It's a coincidence that Tuesday was the day I picked to spotlight organizations; Tuesday is also when my Circles workshop is held. Last Tuesday was discouraging, so I didn't have it in me to write. Part and parcel of the work. It is a difficult to thing to completely change one's habits and mindsets and orient oneself to a new worldview. Which is what the participants of the workshop have to do. It is hard work for them. When they are done, we put on a big graduation celebration for them.
They aren't done, though. Now they are called "Circle Leaders," and they are matched with two Allies.
(This is where the volunteer part comes in).
An Ally is a volunteer, who agrees to partner with a Circle Leader and walk alongside them as they work on meeting the goals they have set for themselves, whether that be earning a GED, eliminating a chunk of debt, or starting college. The Allies and Circle Leader form a "Circle," and it meets the first Thursday of every month for two hours, for 18 consecutive months. All of the Circles meet together for a meal and sharing "New and Goods" (at every Circles event, each person in the room takes a turn sharing something new and/or good that has happened to them since the last meeting. It could be "I got a job!" or "My grandbaby smiled at me for the first time!" or "Thank goodness soccer practice ends this week!"). Then each Circle meets together, catching up and sharing progress (or lack thereof) on goals.
The idea is to give Circle Leaders both more resources and more support. It is also to involve middle class individuals in the fight against poverty, upping their investment in making the community a better place for EVERYBODY.
Speaking of that, people can also volunteer to be part of our Guiding Coalition, a group that works to make changes in the larger community. But I'll talk more about that next week. Because I skipped last week and I still get one more week to talk about this. Because, you know, I make the rules about this blog;)
It is tough work being an Ally, too, I'm not going to give false illusions. But I will say, as I often do, that sometimes the most rewarding things to be involved with are kind of hard sometimes. As an Ally, you will form new friendships and gain new perspective. You might even be completely inspired.
How's that for a pitch for volunteers? :)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
No Girls Allowed
It was a good college football weekend in our household. Friday night, we joined friends and tailgated before the 8:00 SU football game. It was a blast. We ended up watching the game at home, however, because it became apparent that our six year old was not going to make it through the whole game. Did we want to spend all of that money only to have to leave halfway through? Or spend the game in misery. We were not going to have seats by our friends, and the family with Anna's buddy decided to skip watching in the Dome too. So we watched SU whoop up on WV from our couch.
Saturday night, we had a brownie sundae party in front of the MSU/WI game. The kids went to bed before halftime, and Mom fell asleep somewhere in the 4th quarter. I know, when a lot of the action was. Controversial ending - but in favor of the Rozelle's Spartans.
I did catch a commercial that caught my attention. Often times, football commercials are not exactly friendly to women, at least not those of the feminist variety. The whole idea of something being blatantly marketed "not for women" will of course snag my interest.
My husband, after viewing it commented,"That is so dumb. I don't think men, at least in my generation, have any hang-ups about drinking diet soda."
What jumps out at me is the desperation to corner something "manly." Men protecting something that is "theirs." This seems innocuous on the surface. Why can men not have their own things? Women have some of their own things, right? True.
I would like to raise one point. It seems that often men fight to the teeth to protect something of theirs when it is a thing of power and privilege. It bothers me when the thing being guarded is a bastion of male dominance. Like football.
What sport pulls down the most money? The NFL makes money hand over fist. Superbowl ad slots cost an unbelievable amount. A college protects their football program because it is their biggest moneymaker. Maybe men's basketball is a distant second. But football programs are the golden calf. SU's football coach is more highly paid than any other SU employee. And SU is not exactly the best football team around. Football translates to power.
Now I happen to enjoy a good football game. I don't want to ruin all of your fun. Just something to think about.
Saturday night, we had a brownie sundae party in front of the MSU/WI game. The kids went to bed before halftime, and Mom fell asleep somewhere in the 4th quarter. I know, when a lot of the action was. Controversial ending - but in favor of the Rozelle's Spartans.
I did catch a commercial that caught my attention. Often times, football commercials are not exactly friendly to women, at least not those of the feminist variety. The whole idea of something being blatantly marketed "not for women" will of course snag my interest.
My husband, after viewing it commented,"That is so dumb. I don't think men, at least in my generation, have any hang-ups about drinking diet soda."
What jumps out at me is the desperation to corner something "manly." Men protecting something that is "theirs." This seems innocuous on the surface. Why can men not have their own things? Women have some of their own things, right? True.
