vacations to long weekends together, the months ahead present a great opportunity to slow the pace and reconnect. And, believe it or not, parents have more influence in the lives of teenagers than anyone else. In fact, the top reason that teens delay intercourse is that one or both of their parents object. And when asked to reflect on  decisions about sex, teens cite parents as the most influential (46%), ranking more than twice as high as their peers. We know that training to be a parent happens on the job, so the report explains PCC and provides tools that parents can use right away to begin building and strengthening their connection to their children, no matter what age. One great strategy is spending time with your child. The time we spend with our kids lets them know we value them.  It can be as easy as enjoying entertainment or just being together.. You don’t have to have a purpose. It’s the time itself that counts. Another easy way to create and strengthen PCC is to have dinner together. Planned Parenthood’s Education and Outreach department has created the Let’s Eat, Let’s Talk . . . Let’s See Where It Takes Us! Tablemat to help families engage in healthy discussions at the dinner table. The tablemat is available in English and Spanish and features questions like: What is love? What are three things you can do to be healthy? What helps a person be a good parent? How have you changed in the last year?  You can download it here in English or Spanish and check out a great video explaining the importance of family meals from our experts! For more Parent-Child Connectedness strategies that you can try right away, read our report.    Permalink | Leave a comment  » http://standwithus.posterous.com/the-power-of-parent-child-connectedness Thu, 05 May 2011 11:03:00 -0700 Minnesota State Teen Birthrates fall to 40 year low, but major disparities still exist http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/woRM_zjy7Q0/minnesota-state-teen-birthrates-fall-to-40-ye http://standwithus.posterous.com/minnesota-state-teen-birthrates-fall-to-40-ye <p> <p>In a recent report by Teenwise,<a href="http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/wellness/121294479.html" target="_blank"> Minnesota’s teen birthrate has fallen to a 40 year low</a>.  After increases in 2006 and 2007, Minnesotas overall teen birthrate dropped to 24.3 births per 1,000 females (aged 15-19).  This rate is significantly below the national average.<p /><a href="http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/wellness/121294479.html" target="_blank">Via the Star Tribune:</a></p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"><em>Minnesota's rates were higher than the national averages, however, for Hispanics and Asian-Americans, and among the worst in the nation for African-Americans. Minnesota's teen birthrate for American Indians is nearly double the national average.</em><br /></blockquote> <p>Report contributor, Brigid Riley, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/wellness/121294479.html" target="_blank">said </a>the vast disparities between racial and ethnic groups are likely due to the inequities in income and education, as well as a variety of other factors. She also emphasized the importance of sexual education programs that discuss abstinence and also provide teens with the information they need to keep themselves healthy and safe. <p />Riley cited teen programs that work in schools that give teens a “more nuanced conversation about health relationships.” Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota <a href="http://www.plannedparenthoodadvocate.org/2011/03/planned-parenthood-education-programs.html" target="_self">has several peer education programs</a> that do just that—comprehensive sex education one classroom at a time. <p />Read more about Minnesota teen birthrates <a href="http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/wellness/121294479.html" target="_self">in the Star Tribune.</a></p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/minnesota-state-teen-birthrates-fall-to-40-ye">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/minnesota-state-teen-birthrates-fall-to-40-ye#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/woRM_zjy7Q0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/minnesota-state-teen-birthrates-fall-to-40-ye Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:53:00 -0700 Solidarity Event Food Drive to benefit Hallie Q. Brown Community Center http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/FRBQqkKtK0k/solidarity-event-food-drive-to-benefit-hallie http://standwithus.posterous.com/solidarity-event-food-drive-to-benefit-hallie <p> <p>It is a challenging (but exciting) time for supporters of women's movements and civil rights. So many courageous women and men are doing their part to affirm human rights and equality, one need only look to their neighbor, their coworker, their friend to find one inspiring story after another of the power in civic involvement and community activism. <p />Equally inspiring is to look back into our histories, to see that the women and men who came before us faced and overcame similar challenges. <p />Hallie Quinn Brown, born March 10, 1850 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of six children born to Frances Jane Scroggins and Thomas Arthur Brown, both well-educated freed slaves who were active in the Underground Railroad movement. Their involvement lived on in Hallie, who throughout her lifetime became a well-known educator, writer, public speaker and women's activist. <br /><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Hallie_q_brown" height="580" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-04-20/fEaopzbzHJavkuklwoqhefHapmwlvgIenvneseIuvvgduIcoFzAyzAasIrqs/Hallie_Q_Brown.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="364" /> </div> </p> <p>Just ten years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing "all slaves in areas still in rebellion," and a mere eight years after the end of the Civil War and ratification of the 13th Amendment, Brown earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wilberforce University in Ohio, before going on to teach in schools in Mississippi and South Carolina. In addition to teaching on a number of Southern plantations, from 1885 to 1887 she acted as Dean of Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina, where she also taught for ten years, and served as Dean of Women at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama during the 1892-1893 school year before returning to Ohio to teach in the Dayton public schools. While in Dayton, she also established an adult class for migrant workers. She became a professor at her alma mater in 1893, and was a frequent lecturer on temperance, women's suffrage and civil rights. <p />Brown developed a reputation as a powerful orator, and spoke before the Women's Christian Temperance Union Conference and the International Congress of Women, both in London, as well as before Queen Victoria. She also spoke at the Republican National Convention in 1924 and later directed campaign work among African American women for President Calvin Coolidge, but before all this was the founder of the Colored Women's League of Washington, D.C., which in 1894 merged into the National Association of Colored Women. From 1905 to 1912 she served as president of the Ohio State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, and of the National Association of Colored Women from 1920 until 1924. <p />After a long life lived advocating for civil rights, Brown passed away on September 16, 1949, at the age of 99. Today, two buildings are named in her honor: the Hallie Q. Brown Memorial Library in Wilberforce, Ohio, and the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center right here in Saint Paul. <br /><a href="http://www.hallieqbrown.org" target="_blank"><br />The Hallie Q. Brown Community Center</a>, a private, nonprofit social service agency serving the Summit-University neighborhood, was founded in 1929, born as the result of the vision and efforts of several community leaders of that decade. It was during the 1920s that the Saint Paul Urban League was formed to address growing social problems facing African Americans in the community. Under the direction of the Urban League's Executive Secretary, Elmer A. Carter, community members were surveyed about how needs might be best met, and an advisory committee was formed to make plans for a community center. On April 1, 1929, Miss I. Myrtle Carden, the center's first Executive Director, met with the Urban League to discuss a name. The group decided to hold an essay contest, in which writers profiled the life of an outstanding leader. Hamline University student Herbert Howell, with his essay on Hallie Quinn Brown, won the contest and gave this community center the name we know it by still today.<p />Hallie Q. Brown Community Center provides a full range of services, including emergency food and clothing support, youth and seniors programming, and administrative support to the Martin Luther King Center and its partners, including the nationally-recognized Penumbra Theatre Company. <p />We are proud to partner with the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center for a Food Drive during this <a target="_blank">Friday's Solidarity Event</a>, in recognition of the woman who inspired the center's name as well as the critical work the center has done these last 80+ years. If you are planning on joining us on Friday, please bring along some items to donate to the food shelf. Donation wish list includes: personal hygiene items; toilet paper; canned fruit; canned soup, stew and chili; cereal; flour, sugar and cooking oil; and pasta and ramen noodles.<p />Help us really make Friday count, and lend a hand to our friends and neighbors in the Summit-University community.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/solidarity-event-food-drive-to-benefit-hallie">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/solidarity-event-food-drive-to-benefit-hallie#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/FRBQqkKtK0k" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/solidarity-event-food-drive-to-benefit-hallie Sat, 09 Apr 2011 09:27:00 -0700 Budget Deal Preserves Nation’s Family Planning Program http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/8ZYrEayU1Iw/budget-deal-preserves-nations-family-planning http://standwithus.posterous.com/budget-deal-preserves-nations-family-planning <p> <p>After a campaign that rallied hundreds of thousands across the country on behalf of Planned Parenthood, congressional leaders reached a budget deal late Friday night that spared Title X, the nation’s family planning program.