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Fall Semester - A New Beginning
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Center for Women & Community
Providing Leadership & Advocacy since 1972
Issue 4, October 2014
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In This Issue 

CWC Staff Updates


CWC Receives Grant Award

With Gratitude

Fall Support Groups

Celebrating Our Community

Upcoming Events

Alumni Spotlight

Upcoming Events

October Social Hour at WOCLN

Keeping it Consensual: Hooking up in College

Spoken Word Night
CWC Staff Updates
Welcome New Staff!  Last year our interns and volunteers provided over 16,000 hours of service to Hampshire County.  We offer our staff professional development and training that prepares them to not only work at CWC but to continue in their chosen career paths. 
 

This year all 50 new staff attended our center-wide weekend training which introduced them to CWC's guiding theories and principles of social justice, empowerment, and providing trauma informed services.  Staff continue with their training throughout the semester and will graduate as Information & Referral Specialists, Educator Advocates, Counselor Advocates and WOCLN Leaders in December.
 
Professional Staff Updates:
We also congratulate Darlene Depina, Jacqui Andrews and Jessie Aquino for their new roles at CWC.  Darlene graduated from UMass in the Spring of 2014 and is now our Interim Project Assistant in Community Education Services.  Jacqui completed her master's level internship in our counseling program and is now our Interim Rape Crisis Services Training and Education Specialist.  Jessie now serves as our bilingual Civilian Advocate for the UMass and Amherst Police Departments.

 
We would also like to say goodbye and wish good luck to Jen DeWitt and Ilana Gerjuoy after many years of service to CWC.
CWC Receives Grant Funding for Rural Communities!
CWC will receive over $100,000 over three years through the Rural Sexual and Domestic Violence Project coordinated by the MA Department of Public Health.
 

The Center for Women & Community has been a partner in the Rural Sexual and Domestic Violence Project since it was initiated in 1997.  The project serves rural communities in the four western MA counties including Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire and includes Safe Passage in Northampton, NELCWIT in Franklin County and the Elizabeth Freeman Center in Berkshire County. CWC provides crisis intervention and counseling to survivors of sexual assault and teen dating violence at outreach sites in the western Hampden and Hampshire County towns. CWC also provides prevention education addressing child sexual abuse, sexual assault and relationship violence to parents, first responders and service providers, students and residents in those communities.
 
With Gratitude
The DeFuria Family names CWC to receive gifts in memory of Elizabeth Chambers.  When Elizabeth (Betty) Chambers passed away in May, the DeFuria Family decided that the Center for Women & Community was the right organization to honor her legacy.
 

According to Maureen DeFuria, her mother Betty was an “amazing, strong, resilient woman who was really ahead of her time in so many ways.”  Maureen believes Betty would be proud and honored to be associated with the CWC. Members of the DeFuria family are also UMass alumni.  Betty’s beloved grandson, Jason DeFuria was the most recent family member to graduate from the University, with a BS in 2010 and a Master’s in Education in 2011. Betty Chambers also supported the UMASS Marching Band, of which Jason was a proud member.
Thank you to the DeFuria family. It was a privilege for the Center to be chosen and CWC is very grateful for the financial support.

 
Fall Support Groups
Do you or someone you know need some support?  CWC offers a variety of support groups this fall.  For more information or to register, please call 413-545-0883. 
 

Support Connect Heal: Support Group for Survivors of Sexual Violence
This group is intended for survivors of sexual violence seeking to cope, connect, and heal with other survivors. With a focus on coping, group discussions will include topics such as shame, self-blame, relationships, breaking silence, anger, loss, self-worth and empowerment. This group will provide a safe, supportive and non-judgmental space for folks to share their experiences.  This group is open to all female identified survivors of rape, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse, regardless of age, race, ability, sexuality, or religion.

Using Artistic Expression as a Tool for Healing:  Support Group for Survivors of Sexual Violence
In this group, survivors are encouraged to explore art as a tool in the healing process.  No previous experience or artistic ability is needed!  This group provides an opportunity for survivors to explore and practice using creativity to transform trauma into art.  Participants will be encouraged to create art in response to prompts that are designed to evoke soul searching and healing in a supportive and collaborative environment. 

Women in Academia: Surviving the Dissertation: Meet with other women who are writing dissertations and understand the particular challenges that women face in academia and in the dissertation writing process. Set realistic goals, offer and receive support, encouragement and suggestions to help meet your goals.

Mindfulness and Mood: Empowerment Skills for Women: 
Ruled by Anxiety, Mood or Emotions? 
Gain skills that will help you to reduce anxiety, improve mood and relationships, relax your body, quiet your mind and gain greater emotional balance. This five session group will focus on the unique stresses facing women & will offer skills for women to manage anxiety, mood and emotions and to empower women in their everyday lives. Join us in a safe and supportive space!


International Women's Discussion Group
This weekly group will focus on building community, establishing healthy relationships, positive self-esteem, and empowerment.


Baby Steps: A drop in Support Group for Hilltown Parents
A weekly drop in group for parents with infants 0-1 years old. Siblings welcome.  This group is co-sponsored with the Gateway Family Center in Huntington, MA.
 
Celebrating our Community
This fall, Center for Women & Community joined with the Afro-American Studies Department and Augusta Savage Gallery to welcome the new incoming class of students at a joint Fall Welcome Event.
 

This celebration featured live music on the lawn by the New Africa House Ensemble and served as an opportunity to meet staff and volunteers and gain information about services, programs, and how to get involved with our various departments.

 
Alumni Spotlight
Ben Ostiguy
Ben Ostiguy graduated from UMass, Amherst in 1995 with a BFA in painting and received his M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration in 2001. While a graduate student, he worked at the Center for Women & Community  as a Campus Educator Against Violence Against Women and a Counselor Advocate. (2001-2004) He is now the Associate Director of Operations for Disability Services at UMass.
 

As one of the first men to be employed at CWC, Ostiguy considered himself an ally, and continues to be one today. At his current employment for Disability Services, he works to address issues of ableism and disability oppression, as well as sexism.  While working at CWC, Ben says he learned a lot about himself both personally and professionally, and was conscious of his “male privilege” and how that could potentially impact the groups he worked in. He also said the experience made him a more “reflective, professional person.”
 
Ben was able to design and facilitate hundreds of workshops, teach courses, collaborate with many campus colleagues, and organize awareness campaigns during his time working for CWC. He is currently in his third year in the Higher Education doctoral program in the College of Education at UMass, and is planning on taking his comprehensive exams next May.
 
He continues his efforts to be a “positive influence on the world” alongside his partner, Carol Ostiguy-Finneran (also a CWC alum) and their two children.  
 
 
CWC's mission is to provide innovative and informed education, leadership opportunities, advocacy and support services that address the cause and impact of sexism and recognize the multiple oppressions experienced by women. We serve people of all gender identities within the diverse communities of Hampshire County, the Five Colleges and the University of Massachusetts.     

                                                                  

Copyright © 2014 Center for Women & Community, All rights reserved.


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