I would like to raise one point. It seems that often men fight to the teeth to protect something of theirs when it is a thing of power and privilege. It bothers me when the thing being guarded is a bastion of male dominance. Like football.
What sport pulls down the most money? The NFL makes money hand over fist. Superbowl ad slots cost an unbelievable amount. A college protects their football program because it is their biggest moneymaker. Maybe men's basketball is a distant second. But football programs are the golden calf. SU's football coach is more highly paid than any other SU employee. And SU is not exactly the best football team around. Football translates to power.
Now I happen to enjoy a good football game. I don't want to ruin all of your fun. Just something to think about.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Circle of Empowerment
Tuesday's post got moved to today. Yesterday was crazy. My boss was out due to a scheduled surgery, and the other Circles Coach unexpectedly landed in the hospital. Tuesday is Circles Workshop day; I facilitate in the morning and my co-worker facilitates in the evening. This involves getting the food and setting up the space, handling all the paperwork, etc. It was a long, busy day yesterday.
The Circles workshop is a 15 week class that is meant to provide tools for a more stable life for participants. We screen interested individuals who are below poverty level, and those who pass commit to the workshop sessions. The workshops are designed to give people an accurate picture of what life is like for them right now, help them envision what life could be for them in the future, and work on the plans and steps in between the two. The material begins with the concept of what living in poverty is like: survival mode in a context of the tyranny of the moment. It introduces the theory of change: you can't get out of where you are now by doing the same things you are doing now. It talks about the rich/poor gap and how it works: the top 10% of the population possess 70% of the wealth, and the policies in place today will only increase that gap. We uncover the hidden rules of middle class society that the marketplace is based on; people in generational poverty are usually unaware of these and their importance. We talk about the eleven categories of resources (financial is only one category), and why each is important. We evaluate which resources we have as individuals and which we lack, then strategize about how to build those areas of resources we are low in. We conduct a community assessment to evaluate how well our community supports families, and talk about how to build community resources. We look at financial priorities, and how to develop a personal financial plan. Ultimately, each participant develops a detailed map of where they have been, where they are, and where they want to be, with specific and measurable goals they wish to work on over the next 18 months. (Which I will talk about next time).
Along the way, the participants learn a lot about themselves, society, political and economic systems, and exploitation. They form strong connections with one another, which gives them support while they work to change things in their lives. They have a Circles coach to help them troubleshoot, stay accountable, stay motivated, and connect to resources. The participants learn the joy of giving back and take up little responsibilities within the program, for which we try to reward them with points they accumulate and can redeem for computers (our favorite one, because of the necessity of a computer to navigate in the marketplace) and "fun" items they usually do not get to treat themselves to like movie tickets or restaurant gift certificates. (We gratefully accept donations of these types of things! *Said in my very best non-profit begging voice*!)
This is a powerful experience for those who commit themselves to it (including the coach). The underlying principle is that people are problem-solvers, and each person is the authority on their own experience.
It is difficult to describe the privilege of watching people become empowered to change their lives. It is inspiring to see our participants persisting in climbing over some pretty big obstacles. It is amazing to see them develop the courage to try new things, to test out their voices, and to buckle down and exercise impressive discipline. It has been an absolutely joyful experience to link arms with these women (and a few men).
And you can too. More on that next time;)
The Circles workshop is a 15 week class that is meant to provide tools for a more stable life for participants. We screen interested individuals who are below poverty level, and those who pass commit to the workshop sessions. The workshops are designed to give people an accurate picture of what life is like for them right now, help them envision what life could be for them in the future, and work on the plans and steps in between the two. The material begins with the concept of what living in poverty is like: survival mode in a context of the tyranny of the moment. It introduces the theory of change: you can't get out of where you are now by doing the same things you are doing now. It talks about the rich/poor gap and how it works: the top 10% of the population possess 70% of the wealth, and the policies in place today will only increase that gap. We uncover the hidden rules of middle class society that the marketplace is based on; people in generational poverty are usually unaware of these and their importance. We talk about the eleven categories of resources (financial is only one category), and why each is important. We evaluate which resources we have as individuals and which we lack, then strategize about how to build those areas of resources we are low in. We conduct a community assessment to evaluate how well our community supports families, and talk about how to build community resources. We look at financial priorities, and how to develop a personal financial plan. Ultimately, each participant develops a detailed map of where they have been, where they are, and where they want to be, with specific and measurable goals they wish to work on over the next 18 months. (Which I will talk about next time).