</p> <p>“Common sense has prevailed, “said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. “A shutdown of the federal government because of an ideological standoff over Planned Parenthood would have been outrageous and shameful,” said Stoesz</p> <p>Minnesotans joined women and families across the country to let congress members know that Planned Parenthood provides needed services, prevents unintended pregnancies and saves money.</p> <p>“Hundreds of thousands of people came forward on our behalf during this very challenging time. We're very thankful to the patients who were willing to share the stories of the care they received from Planned Parenthood and how it changed their lives. We're thankful to donors, who redoubled their support. We're thankful to the elected officials who stood up for what was right. And we're thankful to each and every person who phoned, wrote and raised a hand for Planned Parenthood,” said Stoesz.</p> <p>The groundswell of support was an inspiring reminder of our role as a needed and appreciated member of the community.</p> <p>In Minnesota alone, more than fifty thousand women rely on Planned Parenthood’s Title X supported clinics each year for access to preventive health care such a cancer screenings and birth control.</p> <p>Planned Parenthood’s Title X supported clinics provide an array of preventive health services, such as birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings; pelvic exams and pap smears, high blood pressure, diabetes, and anemia screening; testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, basic infertility services, pregnancy testing and comprehensive health education.</p> <p>“These clinics are part of the fabric of the communities they serve,” Stoesz said.</p> <p>More than ninety five percent of Planned Parenthood's work involves preventive services that help women, families, and communities stay healthy.</p> <p> ###</p> <p>Contact: Kathi Di Nicola, 651.755.9557</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/budget-deal-preserves-nations-family-planning">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/budget-deal-preserves-nations-family-planning#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/8ZYrEayU1Iw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/budget-deal-preserves-nations-family-planning Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:39:00 -0700 Pledge a Protester Today! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/0y1NXPvP7MI/pledge-a-protester-today http://standwithus.posterous.com/pledge-a-protester-today <p> <p>Each year on Good Friday, a thousand or more anti-choice protesters picket outside of our Highland Park clinic in St. Paul. But this year is different.</p> <p>We have learned that the opposition is seizing what they believe is an opportunity to make this year <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">their largest protest ever</span></strong>, going so far as to recruit “crowd control volunteers.”</p> <p><strong>In a year filled with so much animosity toward women’s health, <a href="http://www.ppaction.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3114&3114.donation=form1" title="Pledge a Protester Today!">we need your support now more than ever.</a></strong> <em><span style="font-size: 9pt;"> </span></em></p> <p>Between now and April 22, when you contribute to our <strong><a href="http://www.ppaction.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3114&3114.donation=form1" title="Pledge a Protester Today!">“Pledge a Protester”</a> campaign</strong>, you help guarantee that ever<span style="color: #1f497d;">y</span> protester who shows up on this “record-breaking day” will raise money for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.</p> <p><a href="http://www.ppaction.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3114&3114.donation=form1" title="Pledge a Protester Today!"><strong>See what you can do to Pledge a Protester!</strong> </a></p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lQAXdPLOLlc" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe></p> <p>Our Highland Park clinic is a daily target of anti-choice protesters. Each day they hurl insults at our patients, intimidate our clinicians, and wave their grotesque and misleading images at any and all passing by. Over the years, our patients and staff have been followed to their cars and even had their license plates recorded by these protesters.</p> <p><a href="http://www.ppaction.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3114&3114.donation=form1" title="Pledge a Protester Today!">Help us guarantee that every protester</a> who shows up to picket our clinic on April 22 has been pledged by a Planned Parenthood supporter. Help us show the opposition that we refuse to surrender our clinic to their narrow views – not even for one day!</p> <p>Want to be a part of the counter-protest? <a href="https://secure.ppaction.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=12843">Sign up today to stand with Planned Parenthood on Good Friday!</a></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/pledge-a-protester-today">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/pledge-a-protester-today#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/0y1NXPvP7MI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/pledge-a-protester-today Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:34:00 -0700 Warm up with thoughts of summer volunteering http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/ZNE0XrFA48Y/warm-up-with-thoughts-of-summer-volunteering http://standwithus.posterous.com/warm-up-with-thoughts-of-summer-volunteering <p> <p>March is such a fickle month. We get a big thaw, Daylight Saving Time begins and we think spring is upon us. But then, we get a day like today - blizzard conditions, a stiff wind and inches upon inches piling up on the grass we could see just yesterday.</p> <p>Need a little cheering up?<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Beach" height="600" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-03-23/IjyGsmAIGcxfzfFBjudcfDvjjtruABwniCoqpGEsCrjBvxApfFzujHBbsCIt/BEACH.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="450" /> </div> </p> <p>Well first of all, we promise that it's only a short matter of time before the crocuses and daffodils poke their green stems through the snow-cleared dirt. And not long after that, it'll be so hot only a dip in a cold lake will cure you. That should be almost enough to make you a happier person, right? But for that extra umph of good cheer, why not consider volunteering?</p> <p>Mental health professionals and academics have long paid attention to what makes people sad - what causes depression, both short-term and long, and how to deal with it. But recently, it seems there's been a new interest in what makes people happy. Are some predisposed to optimism? How do one's friends, family, workplace, and the world around them factor in? Can money buy happiness?</p> <p>One thing researchers have noted is the effect volunteering can have on well-being. One 2003 study(1) found that volunteer status and number of hours volunteered was significantly linked to improved well-being and fewer depressive symptoms, especially in older adults. According to that research, the maximum benefit from volunteering was achieved in older adults when they volunteered 100 hours a year, or just 2 or 3 hours a week. Another study (2) found that volunteering and depression are inversely related in those over the age of 65, and that adults who engage in sustained volunteering tend to be less depressed no matter what their age.</p> <p>Why not think ahead to those hot summer days and plan now to start volunteering, or maybe consider an internship? Our locations all have air conditioning for the days when you could use a break from the heat, and you'll get the chance to have a great time getting to know a team of fun volunteers and staff.</p> <p>For the summer, we're seeking interns in areas like Human Resources and Community Education/Outreach, as well as volunteers to help greet visitors to our Uptown and Highland Park locations, help staff our Spanish-language clinic, escort patients, and provide outreach information at various community events and health fairs. If you'd prefer to make a difference from home, we're always looking for letter writers, bloggers and social netowrkers. Do you vacation a lot during the summer, and don't want to make a regular weekly commitment? That's fine, too - we have an e-mail network of special projects and one-time events so you can opt in whenever you have time!</p> <p>Maybe you took a peek outside as you read this, and found you need a boost before the snow melts. Would you like to get involved right now? We have plenty of volunteer needs during the spring (it is spring, you know), and we offer orientations for new volunteers roughly every two weeks so it's easy to begin at any time.</p> <p>For more information or to get involved, contact us at <a href="mailto:volunteers@ppmns.org">volunteers@ppmns.org</a> or 612.821.6113, or to be connected with your local office dial 1.800.230.PLAN.</p> <p><br />(1) Morrow-Howell N, Hinterlong J, Rozario PA, Tang F. Effects of volunteering on the well-being of older adults. <em>J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. </em>2003; 58(3):S137-45.</p> <p>(2) Musick MA, Wilson J. Volunteering and depression: The role of psychological and social resources in different age groups. Social Science and Medicine. 2003; 56:259-269.</p> <p>As reported by <a href="http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org">www.pursuit-of-happiness.org</a>. </p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/warm-up-with-thoughts-of-summer-volunteering">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/warm-up-with-thoughts-of-summer-volunteering#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/ZNE0XrFA48Y" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/warm-up-with-thoughts-of-summer-volunteering Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:12:00 -0700 Good Friday Planned Parenthood Solidarity Event 2011 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/sQrkR4GDTPI/good-friday-planned-parenthood-solidarity-eve http://standwithus.posterous.com/good-friday-planned-parenthood-solidarity-eve <p> <p><a href="https://secure.ppaction.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=12843" target="_blank"><strong>> Sign up to stand with Planned Parenthood on Good Friday</strong></a></p> <p><br /> Every year, over a thousand anti-choicers show up at our Highland Park Clinic in St. Paul to protest on Good Friday. It’s a challenging day for our patients and staff. The protesters carry harassing signs and try to intimidate our patients.</p> <p><br /> What the anti-choicers don’t understand is that Planned Parenthood does more in one day to prevent the need for abortion than anti-choicers do in a lifetime. Thankfully there are a lot of people who DO understand that, and they show up in droves to stand with Planned Parenthood. Check out the video from our 2009 rally below:</p> <p><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B50819V38Ic" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe></p> <p><br /> Good Friday is on April 22nd this year, and we need a strong showing of Pro-choicers to let the anti-choicers know that Minnesotans stand with Planned Parenthood. Can you join us?</p> <p><br /> <a href="https://secure.ppaction.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=12843" target="_blank">Click here to register and sign up for a two hour shift!</a></p> <p>Thanks for your support!</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/good-friday-planned-parenthood-solidarity-eve">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/good-friday-planned-parenthood-solidarity-eve#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/sQrkR4GDTPI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/good-friday-planned-parenthood-solidarity-eve Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:37:00 -0800 In the News: Efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/L-mnY0jC7Qc/in-the-news-efforts-to-defund-planned-parenth http://standwithus.posterous.com/in-the-news-efforts-to-defund-planned-parenth <p> <p>Moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bar Planned Parenthood from any type of federal funding for the services we provide to the more than 52,000 low-income patients throughout our region. We are is in the midst of an aggressive and unparalleled attack on women’s health and reproductive rights in our country – one that could wipe out more than a century of progress and put our patients and their families at risk.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-02-18/FlJvqelDluveJpjqfsadBHoIGtnmCfohjrAobaAswIdukgjEdAsmceyCtvmh/articlecollage.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Articlecollage" height="830" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-02-18/FlJvqelDluveJpjqfsadBHoIGtnmCfohjrAobaAswIdukgjEdAsmceyCtvmh/articlecollage.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Over the past several weeks Planned Parenthood and the issue of reproductive rights have received a significant amount of media. We are urging our supporters to Stand with Us, read what is being said and respond with the facts.</p> <ul> <li>In <strong>North Dakota</strong>: The House has passed the Defense of Human Life Act (a.k.a. the “personhood bill”), which grants legal rights to a fertilized human egg. It also has passed a bill to strengthen the state’s Abortion Control Act, mandating the dissemination of inaccurate materials about abortion, requiring women seeking an abortion to make two trips instead of one, and making it nearly impossible for at-risk teens to exercise their rights to “judicial bypass.” <br /> <ul> <li>FARGO FORUM <a href="http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/308408/publisher_ID/1/ " target="_blank">North Dakota Legislature: Abortion bill bans embryo destruction</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li>In <strong>South Dakota</strong>: A bill mandating that a woman seeking an abortion wait 72 hours after her initial consultation with her doctor (and in the interim get counseling from a so-called “crisis pregnancy center”) is moving through the House. <br /> <ul> <li> THE DAILY REPUBLIC <a href="http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/apArticle/id/D9LCQEKG0/" target="_blank">SD panel endorses abortion counseling measure</a>  </li> </ul> </li> <li>In <strong>Minnesota</strong>: We learned this week much to our relief that Governor Dayton has fully funded the state's family planning programs in his newly released budget. These programs are critical to serving our patients, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck. This is just the opening chapter; the legislators have yet to move on their budgets. Meanwhile a resurgent Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) has won the introduction of a bill to eliminate Medicaid funding for abortion and a bill to establish “Choose Life” license plates, with the revenue going to adoption agencies that do not offer full options for women. <br /> <ul> <li>THE MINNESOTA INDEPENDENT <a href="http://minnesotaindependent.com/?s=abortion+law+suit " target="_blank">Four abortion bills suggest Minnesota Republicans angling for lawsuit</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>Here are a few statistics regarding our Minnesota Title X Supported Clinics:</p> <ul> <li> 52,482 women and men received health care services</li> <li>94 percent are women </li> <li>94 percent of patients are 18 or over </li> <li>61 percent have incomes at or below the federal poverty level </li> <li>86 percent have incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level </li> <li>42 percent are uninsured </li> <li>37 percent receive public health insurance </li> <li>2,236 patients have limited English proficiency </li> <li>16,079 women received Pap tests through the Title X program </li> <li>20,129 women received a breast exam through the Title X program </li> <li>60,147 tests for sexually transmitted infections and HIV were conducted  <ul> <li>STAR TRIBUNE <a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/115994859.html" target="_blank">Planned Parenthood CEO: Title X</a>  </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>If Title X funding is eliminated, family planning services, which are not only crucial to the lives of our patients, but also to the health of rural communities, will be even less accessible and the disparities between rural women’s health and their urban and suburban counterpart will grow. <strong>We need your help to defend women’s health care against these extremist measures. </strong></p> <p>You can make a difference by contacting your representatives and making a special gift to Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota today to help us continue the fight and keep our clinic doors open.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/in-the-news-efforts-to-defund-planned-parenth">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/in-the-news-efforts-to-defund-planned-parenth#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/L-mnY0jC7Qc" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/in-the-news-efforts-to-defund-planned-parenth Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:51:00 -0800 Planned Parenthood Patient shares her Title X story with Congress http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/2p4Cz-nNBU4/planned-parenthood-patient-shares-her-title-x http://standwithus.posterous.com/planned-parenthood-patient-shares-her-title-x <p> <p>Congress recently called for a complete defunding of Title X, a program that provides family planning services to countless people across the country. Earlier this week, in Washington D.C., Minnesotan Deb Zupke, a Planned Parenthood patient, joined with lawmakers and PPFA president Cecile Richards, to speak out on the importance of Title X to rural communities.<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Dc_pressconf_2_15_2" height="268" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-02-17/qxEpdvFgahJJmsHdcaIFagIhxHtEodHFmauluIFrjkcsuIxBfBuGdDHItfDc/dc_pressconf_2_15_2.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="200" /> </div> </p> <p>Zupke’s sister Katie was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer during a check up at a Planned Parenthood in rural Minnesota. Fortunately, after nearly a decade of treatments and check ups, Katie was declared healthy.</p> <p>During the press conference, Zupke explained the vital role Planned Parenthood played in Katie’s and her well-being:</p> <blockquote> <p>Katie is sure that Planned Parenthood is the reason she was able to have her son. She knows that had there not been the option to go to an affordable provider like Planned Parenthood, she would not have had regular exams and those pre-cancerous cells could have turned into cancer and we may not be able to share her story today.</p> <p>Had there not been a provider like PP, we most likely would not have received regular exams, been informed about sexual health or had access to birth control. We could have been statistics. My sisters and I all now have college degrees; we are married and have children. This is in no small part, due to the care and information that Planned Parenthood provided to us. We, and so many others in our community, are grateful for Planned Parenthood and its wonderful health care providers!</p> </blockquote> <p> </p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kKKTy-VV27I?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="390" width="640"></iframe></p> <p>It’s a very powerful example of just how critical Planned Parenthood and other Title X family planning clinics are to rural health. But if you need more convincing, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/115994859.html" target="_blank">here are a few more examples of the patients we serve.</a>..</p> <ul> <li>A woman in northern Minnesota with a compromised immune system who needed screening for cervical cancer. </li> <li>A self-employed, uninsured man in central Minnesota who needed testing and treatment for STIs. </li> <li>A drug rehabilitation patient in western Minnesota who needed birth control to prevent an unintended pregnancy. </li> <li>A domestic abuse victim in southern Minnesota who needed treatment for an infection and referral to a shelter.</li> </ul> <p>A Profile of Patients Served at our Minnesota Title X Supported Clinics </p> <ul> <li>52,482 women and men received health care services • 94 percent are women</li> <li>94 percent of patients are 18 or over • 61 percent have incomes at or below the federal poverty level</li> <li>86 percent have incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level </li> <li>42 percent are uninsured • 37 percent receive public health insurance </li> <li>2,236 patients have limited English proficiency</li> <li>16,079 women received Pap tests through the Title X program </li> <li>20,129 women received a breast exam through the Title X program </li> <li>60,147 tests for sexually transmitted infections and HIV were conducted</li> </ul> <p>If Title X funding is eliminated, family planning services, which are not only crucial to the lives of our patients, but also to the health of rural communities, will be even less accessible and the disparities between rural women’s health and their urban and suburban counterpart will grow. <strong>We can't let this happen.</strong></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/planned-parenthood-patient-shares-her-title-x">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/planned-parenthood-patient-shares-her-title-x#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/2p4Cz-nNBU4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/planned-parenthood-patient-shares-her-title-x Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:02:00 -0800 Central Corridor report predicts $6.78 billion investment potential http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/LddZcVPLAqs/central-corridor-report-predicts-678-billion http://standwithus.posterous.com/central-corridor-report-predicts-678-billion <p> <p>A report conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Transit-Oriented Development, along with two local consulting firms, has taken a comprehensive look at the public and private investment likely to be motivated over the next twenty years by the completion of the Central Corridor light rail transit line, which by 2014 will connect the two downtowns.