Along the way, the participants learn a lot about themselves, society, political and economic systems, and exploitation. They form strong connections with one another, which gives them support while they work to change things in their lives. They have a Circles coach to help them troubleshoot, stay accountable, stay motivated, and connect to resources. The participants learn the joy of giving back and take up little responsibilities within the program, for which we try to reward them with points they accumulate and can redeem for computers (our favorite one, because of the necessity of a computer to navigate in the marketplace) and "fun" items they usually do not get to treat themselves to like movie tickets or restaurant gift certificates. (We gratefully accept donations of these types of things! *Said in my very best non-profit begging voice*!)
This is a powerful experience for those who commit themselves to it (including the coach). The underlying principle is that people are problem-solvers, and each person is the authority on their own experience.
It is difficult to describe the privilege of watching people become empowered to change their lives. It is inspiring to see our participants persisting in climbing over some pretty big obstacles. It is amazing to see them develop the courage to try new things, to test out their voices, and to buckle down and exercise impressive discipline. It has been an absolutely joyful experience to link arms with these women (and a few men).
And you can too. More on that next time;)
Monday, October 10, 2011
To Female Awesomeness
Every once in awhile a story comes along that makes me marvel at a particular woman's awesomeness.
A woman just ran a marathon 39 weeks pregnant.
I was relegated to bedrest by my doctor for both of my pregnancies, so I didn't run much while pregnant. But even if I had been cleared to run, I was one of those women who vomited constantly. I can't even fathom this feat. All of that baby in there and she ran for 6 hours?! Wow. That's a whole level of tough I will never, ever reach. In fact, I didn't really love running while nursing, and never ran over a 5K while I was.
Anyway, this is impressive. But so many women are. Women for hundreds of years have been doing some seriously hard work while pregnant, then returning to it immediately after delivering a baby. Women run around sleep-deprived and sore, taking care of the kids and the household and apparently running long distances as well.
There are days I feel exhausted. I don't at all feel like tackling the chores ahead of me. But we women are capable of amazing things. I spent the weekend with 3 dear friends and as I listened to them talk about what they were up to these days, I was so proud of them. They are up to some pretty great stuff.
And so are you. I'm sure of it. Even if you aren't one of the few elite runners who runs a marathon and then delivers a baby (remember this trick, all of you who look for ways to get labor going at 42 weeks - wink, wink - I don't want to be officially held responsible for your torn groin muscles or heart failure...), you are probably doing some impressive stuff.
If Amber can deliver a baby after running a marathon, I can at least clean my wood floors when I come home from work, right?
A woman just ran a marathon 39 weeks pregnant.
I was relegated to bedrest by my doctor for both of my pregnancies, so I didn't run much while pregnant. But even if I had been cleared to run, I was one of those women who vomited constantly. I can't even fathom this feat. All of that baby in there and she ran for 6 hours?! Wow. That's a whole level of tough I will never, ever reach. In fact, I didn't really love running while nursing, and never ran over a 5K while I was.
Anyway, this is impressive. But so many women are. Women for hundreds of years have been doing some seriously hard work while pregnant, then returning to it immediately after delivering a baby. Women run around sleep-deprived and sore, taking care of the kids and the household and apparently running long distances as well.
There are days I feel exhausted. I don't at all feel like tackling the chores ahead of me. But we women are capable of amazing things. I spent the weekend with 3 dear friends and as I listened to them talk about what they were up to these days, I was so proud of them. They are up to some pretty great stuff.
And so are you. I'm sure of it. Even if you aren't one of the few elite runners who runs a marathon and then delivers a baby (remember this trick, all of you who look for ways to get labor going at 42 weeks - wink, wink - I don't want to be officially held responsible for your torn groin muscles or heart failure...), you are probably doing some impressive stuff.
If Amber can deliver a baby after running a marathon, I can at least clean my wood floors when I come home from work, right?
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
True Love
I love, love, love my Monday night group. Monday night happened to be my birthday, which was shaping up to be quite crappy for awhile. I ended up having to squeeze in a lot of running around and extra errands. I was in a lot of pain with what is either a stress fracture or tendon damage in my left foot. I was the only one in the office. It was raining. But I went to group. And there was a birthday cake and cards and presents and hugs and laughs there.