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-01-26/dthsydpHFGICvGEDhjCkmxzdfjckjdAeujumgJHEeczCgEpikzDDswAefjJC/central-corridor.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Central-corridor" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-01-26/dthsydpHFGICvGEDhjCkmxzdfjckjdAeujumgJHEeczCgEpikzDDswAefjJC/central-corridor.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>The 50-page-plus document not only posits a figure of $6.78 billion of mostly private funds, but also probes some potential problems and solutions in preserving businesses along the entire line, especially those small businesses most likely to be disrupted by the construction process or by later increases in property values and expenses.</p> <p>We are proud as ever to be participating in this effort to revitalize the Central Corridor, with the continuing construction of our flagship health care center and administrative headquarters taking place throughout the rest of 2011. Fully funded through the generosity of donors who believe all women and men in the area should have access to the full spectrum of both routine and advanced reproductive health care services including birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment and more, we are excited to soon be serving residents of and visitors to the Central Corridor.</p> <p>You can read the full report <a href="http://finance-commerce.com/wp-files//central-corridor-investment-framework-report.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>, or check out the informative high-level overview <em>Finance & Commerce</em> <a href="http://finance-commerce.com/2011/01/central-corridor-investment-potential-678b/" target="_blank">has posted on their website</a>.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/central-corridor-report-predicts-678-billion">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/central-corridor-report-predicts-678-billion#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/LddZcVPLAqs" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor no A report conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Transit-Oriented Development, along with two local consulting firms, has taken a comprehensive look at the public and private investment likely to be motivated over the next twenty years by the A report conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Transit-Oriented Development, along with two local consulting firms, has taken a comprehensive look at the public and private investment likely to be motivated over the next twenty years by the completion of the Central Corridor light rail transit line, which by 2014 will connect the two downtowns. The 50-page-plus document not only posits a figure of $6.78 billion of mostly private funds, but also probes some potential problems and solutions in preserving businesses along the entire line, especially those small businesses most likely to be disrupted by the construction process or by later increases in property values and expenses. We are proud as ever to be participating in this effort to revitalize the Central Corridor, with the continuing construction of our flagship health care center and administrative headquarters taking place throughout the rest of 2011. Fully funded through the generosity of donors who believe all women and men in the area should have access to the full spectrum of both routine and advanced reproductive health care services including birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment and more, we are excited to soon be serving residents of and visitors to the Central Corridor. You can read the full report here, or check out the informative high-level overview Finance & Commerce has posted on their website. Permalink | Leave a comment  » http://standwithus.posterous.com/central-corridor-report-predicts-678-billion Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:42:00 -0800 United We Stand http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/LgjirBaD0vI/united-we-stand http://standwithus.posterous.com/united-we-stand <p> <p>This year’s annual Celebrate! Planned Parenthood event (Oct. 27 at the Minneapolis Hilton) featured an inspiring and inspired moment in our history: For the first time ever, Planned Parenthood Education & Outreach program participants from across the organization gathered on stage to stand proud and be “introduced” to the more than 900 supporters and donors in attendance.</p> <p>About 100 peer educators, lay health advisors, young leaders and their parents were there to represent Native STAND, ¡Que Onda!, Reach One Teach One, Teen Council, Youth Power, Entre Amigas, the Partnership Project, Open HEART and Parent/Child Retreats. They joined vocalist Cynthia Johnson in singing an original song composed for the occasion, “United We Stand.”</p> <p> </p> <p> <object height="304" width="500"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bsqfm9ktqPU&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bsqfm9ktqPU&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="304" width="500"></embed> </object> </p> <p>The lyrics said it best:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Time has a way of showing everyone </em></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>What's best in each and every one of us </em></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Stand together now and reach for change </em></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>When we work together we turn the spark into flame</em></p> <p>For our donors, the event was moving and visible proof of their philanthropy at work. For the teens and program participants, it was a community-wide round of applause for their leadership and courage.</p> <p>Before the event, the E&O participants had the honor of a visit from U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and state Rep. Erin Murphy. All three congratulated the participants for the work they are doing in the world to educate themselves and to help protect the health of their peers and loved ones. After the event, keynote speaker Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined the participants in their “green room” to shake hands and sign keepsakes.</p> <p><a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/mn-nd-sd/local-education-outreach-15590.htm" target="_blank">More info on our education programs</a></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/united-we-stand">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/united-we-stand#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/LgjirBaD0vI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor no This year’s annual Celebrate! Planned Parenthood event (Oct. 27 at the Minneapolis Hilton) featured an inspiring and inspired moment in our history: For the first time ever, Planned Parenthood Education & Outreach program participants from acro This year’s annual Celebrate! Planned Parenthood event (Oct. 27 at the Minneapolis Hilton) featured an inspiring and inspired moment in our history: For the first time ever, Planned Parenthood Education & Outreach program participants from across the organization gathered on stage to stand proud and be “introduced” to the more than 900 supporters and donors in attendance. About 100 peer educators, lay health advisors, young leaders and their parents were there to represent Native STAND, ¡Que Onda!, Reach One Teach One, Teen Council, Youth Power, Entre Amigas, the Partnership Project, Open HEART and Parent/Child Retreats. They joined vocalist Cynthia Johnson in singing an original song composed for the occasion, “United We Stand.”   The lyrics said it best: Time has a way of showing everyone What's best in each and every one of us Stand together now and reach for change When we work together we turn the spark into flame For our donors, the event was moving and visible proof of their philanthropy at work. For the teens and program participants, it was a community-wide round of applause for their leadership and courage. Before the event, the E&O participants had the honor of a visit from U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and state Rep. Erin Murphy. All three congratulated the participants for the work they are doing in the world to educate themselves and to help protect the health of their peers and loved ones. After the event, keynote speaker Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined the participants in their “green room” to shake hands and sign keepsakes. More info on our education programs Permalink | Leave a comment  » http://standwithus.posterous.com/united-we-stand Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:25:00 -0800 A look at the Planned Parenthood Book Club http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/IN5smDhIXFI/a-look-at-the-planned-parenthood-book-club http://standwithus.posterous.com/a-look-at-the-planned-parenthood-book-club <p> <p>The Planned Parenthood Book Club, which kicked off in spring 2010, meets tonight for its sixth and final meeting of the year before we all take a rest for the rest of 2010 and pick up again in early 2011. This Book Club, comprised of Planned Parenthood volunteers, staff, and friends from the community, is set up such that members can come and go as they have time and interest in the books, with participants at each meeting choosing the date and location for the next gathering, as well as the book we’ll read. </p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="When_everything_changed" height="400" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-29/HjivfyJFDHciIwGxwgvhHlDlHfjvlbdDJCtgBDxlAqvcghzdAyfClHsuIjIq/when_everything_changed.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="258" /> </div> </p> <p>At our last meet-up, held in early November, we discussed Gail Collins’ very informative 2009 book <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/When-Everything-Changed-Amazing-American/dp/0316059544" target="_blank">When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present</a></span>. In this book, Collins, most recognized for her work with the <em>New York Times </em>and for being the first woman to serve as the paper’s Editorial Page Editor, offers up a comprehensive history of women’s progress throughout the last fifty years, most notably their transitions into the workforce, leadership in politics, and involvement in social justice movements. A few thoughts from those who gathered to discuss the book:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>What did you like most about Gail Collins’ book?</strong></p> <p>Chris: It was very readable and really moved along. It reminded me of some of the things that I had forgotten all about.</p> <p>Sam: I appreciated the mix of anecdotes and facts in the book. This made me, as a reader, feel like I had an understanding of the movement of woman’s rights but also know the voices of the people central to making things happen.</p> <p>Nikki: Collins really crafted an impressive story from start to finish, organized chronologically from events that precipitated the major changes of the 60s to more recent times, where events and personal stories weave in and out of one another quite seamlessly, and the reader is able to make connections from one point in time and one woman’s story to another point in time, and another woman’s story.</p> <p><strong>What was one new thing you learned from the book?</strong></p> <p>Chris: How the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) movement came out of the Civil Rights movement.</p> <p>Sam: The story about crazy early traffic ticket case where a woman was thrown out of court for wearing pants and her husband was reprimanded for allowing her to do that. <a href="http://www.bookpage.com/books-10012432-When+Everything+Changed" target="_blank">(The outrageous story of Lois Rabinowitz, an anecdote which begins Collins’ book.) </a></p> <p>Nikki: Echoing Chris' a-ha moment, I had no idea that the Equal Rights Amendment essentially first got its wheels when a legislator who was generally opposed to women’s rights tagged a sex discrimination prohibition on to the Civil Rights Act in an attempt to tank it. <strong></strong></p> <p><strong>What is something you already knew, but think other people should know too?</strong></p> <p>Chris: That in the ‘60s women could basically be nurses, teachers or secretaries. There were essentially no female lawyers, doctors, or executives and not many scientists either.</p> <p>Sam: The presence and tension of women during the civil rights movement.</p> <p>Nikki: And now to echo Sam's sentiment… I knew that women were very active in civil rights efforts, and I knew that tensions existed between and among African-American women and Anglo-American women in this movement, but Collins did a really good job of illustrating all the ways in which women were in many cases the ones driving the movement in its earliest days, when activism was perhaps the most dangerous, and not yet very well-organized, and yet when the movement got off the ground, they were often pushed out of leadership positions and out of the limelight by men who were eventually willing to come on board. This period of time was a really fascinating part of Collins’ history.</p> <p><strong>What are you reading now?</strong></p> <p>Chris: Just finished <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Half Broke Horses </span>by Jeannette Walls. I would recommend that book to anybody; it was great. Currently reading <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Birdman</span> by Mo Hayder, about a horrible serial killer in London.</p> <p>Sam: <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Help</span> for bookclub (such a good book already!) and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">East of Eden</span> which I have been trucking through since May.</p> <p>Nikki: I just finished reading <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Help</span> for tonight’s Book Club meeting – it was great! Otherwise, I’ve been working on my own writing. I’m just now putting finishing touches on an essay about how women’s voices have been subjugated throughout history, inspired by a trip to the <a href="http://www.dellstorturemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Museum of Historic Torture Devices in the Wisconsin Dells</a> (really disturbing stuff). And when that’s done, I hope to finish Willie Nelson’s <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes</span> before moving on to our next Book Club book!</p> <p><strong>Why should the person reading this join the Planned Parenthood Book Club?</strong></p> <p>Chris: It’s a fun night out and we pick good books, better than the average book club, I think.</p> <p>Sam: It’s interesting to hear other people’s view of the woman’s movement in order to know how age, family situation, and other factors change the way this important movement is viewed.</p> <p>Nikki: It’s a really smart group of women and men from a variety of backgrounds, so interesting, fun discussions are always had. I also appreciate how, even though I sometimes feel (naively) like I’ve learned pretty much all I need to learn to formulate my worldview, it seems every so often one of the books we read throws that all into a spin, sometimes making me question my beliefs, other times solidifying those I already have.</p> </blockquote> <p>Intrigued? Join us for an upcoming Book Club! We’ll be meeting tonight at Trotter’s Café in St. Paul from 6-8PM to discuss Kathryn Stockett’s novel <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Help</span>. Even if you haven’t read it, feel free to join us for conversation and to help pick our next book. Or, contact us at <a href="mailto:volunteers@ppmns.org">volunteers@ppmns.org</a> to join our e-mail list and stay posted on upcoming meet-ups.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/a-look-at-the-planned-parenthood-book-club">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/a-look-at-the-planned-parenthood-book-club#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/IN5smDhIXFI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/a-look-at-the-planned-parenthood-book-club Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:10:00 -0800 From Our Archives: On this day in history, a visit from Dhanvanthi Rama Rau http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/fESe8q3Z9DI/from-our-archives-on-this-day-in-history-a-vi http://standwithus.posterous.com/from-our-archives-on-this-day-in-history-a-vi <p> <p>On this day in history, November 25, 1953, Planned Parenthood's Hennepin and Ramsey County Leagues co-sponsored a public lecture by India family planning guru Dhanvanthi Rama Rau on "India's Social Revolution," followed by an afternoon tea at the University of Minnesota's Campus Club. Her visit offered 1950s supporters of reproductive health just a glimpse into what would eventually become a vast network of Planned Parenthood member associations worldwide.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-24/keDzuqaibDhJuzCdtczdkFzwefJkfDdlFEcrhBikqCslcuptBACrjzBBsewk/rama_rau.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Rama_rau" height="303" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-24/keDzuqaibDhJuzCdtczdkFzwefJkfDdlFEcrhBikqCslcuptBACrjzBBsewk/rama_rau.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Called the "Margaret Sanger of India," Rama Rau (1893-1987) was founder and president of the Family Planning Association of India, and also served as president of the International Planned Parenthood Association from 1963-1971. Born to a large family of six brothers and five sisters, her own mother was a pioneer, and in the late 19th Century wrote articles in a women's magazine arguing the case for equal rights, drawing from her own experiences as a woman.<p />A young Rama Rau bucked the trend set by her older sisters and much of Indian society by not marrying young, and instead enrolling at the Presidency College of the Madras University. There, she set a new trend as one of the first Indian women to attend college (and to later teach at an institution of higher learning in the country), and as one of only 11 women in a student body of 700 men, daily endured protests by her male colleagues. <p />Her career as an educator led her to a life of social activism, working to abolish child marriage and to promote suffrage and equal citizenship for women, but her primary concern was for family planning and birth control. <p />In the early 1950s, Margaret Sanger suggested that the Family Planning Association of India, of which she was president, invite the Third International Conference on Planned Parenthood to meet in Bombay, and Rama Rau gathered together her small but experienced group of volunteer social workers to make it happen. A large American contingent was present at the conference, including Sanger and population expert/Planned Parenthood leader William Vogt, as well as delegations from 12 other countries. At the time, this history-making conference helped put Planned Parenthood on the map as India's newest welfare service.<p />Dhanvanthi Rama Rau's memoirs, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">An Inheritance</span>, were first published in 1977, and her daughter and granddaughter followed in her footsteps as smart and independent women. Her daughter, Santha Rama Rau, was a well-known writer and her granddaughter, Aisha Wayle, became the first woman to own a London investment company. <p />Today, the <a href="http://www.ippf.org/en/" target="_blank">International Planned Parenthood Federation</a> (IPPF) continues the important work of Rama Rau and others like her. Formed in 1952 at Rama Rau's Bombay conference, today IPPF is a global service provider and leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, with regional offices in Nairobi, Tunis, Brussels, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and New York, and a global headquarters in London. Nearly sixty years after its inception, IPPF is one of the world's largest organizations, with more service delivery points than McDonald's, working in over 170 countries as a global network of member associations. Approximately 36 million visits a year are made to IPPF's over 58,000 worldwide facilities.</p> <p>At Planned Parenthood, innovative thinkers and inspiring leaders pass through our doors every single day, as Dhavanthi Rama Rau and others have before them. It's exhilarating to imagine what great movements they will have sparked in the decades to come!</p> <p><em>Information and image courtesy of University of Minnesota's Social Welfare History Archives. </em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/from-our-archives-on-this-day-in-history-a-vi">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/from-our-archives-on-this-day-in-history-a-vi#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/fESe8q3Z9DI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/from-our-archives-on-this-day-in-history-a-vi Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:18:00 -0800 Construction to begin on flagship health center! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/fRj3AkQbGPs/construction-to-begin-on-flagship-health-cent http://standwithus.posterous.com/construction-to-begin-on-flagship-health-cent <p> <p>Check out this big empty lot! (Or, if you're more heavy machinery-inclined, check out this sweet Caterpillar 330B Hydraulic Excavator.)