Normally we meet at my friend Cathy's house, but we have switched it up for 12 weeks and agreed to do a study lead by one of her sister-friend's moms at her house for a change. It is called "The Truth Project" and it is something put out by Focus on the Family.
Confession: I am not a fan of Focus on the Family.
But I am a big fan of my Monday night group. Where they go, I go. And I went into this venture as humbly and open-minded as I could.
Discussion time came after the video and I was really quiet. I am NEVER quiet on Monday nights. I was quiet because I didn't want the dear, sweet lady leading to be offended. And I didn't want to be negative. And I thought I might need some time to process and sort out if I was knee-jerking and would regret what I said later.
Today, after praying and thinking and looking at scripture, at my core I still disagree with an opening statement the gentleman in the video said.
He stated that Jesus did not come into the world to redeem us. He came to testify to the truth.
So if this were a geometry proof, then therefore (little 3 dot triangle) : the truth is not that Jesus came to redeem us? The truth is something else?
Every world religion claims to have the truth. Or at least be on the right path to seeking it.
No other world religion claims to have a Redeemer, who took our filthiness upon himself and took our punishment so that we could be free. I think the proof goes this way: Jesus came into the world to redeem us: that is the truth. If he didn't, what is the point in Christianity?
Jesus' love is what sets him apart from other religious deity. No other religion's god did what Jesus did. If that's the truth, great, I'm with ya. But do not say that Jesus did not come to redeem us. He did. Luke 19:10 "The Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." And this is not a reference to truth being lost. This is a reference to a particular individual (in this case Zacchaeus) being lost. I am not denying that Jesus came to testify to the truth - but I cannot swallow that Jesus did not come to seek out individual souls.
The gentleman on the video gave a series of verses in John that were supposed to prove that Jesus came to tell the truth. I read each one I managed to jot down, and they are all intricately linked with redemption.
John 1:17 - Grace (equal importance to truth here) and truth come through Jesus. What is grace? Jesus' redemptive action of taking our guilt on his shoulders, something we did not deserve.
John 14:6 - Jesus is the way, truth and life. Again, truth is not taking importance over way and life. How does he offer us life? Redemption. The way is through redemption. The truth is that we couldn't come to the Father if he hadn't provided the way.
John 17:17 - This is Jesus' prayer as he is going to the cross! He is asking for our protection and redemption. The plea for guarding us in truth is surrounded by his plea for our redemption.
John 4:24 - This is in the middle of the story of Jesus speaking to the woman at the well - a bold, defiant, status-quo-shattering act of Jesus that was nothing if not a demonstration of love. The truth was that he had the water she needed to drink. He was what she was searching for. Why? He loved her enough to die in her place.
John 8:32 - Jesus was just speaking about his upcoming death, which would redeem us. He then promised that the truth would set us free. What truth? That he redeemed our souls.
The redemption story, Jesus' love, is what stands out in a world of line-drawing and battling over who's right and wrong.
Normally we meet at my friend Cathy's house, but we have switched it up for 12 weeks and agreed to do a study lead by one of her sister-friend's moms at her house for a change. It is called "The Truth Project" and it is something put out by Focus on the Family.
Confession: I am not a fan of Focus on the Family.
But I am a big fan of my Monday night group. Where they go, I go. And I went into this venture as humbly and open-minded as I could.
Discussion time came after the video and I was really quiet. I am NEVER quiet on Monday nights. I was quiet because I didn't want the dear, sweet lady leading to be offended. And I didn't want to be negative. And I thought I might need some time to process and sort out if I was knee-jerking and would regret what I said later.
Today, after praying and thinking and looking at scripture, at my core I still disagree with an opening statement the gentleman in the video said.
He stated that Jesus did not come into the world to redeem us. He came to testify to the truth.
So if this were a geometry proof, then therefore (little 3 dot triangle) : the truth is not that Jesus came to redeem us? The truth is something else?
Every world religion claims to have the truth. Or at least be on the right path to seeking it.
No other world religion claims to have a Redeemer, who took our filthiness upon himself and took our punishment so that we could be free. I think the proof goes this way: Jesus came into the world to redeem us: that is the truth. If he didn't, what is the point in Christianity?
Jesus' love is what sets him apart from other religious deity. No other religion's god did what Jesus did. If that's the truth, great, I'm with ya. But do not say that Jesus did not come to redeem us. He did. Luke 19:10 "The Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." And this is not a reference to truth being lost. This is a reference to a particular individual (in this case Zacchaeus) being lost. I am not denying that Jesus came to testify to the truth - but I cannot swallow that Jesus did not come to seek out individual souls.
The gentleman on the video gave a series of verses in John that were supposed to prove that Jesus came to tell the truth. I read each one I managed to jot down, and they are all intricately linked with redemption.
John 1:17 - Grace (equal importance to truth here) and truth come through Jesus. What is grace? Jesus' redemptive action of taking our guilt on his shoulders, something we did not deserve.
John 14:6 - Jesus is the way, truth and life. Again, truth is not taking importance over way and life. How does he offer us life? Redemption. The way is through redemption. The truth is that we couldn't come to the Father if he hadn't provided the way.
John 17:17 - This is Jesus' prayer as he is going to the cross! He is asking for our protection and redemption. The plea for guarding us in truth is surrounded by his plea for our redemption.
John 4:24 - This is in the middle of the story of Jesus speaking to the woman at the well - a bold, defiant, status-quo-shattering act of Jesus that was nothing if not a demonstration of love. The truth was that he had the water she needed to drink. He was what she was searching for. Why? He loved her enough to die in her place.
John 8:32 - Jesus was just speaking about his upcoming death, which would redeem us. He then promised that the truth would set us free. What truth? That he redeemed our souls.
The redemption story, Jesus' love, is what stands out in a world of line-drawing and battling over who's right and wrong.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
In My Business
I've been a little busy lately. And this month I am going to force upon you one of the reasons that I don't have time to clean my house or blog.
Visions for Change
It's where my new internship is. And I love it. It's a complicated little poverty initiative to explain, but I will attempt to sum it up in 4 Tuesdays.
20 some years ago, Housing Visions started in Syracuse, taking blighted properties in run-down neighborhoods and completely renovating them in an eco-friendly, sustainable, profitable way. They are lovely, win energy-efficiency ratings, are made out of lots of recycled materials and are flat out beautiful. People's heads literally turn when they see a block of Housing Visions properties on a street. And, they rent them to low-income families who desire a safe, affordable home.
The venture made money, and the management noticed that clients needed other resources to truly get out of precarious life situations besides housings. That's when the Visions for Change arm of Housing Visions launched. It is a program that works with individuals who want to get out of poverty, and also works with the community to remove barriers to families in poverty.
There are 2 different focuses of the program - the Circles Initiative (works on the individual level), and the Guiding Coalition (works on the community level). I'll break those out over the next few weeks and explain them.
I want to close this post by saying that I would love to spend the rest of my career arm-in-arm with women who are working to get to a better place in life. This initiative provides hope. It provides support. It storms the walls between classes and races. It says that no family should be held beneath anyone's heels. It recognizes the value and dignity in each human being.
So we can all pray and cross our fingers and hope that the funding comes through to secure a position for me in the near future;)
Visions for Change
It's where my new internship is. And I love it. It's a complicated little poverty initiative to explain, but I will attempt to sum it up in 4 Tuesdays.
20 some years ago, Housing Visions started in Syracuse, taking blighted properties in run-down neighborhoods and completely renovating them in an eco-friendly, sustainable, profitable way. They are lovely, win energy-efficiency ratings, are made out of lots of recycled materials and are flat out beautiful. People's heads literally turn when they see a block of Housing Visions properties on a street. And, they rent them to low-income families who desire a safe, affordable home.
The venture made money, and the management noticed that clients needed other resources to truly get out of precarious life situations besides housings. That's when the Visions for Change arm of Housing Visions launched. It is a program that works with individuals who want to get out of poverty, and also works with the community to remove barriers to families in poverty.
There are 2 different focuses of the program - the Circles Initiative (works on the individual level), and the Guiding Coalition (works on the community level). I'll break those out over the next few weeks and explain them.
I want to close this post by saying that I would love to spend the rest of my career arm-in-arm with women who are working to get to a better place in life. This initiative provides hope. It provides support. It storms the walls between classes and races. It says that no family should be held beneath anyone's heels. It recognizes the value and dignity in each human being.
So we can all pray and cross our fingers and hope that the funding comes through to secure a position for me in the near future;)
Speak up!
This is Monday's post. I am going to share a letter with you that our Amanda wrote when something really bothered her. I loved it and asked if I could share it here.