</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-23/JhCqwdvzfkdEBxrjsDGfIzvEACBkGvGjohuABqoCvuDjsmhtFIiiczmxIHym/CAT.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Cat" height="326" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-23/JhCqwdvzfkdEBxrjsDGfIzvEACBkGvGjohuABqoCvuDjsmhtFIiiczmxIHym/CAT.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Aside from the excavator, there's nothing much there. So why are we so excited about this big empty lot?</p> <p>Because we can visualize what will be there soon.</p> <p>In just over a year, this big empty lot - and its big yellow CAT - will be replaced with Planned Parenthood's new flagship health care center and administrative headquarters, with 46,000 square feet allowing for streamlined operations, improved access, and, most importantly, better security for patients, while also bringing vitality to an underused area of St. Paul's Central Corridor.</p> <p>In just over a year, a big, bright, environmentally-friendly building will sit on this big empty lot, and its walls will be filled with enthusiastic youth, participating in Planned Parenthood's peer education programs, coming together to learn and share. Volunteers, young and old, donating their time and efforts now as they have for nearly one hundred years to ensure women and families have access to health care and education. Patients coming through the doors to access the attentive, high-quality medical care they deserve, all across the spectrum of reproductive health care services including birth control, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for infections, advanced gynecological care, and routine physicals for women and men, as well as pregnancy testing, counseling, abortion care, and referrals for adoption and prenatal care. And a dedicated staff, working together to see it all happen. Community education, involvement and health care, all under one roof.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Aerial_building" height="241" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-23/sHbEbksurzswepkDEIwhsEhbFmdFEjqAtymIEFHgEIdcDgoBuoxamofHokqp/aerial_building.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="450" /> </div> </p> <p>Planned Parenthood is proud to be here for the community, as we have been in the area for over eighty years, and so we would be remiss not to also make mention of the generous donors who have been here for Planned Parenthood, who have helped ensure Planned Parenthood can continue to serve the community. The building that will soon house all these essential activities is being fully funded through the generosity of our donors. Thank you for believing in us!</p> <p>Education. Volunteers. Patients. Community supporters who believe in us. This, our friends, is why we are excited about this big empty lot, and hope you are too. Keep checking back for updates as we progress toward our open date - when a vibrant, community-centered building will be sitting in this big empty lot - slated for late 2011!</p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/construction-to-begin-on-flagship-health-cent">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/construction-to-begin-on-flagship-health-cent#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/fRj3AkQbGPs" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/construction-to-begin-on-flagship-health-cent Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:44:00 -0800 Join us in the Great Minnesota Give Together, and Give to the Max! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/IcIUEQRnIvQ/join-us-in-the-great-minnesota-give-together http://standwithus.posterous.com/join-us-in-the-great-minnesota-give-together <p> <p>Tuesday is Give to the Max Day, a day for Minnesotans to come together online at <a href="http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Planned-Parenthood-Minnesota-North-Dakota-South-Dakota" target="_blank">GiveMN</a> to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits during a 24 hour period, starting at midnight on November 16th and ending at midnight on the 17th. And it's a chance for you to see your dollar go further!</p> <p><a href="http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Planned-Parenthood-Minnesota-North-Dakota-South-Dakota" target="_blank"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Gttm_logo" height="168" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-12/aiHBnbAFzmscfHjrwqqjjsByjGxBrJGIIqgrlzHykkmntHrecAhCJsHnfBkk/GTTM_logo.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="167" /> </div> </a></p> <p>Last year, over 3,400 Minnesota nonprofits participated in this 24-hour giving period and because of 469 supporters like YOU, Planned Parenthood received the 7th highest overall rating!</p> <p>The folks at GiveMN must know how much we Minnesotans like doing things together - whether it's eating cheese curds and Pronto Pups or giving to our favorite charitable organizations - because this year they've named their daylong drive The Great Minnesota Give Together.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Statefair" height="504" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-12/GlsofaBephhxlsqHAfapAvvvaJlwEJgspJeBzgzcnsCcfbGavhjbdudzfovc/statefair.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="498" /> </div> </p> <p><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>Planned Parenthood at the Great Minnesota Get Together way-back-when, and now a part of the Great Minnesota Give Together!</em></span></p> <p>The idea behind this "Give Together" is on one day to inspire unprecedented levels of charitable giving in the state of Minnesota. <a href="http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Planned-Parenthood-Minnesota-North-Dakota-South-Dakota" target="_blank">Your participation on this day </a>means additional funding for Planned Parenthood to help support its clinical services and educational programs.</p> <p>For example,</p> <p>- The top two nonprofits that attract the largest number of individual donors on Give to the Max Day will be awarded a prize grant of $20,000 and $10,000. For PPMNS, this could buy a much-needed colposcope or fund the translation of education materials in Spanish and Hmong to meet the needs of our diverse and growing communities.</p> <p>- Throughout the event, an individual donor will be randomly chosen every hour to receive a "Golden Ticket" - an additional $1,000 added to their donation! The more supporters we have visit and make gifts for Give to the Max Day 2010, the better Planned Parenthood's chances of winning Golden Tickets and receiving additional, mission-critical funds.</p> <p><strong>Imagine if you win the Golden Ticket - what a fun way to give!</strong></p> <p>Plus, we received a matching grant so the first $38,000 in donations will be matched dollar for dollar!</p> <p><em>All contributions to Planned Parenthood MNS through GiveMN go to our 501(c)3 organization and are tax deductible.</em></p> <p><a href="http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Planned-Parenthood-Minnesota-North-Dakota-South-Dakota" target="_blank">You can donate here</a>, and if you have any questions, please contact <a href="mailto:gifts@ppmns.org">gifts@ppmns.org</a> or call 612.821.6190.</p> <p>And our deepest apologies if we've left you craving cheese curds and with Charlie singing "I've Got a Golden Ticket!" in your head.</p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/join-us-in-the-great-minnesota-give-together">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/join-us-in-the-great-minnesota-give-together#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/IcIUEQRnIvQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/join-us-in-the-great-minnesota-give-together Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:20:00 -0800 From Our Archives: Our patients, seventy years ago http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/kPvf5a_jI2M/33089656 http://standwithus.posterous.com/33089656 <p> <p>Imagine yourself walking for the first time into the Minneapolis Planned Parenthood clinic, located downtown next to the State Theatre, seventy years ago today.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-10/flysfebFpwvIqxodGJgIrhpaEAmdevqyBrmkuyuhhaCAkxdsmdtzJbkJkFDi/PPH_021.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Pph_021" height="603" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-10/flysfebFpwvIqxodGJgIrhpaEAmdevqyBrmkuyuhhaCAkxdsmdtzJbkJkFDi/PPH_021.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Image courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society</em></span></p> <p>Perhaps you are twenty-eight, married for nearly eleven years to a laborer whose poor eyesight prevents him from working. You work in a knitting factory for a weekly wage of $13, much of which goes to pay for your home, a modest 3-room house which boasts toilet facilities, but no bath. You have two boys – eight and ten – and after a difficult delivery in 1931 were advised not to have another pregnancy.</p> <p>A woman waiting in line ahead of you is forty-two, has a fifth-grade education, and has been married almost twenty years to a farmer who makes $15 a week plus free room for the family. She has had ten pregnancies, resulting in nine children ranging in age from one to nineteen. Her second pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage, and she had tried unsuccessfully to abort her last pregnancy after taking “Gold Medal” tablets proved an unreliable form of birth control. You hear her explain to the nurse that she is in very poor health.</p> <p>Walking in just behind you is a twenty-five-year-old woman, referred by her OB clinic after a series of difficult pregnancies. She herself has only had five pregnancies, resulting in five children – aged six, five, four, two, and a little baby – but lives with a total of eleven people in her family’s five-room house. Her husband caught his hand in a buzz saw on the farm three weeks ago, and may lose it. He has since been unable to work, and so she lives with his family, with her parents-in-law supporting the whole clan on $50 a month sent from the U.S. government for a son buried in France, plus a $3 a week cream check.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-10/agBEveEnlszjGCdDsBHAfBtbrmafDGlDIqzrjybvEdnxoyDqdcqFbHAhxcih/intakeform2.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Intakeform2" height="635" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-10/agBEveEnlszjGCdDsBHAfBtbrmafDGlDIqzrjybvEdnxoyDqdcqFbHAhxcih/intakeform2.