I love it for several reasons. First, when we get upset about the injustice of something, we often just get upset. We don't channel that frustration into constructive action. Sometimes frustration is positive if it motivates us to try to change something that needs changing. But if we just get ourselves worked up, only complain to people in order to let off steam, or lash out ineffectively - our frustration is, well, frustrated. Amanda's letter is such a good channeling of frustration.
Secondly, what Amanda was frustrated about fits the content of this blog perfectly. Women's participation in the sporting world should not be discouraged by female objectification. I'll let Amanda's letter speak for itself:
I love it for several reasons. First, when we get upset about the injustice of something, we often just get upset. We don't channel that frustration into constructive action. Sometimes frustration is positive if it motivates us to try to change something that needs changing. But if we just get ourselves worked up, only complain to people in order to let off steam, or lash out ineffectively - our frustration is, well, frustrated. Amanda's letter is such a good channeling of frustration.
Secondly, what Amanda was frustrated about fits the content of this blog perfectly. Women's participation in the sporting world should not be discouraged by female objectification. I'll let Amanda's letter speak for itself:
I sent the following email tonight to ESPN, the station manager of 1530 ESPN radio in Cincinnati, and a Clear Channel executive.
I am a mother of two boys, ages seven and four. I grew up with a coach as a father and therefore immersed in the world of sports. I was the only girl attending all-boy baseball camps. I scouted high school football games. As I kept the scorebook for the varsity baseball team, I stole the opposing team's signals. I was a three sport varsity athlete in high school and participated in collegiate athletics. I am still a huge sports fan, avidly following the Reds, the Bengals, and college athletics.
This evening, I turned on my local ESPN radio station, 1530 in Cincinnati, hoping to find the Rays/Rangers game. But it wasn't on. I went to the station's website http://www.espn1530.com to see if I could find the upcoming schedule for the MLB playoffs. I don't have cable and so am relying on radio to keep up with the progress of the postseason.
Before I could navigate the page far enough to find the baseball broadcast information I was seeking, I instead found, under "Featured" listed first "Babes" accompanied by a picture of a woman who was clearly topless. The subtitles under "Babes" included "Hand Bras," "Blondes vs. Brunettes," "Spread 'Em," and "Let Me See That Thong." Also on the front page of this ESPN station's website was "Babe of the Day" and a "Check This Out" photo link with a picture of Holly Madison in a bikini.
I am not ignorant of the relationship of sex and sports (NFL cheerleaders, NBA dance squads, commercials/advertisements, etc.) But I do expect, especially from ESPN, a higher standard. I expect to be able to navigate my local ESPN radio station's website without feeling like a clearly unwelcome visitor. I am honestly surprised that ESPN would allow such content on something that so clearly bears their name.
I researched a bit and discovered that ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati is a Clear Channel station as well. I went to the Clear Channel website and read their Creed. http://www.clearchannel.com/Corporate/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=1165&p=hidden
A few of the things included in that creed jumped out at me, as they related to the content I found on the ESPN 1530 website.
The creed states the following:
We believe we have an obligation for the well-being of the communities in which we live. We further believe the future success of our communities and the industries where we do business is dependent upon the responsibility we feel, the high standards we set and the positive impact our actions have.
We believe excellence is the standard and we seek to achieve excellence by encouraging and nourishing these core values:
- Respect for the individual
We believe success is measured by:
- Maintaining the highest standards of ethics and integrity in every action we take and in everything we do.
This Clear Channel Creed was written 30 years ago by Clear Channel's Founder Lowry Mays. This Creed exhibits the operational vision for the company. It has, surprisingly, stood the test of time and remains the guiding light for our employees even during a time of growth and change. The Clear Channel Family is very proud of this Creed.
I honestly cannot reconcile the ideas held in this creed and the inclusion of "Babes" as a prominent feature on the website of ESPN 1530, a Clear Channel station.
As a parent, I feel like I have learned another valuable lesson tonight. As they get old enough to have independent computer time, my kids will not be allowed to browse ESPN or our local radio websites. It is not acceptable in my mind for my children to come across these images while trying to find the stats from last night's game.
I've noticed there are plenty of examples of sports websites where this is not the norm. The Reds website is completely devoid of any references to "Babes" or "Spread 'Em." The main ESPN website is free of them. MLB.com is not sporting a "Babe of the Week." I don't understand why it is OK for my local ESPN station to include these things.
As a sports fan, a woman, and a mother, I sincerely hope that this is something that can be changed immediately.
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