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Later that afternoon, another woman will walk to the clinic from her third-floor apartment six blocks away in the direction of the Mississippi. Referred by a social worker at Minneapolis General Hospital, this woman is thirty, married fifteen years to an auto serviceman who makes $25 a week to support them and their five children, the first of which she had at the age of sixteen. She has been pregnant fifteen times in her fifteen years of marriage, and in addition to her five children has had six spontaneous miscarriages, two self-induced miscarriages (both resulting in an infection and requiring a doctor’s intervention), and two therapeutic miscarriages (both advised by her doctor when she began bleeding during her pregnancies).</p> <p>Another woman referred earlier in the week by General Hospital is forty and has nine children, aged twenty-two to two months. She has in the past induced at least five abortions, but when she hemorrhaged badly after the last and nearly died, reconciled herself to her subsequent four pregnancies. </p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Nurses_2" height="484" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-10/iBJzbGvaxIvFrqlCgstbjpeAeamevhhjDxCbIvJtgmpDvmhcoIzxckGvqbJc/nurses_2.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="499" /> </div> </p> <p>The thing you have in common – you know little about how to effectively space your pregnancies. It’s not that you’re ignorant – you’ve talked to your friends, your doctor, your mother, and the best you can come up with is to ask your husband to use the withdrawal method. Which you’ve been doing. And still, you have two, five, nine children.</p> <p>These were all real women seen by Planned Parenthood just before America was entering the Second World War.</p> <p>But Planned Parenthood was around even before then, and over five thousand women had passed through its doors before this day, seventy years ago. Women who were reporting their lives were changed the day they visited the little office on Hennepin Avenue. Women like "Mrs. X," seen first in March 1938 after being referred by her sister, also a patient.</p> <p>When Mrs. X first visited the Planned Parenthood clinic, she was thirty-six (though her intake form indicates she looked much older) and was supporting eight children with her husband, a laborer who made $27 a week. Then her husband lost his job and moved the family to a county north of Minneapolis, located in what was described as a “most desolate part of (the) state, that area of sand hills and marshes, burned stumps and scrub poplars.”</p> <p>That September, six months after her first visit, Mrs. X wrote to Planned Parenthood asking if it would be possible for the staff to send her some more birth control supplies, even though she could not pay for them and now lived far away. Her letter read, “If thanks and appreciation could pay, you would have an endless fountain. Our food supply goes so shy here that everything else must be secondary. So I say, meaning it very deeply, ‘God bless the work you do.’ Thanks.”</p> <p>Her letters didn’t end there.</p> <blockquote> <p>January 1939: <em>It is a wonderful thing to be mother of such a nice looking, well built bunch of kids like we have, but it is a wonderful relief to feel that there won’t be any more coming to share our poverty.</em></p> <p>May 1939: <em>Have you any idea of the wonderful peace of mind you give me when you send me supplies? I cannot put it into words. Never before in the nearly sixteen years of having children have I had a baby two years old with out expecting another. Our home life is gradually changing for the better. Tho we are still trying to feed our 8 children and meet all expenses, with 6 children in school, on $44 a month, and sometimes going a little hungry to do it, still my health is better both physically and mentally.</em></p> <p>August 1939: <em>By careful spending I am beginning to get a few of the necessities of decent living, bedding, towels and dishes. The process is slow but where the burden gets no heavier I feel encouraged.</em></p> <p>September 1939: <em>I never seem able to send you any pay for the kindness you show me. I wish to goodness I could work it out. Does it help any when I tell you I am getting my mental health back. I am still terrible absentminded but I can think without being sick abed because of the effort used. My baby is 2 ½ years old and I am still not pregnant. Words can’t express how I thank you for your help. And if I can ever get the 3 year old clothing debt paid up I’ll try to pay you for your help in making life pleasanter for us both.</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Women and men today seem to know much more about pregnancy prevention and have greater resources than ever before, thanks to the work of generations of nurses, doctors, social workers, and educators at Planned Parenthood and at countless other organizations in Minneapolis and beyond. </p> <p>While we are happy (and relieved) to report it’s become much less common for one woman to share that after feeding and clothing her eight children she’s finally able to save up a little for bedding, towels and dishes, or for another woman to share that her last four children were born only because she nearly died after inducing her fifth abortion, the 1950s, the 80s, 2010 have all brought new and unique challenges to families.</p> <p>We’re as proud as ever to do all we can to ensure that women and their families are healthy and happy by providing them with the information and resources they need to make responsible, empowered decisions. And we will be proud to serve thousands more - no matter what their history, their circumstance, their story - long into the future.</p> <p><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Information and images, except where otherwise noted, courtesy of the Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota.</span></em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/33089656">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/33089656#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/kPvf5a_jI2M" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/33089656 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700 It's Election Day! In case you need a nudge... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/w3nUJTs8u3I/its-election-day-in-case-you-need-a-nudge http://standwithus.posterous.com/its-election-day-in-case-you-need-a-nudge <p> <p>Wondering whether you should vote today? We know what you might be thinking...</p> <p><em>I'm really busy. It won't really hurt anyone if I work over my lunch break instead of going to vote. </em></p> <p><em>It's a midterm election. No new president, no big deal. </em></p> <p><em>I'm just one person. When it comes down to it, my vote doesn't matter. And I really should return these jeans to the mall...</em></p> <p><em>I have a question about voting and<a href="http://www.sos.state.mn.us/" target="_blank"> know that there's a place online to find an answer to that question</a>... and I know that if I'm too lazy to check that, I could probably ask one of my many politically-active friends who won't just shut up about the election already... but, well, I have better things to do than figure this stuff out, y'know? I have work to do, gossip blogs to read. </em></p> <p><em>Polling place? Polling place?!? Where the heck is that?!?</em></p> <p>If this sounds like you, take a moment to consider this...</p> <p>The headline of the<em> New York Times</em> on this day in 1920 read as follows: "The greatest voting day in the city's history." And why was that?</p> <p>90 years ago today, American women voted for the first time ever in a presidential election. This came after over 70 years of struggle, starting with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, with women suffragists fighting all those years, often times enduring jail time for attempting to vote, until Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, prohibiting state and federal agencies from gender-based restrictions on voting.</p> <p>History 101. You've probably heard all this before. But really think about it. Do you have a grandmother in her 90s? When she was a little girl, her mother, your great-grandmother, was prohibited by law from voting. And if your great-grandmother was headstrong - imagine she was responsible for a family, a business, a home, and thought to herself, "You know, I should be able to vote right alongside every man with the same brains and responsibility as I have!" - she could have been jailed for attempting to do so.</p> <p>90 years. A lifetime, sure, but when you consider voting as a basic human right, it seems not that long ago.</p> <p>And so, today. November 2, 2010. If you are that person who is busy. Who feels like her vote doesn't matter all that much. Who has jeans to return to the mall. If the fervor of elections or civic responsibility of voting isn't reason enough for you to go to the polls, then do it for those women who fought long and hard for the right prior to 1920. For those who were thrown in jail for trying to do so before then. Do it for your great-grandmother, because she should have had the right then, but didn't. And you do now.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-01/iiDvlGxigxJfCzdFqdHuzgsqAmkzbIncxccIkxmqyyFBdEBtEzJGAausvfqu/suffrage.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Suffrage" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-01/iiDvlGxigxJfCzdFqdHuzgsqAmkzbIncxccIkxmqyyFBdEBtEzJGAausvfqu/suffrage.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of Library of Congress</span></em></p> <p>Oh, and polling place?!? You can find it <a href="http://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us/" target="_blank">here</a>. If you have any additional questions about voting, check out the <a href="http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=134" target="_blank">Secretary of State's website devoted to election day </a>or call the Election Information Hotline: 1.877.600.VOTE (8683).</p> <p>Now get to it!</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-01/BgzayHeyBlHtvtHHjAzlIgkkADItynrkosovFDBJbdaptmrjthuxgJBrqtzh/suffrage2.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Suffrage2" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-11-01/BgzayHeyBlHtvtHHjAzlIgkkADItynrkosovFDBJbdaptmrjthuxgJBrqtzh/suffrage2.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of Library of Congress</span></span></em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/its-election-day-in-case-you-need-a-nudge">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/its-election-day-in-case-you-need-a-nudge#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/w3nUJTs8u3I" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/its-election-day-in-case-you-need-a-nudge Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:11:00 -0700 This Day in History: Co-Inventor of the Birth Control Pill Born http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/L1T1UM7Ry-E/this-day-in-history-co-inventor-of-the-birth http://standwithus.posterous.com/this-day-in-history-co-inventor-of-the-birth <p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">On this day in 1923, a boy was born in Vienna, the son of a Jewish couple – an Austrian woman named Alice Friedmann and a Bulgarian man, Samuel Djerassi. This boy, Carl Djerassi, lived in Vienna with his mother where he attended the same school as Sigmund Freud and spent his summers with his father in Bulgaria, until he and his mother were forced to flee Vienna to escape the Nazi regime. His parents divorced, and Carl and his mother eventually emigrated to the United States, arriving with no more than $20 between them. That $20 was promptly stolen by a cab driver.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="450px-carldjerassidortmund_038" height="600" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-10-29/iFusdcvHudulBjnzhiGcrIiArszCqlaukrifpHbIgpxehEHkiaAFyiuybbAp/450px-CarlDjerassiDortmund_038.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="450" /> </div> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carl Djerassi</span></span></strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Photograph courtesy of <a href="http://duesseldorf.usconsulate.gov">http://duesseldorf.usconsulate.gov</a></span></em></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">As with so many immigrant tales, the story didn’t end there; his mother found work, and Carl studied chemistry at Kenyon College, where he graduated <em style="">summa cum laude</em> before eventually receiving his PhD from the University of Wisconsin. While working for a New Jersey pharmaceutical company, he developed his first patent, the first commercial antihistamine. But this was only a first of firsts for this scientist, bringing us to why this man is a notable figure in our history at Planned Parenthood. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">While working for a pharmaceutical company in Mexico City established to manufacture therapeutic steroids using locally-grown Mexican wild yams in the early 1950s, Carl and his colleagues synthesized norethindrone, a progestin-analogue that was effective when taken orally and which became part of the first successful oral contraceptive pill. The Pill. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Carl Djerassi went on to become a professor at Stanford, worked for a time as president of Syntex Laboratories, helped develop pest control products that work without insecticides, then moved on to become a writer in what he describes the “science-in-fiction” genre, as well as in drama. A well-known art collector, he has willed his extensive collection of Pual Klee paintings to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and has developed a residential/work space for artists in California. He was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Nixon in 1973 for his work on the birth control pill, has won numerous other awards and his face now appears on an Austrian postage stamp. There’s also a glacier named after him in Antarctica. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">But his impact is far greater than what you see stamped on the mail in Austria or on remote icy islands in Antarctica. Thanks to Djerassi, his colleagues, and researchers like him, women now have greater power to plan and space their pregnancies, which has in the last half century brought about a tidal wave of change in their options for work, for education, for family, for health, and for freedom. As we at Planned Parenthood work to ensure women have access to the possibilities science has opened up for all of us, it’s easy to forget that those options were fewer only sixty years ago, and harder still to imagine what science will offer us sixty years from now. </span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/this-day-in-history-co-inventor-of-the-birth">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/this-day-in-history-co-inventor-of-the-birth#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/L1T1UM7Ry-E" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/this-day-in-history-co-inventor-of-the-birth Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:50:00 -0700 5 Questions with Lara Brown: supporter, social work student, and volunteer extraordinaire. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~3/GifGEoLysQE/5-questions-with-lara-brown-supporter-social http://standwithus.posterous.com/5-questions-with-lara-brown-supporter-social <p> <table class="mnTbl"> <tr> <td class="cntnttp"> <table class="w100"> <tr> <td> <table class="w100"> <tr> <td class="bdy"> <div class="bdy"> <div class="BodyFragment"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <div class="PlainText"><span style="font-size: small;">Five years ago, something amazing happened at Planned Parenthood: Lara Brown submitted an application to become a volunteer. Yes, this is how we feel anytime someone submits an application to become a volunteer, because we love our volunteers. But for us, "amazing" turns to "spectacular" when that volunteer continues to share their time, energy and talents with us year after year, even through many life changes.</span></div> <em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></em> <div class="PlainText"><em><span><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Lara_brown" height="480" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-10-22/jqnEawzkFuwoECvyHkyycadanhkDgygiEHbxvhtpwItJplwtmfACyFfmqnGD/lara_brown.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="373" /> </div> </span></em></div> <div class="PlainText"><em><span>Lara Brown, Volunteer Extraordinaire</span></em></div> <p /> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <div class="PlainText"><span style="font-size: small;">When Lara first joined us, she was working in the corporate world and spent her time with us doing outreach as a Community Ambassador, and delivering trainings to our new volunteers as a Community Education Facilitator. In these roles, she was integral in ensuring the community received essential information about Planned Parenthood services and that our volunteers were well-informed on basics of birth control and sexually transmitted infections. </span></div> <p /> <div class="PlainText"><span style="font-size: small;">Now, Lara is a graduate student preparing for work in a world far different from where she was five years ago, and she has for now set aside her outreach and training hats to adopt a new role in the Volunteer Program, screening and placing prospective volunteers and interns. We rely on her to ensure we remain engaged with the community by welcoming new supporters and finding ways for them to get involved at Planned Parenthood. Here's what Lara's volunteer experience has been like, in Lara's words.</span></div> <div class="PlainText"><p /> <strong>Tell us about what you do as a volunteer.</strong><p /> I talk to people who want to volunteer at Planned Parenthood, help them find a position that is a good match for them, and get them started on the process of becoming an official PP volunteer. I'm on sabbatical from facilitating the Basics of Birth Control and Basics of STIs classes after doing that for years. <p /> <strong> Thinking back to years ago when you first contacted Planned Parenthood about volunteering, what was it that made you decide to donate your time here rather than at one of the many other great organizations in town? </strong><p /> George Bush, the younger, was in office and therefore responsible for appointing Supreme Court Justices, which scared the bejesus out of me for a lot of reasons. First and foremost was my concern that Roe v. Wade could get overturned or amended in a way that would be really, really bad for women. So, I thought about where I could best use my fear and disdain about other people being in charge of my body and Planned Parenthood was a natural fit. <p /> <strong>What keeps you coming back?</strong><p /> Other volunteers, working for an organization that endorses the same things I value, Nikki Miller (Director of Volunteer Programs), and a pathological need to see the folder full of new volunteer phone sheets to be empty. <p /> <strong>What do you do when you're not volunteering with us, and how has your work with the organization affected your life outside of Planned Parenthood? And vice versa - what do you bring to Planned Parenthood? </strong><p /> I am a student in the Social Work program at the U, an intern at Neighborhood Involvement Program, and a volunteer/student mental health clinician at Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, where we see clients who don't have insurance at no cost to them. <p /> I spent years working in the for-profit world where I worked with some great people, got to travel on work's dime, and learned a lot. But, it became clear to me a couple years ago that I wanted to be doing something that felt a little weightier. I'd been volunteering for years and that helped me get accepted to graduate school which will steer me in a whole new direction. <p /> <strong> What advice do you have to supporters who would like to help Planned Parenthood? </strong><p /> Do it! You can volunteer on a regular basis or be part of the annual counter protest on Good Friday. You can make a donation. Or, you can be an overacheiver and do both!</div> <em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></em> <div class="PlainText"><br /> <em><span style="font-size: small;">Thanks, Lara, for giving us low-down on volunteering at Planned Parenthood and, of course, for volunteering over the years! Like you, we are also happy when you've called through all those phone sheets, as are all the prospective volunteers who get to hear your lovely voice!</span></em></div> <p /> <div class="PlainText"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">For more information on volunteering, contact our Volunteer Program at 612.821.6113 or <a href="mailto:volunteers@ppmns.org">volunteers@ppmns.org</a>. </span></strong></div> </div> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="nvft"> <table class="hdvt"> <tr> <td class="ihdv"><img src="https://mail.orbits.net/owa/8.1.393.1/themes/base/clear.gif" alt="" /></td> </tr> </table> <table class="qbt"> <tr> <td class="txt" colspan="2"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="crv"><img src="https://mail.orbits.net/owa/8.1.393.1/themes/base/crvbtmlt.gif" alt="" /></td> <td class="btm"><img src="https://mail.orbits.net/owa/8.1.393.1/themes/base/clear.gif" alt="" /></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign="bottom"></td> </tr> </table> </p> <p><a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/5-questions-with-lara-brown-supporter-social">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://standwithus.posterous.com/5-questions-with-lara-brown-supporter-social#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StandWithUsBlog/~4/GifGEoLysQE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/536597/pp-avatar.png http://posterous.com/users/5AAZRUNhdGPn WebEditor WebEditor WebEditor http://standwithus.posterous.com/5-questions-with-lara-brown-supporter-social en-us