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LIFRC Community Update                    

February 14, 2022
¡Bienvenidos! 
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From the Executive Director
 
Happy Valentine’s Day!

On this special day celebrating love and friendship, LIFRC is honoring the strong community bonds Lopez is known for. Unconditional love and empathy have a powerful effect, leading to a deeper understanding of our neighbors and the world around us. 

This month we also recognize the achievements, sacrifices, and contributions of Black Americans who have shaped our nation and world with their leadership and talents. Voices and Visions is a group of diverse Lopez leaders working to ensure that the unique identities of all individuals are validated and honored.  In this issue, we recognize the talents and gifts of Q Williams, a Voices and Visions leader and LIFRC staff member. 

We are grateful and honored to be on this journey listening, learning and working together with you.
—Barbara Schultheiss
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Expressions of Love
This past week, Q Williams invited the children in the after-school program to share artistic expressions of love. Their creations included letters, valentine cards, portraits, and collages. They are excited to be able to share some of them with you:
Diverse expressions of love created by children in the after-school program.
The LIFRC after-school program is a collaboration with the Lopez Island School District and Lopez Island Library. Q and the after school team provide learning enrichment activities on school premises five days a week until 5:30 p.m. They incorporate reading and literacy activities from the library, mentorship by high school leaders, and community-led activities—volunteers always welcome! The program offers academic support, engaging activities, and a safe place for kids to spend time in the afternoons. 

San Juan County-allocated ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding for childcare is helping support this program during the 2021-2022 school year. Our success in obtaining future grants, together with donor funding, will allow us to sustain an ongoing after-school program: a key part of our efforts to support working parents and help Lopez children thrive. 
Poetry Aloud
Some of you may know Khemistry “Q” Williams (who wears many hats) as our preschool play associate, after-school and summer camp program coordinator, and Voices and Visions leader.  Others may have met her in her previous roles working at the Community Land Trust, Holly B’s, and Vita’s. What you may not know is that she is also a talented spoken-word poet and powerful advocate for creative expression on Lopez. 
“Most people on Lopez just know that I love children. They don't know that I have this whole other part of me that brings me joy,” Q says. Growing up, Q was immersed in spoken-word poetry for as far back as she can remember. “As a kid, you start making rhymes. In school, they introduce you to poetry, but it's textbook poetry,” she says. “Spoken word is poetry—aesthetically pleasing to the ear. It's a poetry performance, not poetry on paper.” 

When asked how she got into spoken word, Q says, “It was a big deal where I grew up, with lots of poetry clubs in college. It ties into hip hop and other Black cultural forms of expression. You start having conversations with people and it sounds beautiful, and it starts from there. My poetry sounds a lot like how I talk when I’m most comfortable: mellifluous.”

Q brought her spoken-word poetry to the broader Lopez audience this past August by hosting a community open-mic event. “I wanted to tell people that art is a very important way for us to express ourselves, especially when we feel we aren’t being heard,” she says. She emphasized the importance of holding a safe space for participants to express themselves. The response from island poets was resounding, with many participants urging Q to make it a regularly occurring event.
“Before Q hosted her open-mic night, I had never read my poetry out loud to a group of people. It was cold outside and I didn’t recognize many folks. I remember thinking that it seemed an unlikely bunch who may have otherwise never found themselves in the same space, much less sharing the intimacy that was shared that evening. Despite all of that, or perhaps because of it, it was one of the most heartwarming events I have yet to attend on Lopez and I cannot wait for her to organize the next one.”
 
Stephanie Cariker, local writer
Q plans to continue the tradition of open-mic poetry nights and spoken-word workshops as soon as the weather warms enough to resume gathering outside. Interested in supporting her initiative or learning more? Reach out to Q@lifrc.org

We are delighted to be able to share audio recordings of Q reading her poetry aloud. Click here to listen.

New to the spoken word genre? Here is a little more background. The Poetry Foundation defines spoken word as poetry with roots in oral traditions and performance, which frequently refers to issues of social justice, politics, race, and community. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings adds that “great speakers make their individual performances into communal ones. Words become vehicles for feeling and inspire a sense of shared experience in listeners... The artistic use of the spoken word in African American culture today draws on and reflects a rich literary and musical heritage, and the interaction among these genres, as in the past, has produced some of America's best-known art forms.” 
Cooking from the Heart
The after-school program isn’t the only place where love was in the air this week! Katy Hill, LIFRC’s Early Learning Programs Manager, has been providing inspiration and materials for Valentine-themed learning activities that participants in the Parent-Tot program can do together at home.
Left: a handmade valentine card. Right: a string art heart.
The LIFRC Parent-Tot program incorporates learning ideas from Vroom, a set of tools and resources supported by the Bezos Foundation and developed in collaboration with leaders in neuroscience, psychology, parenting, and early childhood development. Vroom Tips are simple ideas designed to inspire families to turn everyday moments into “brain building moments.” Katy drew inspiration from Vroom Tips to create a special take-home cookie decorating activity for Valentine’s Day. She worked with local businesses Poutine Your Mouth and WadeCo to prepare kits with undecorated heart cookies, pink icing, bags of sprinkles, and matching parent and child aprons printed with a tip about learning by cooking together. The kits included a bilingual sheet of suggestions for parents on ways to support their children in exploring with their senses, problem-solving, conversing, and reflecting on what they do in the kitchen. 

The Parent-Tot program collaborated with the Lopez Children's Center and Lopez Island Library during its weekly story time to host a special in-person Valentine's Day event, and distributed 44 cookie and age-appropriate craft kits to children under age 5 across the island.
Parents and tots at work decorating their valentine cookies.
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P.O. Box 732  Lopez Island, WA 98261
360.468.4117    email@lifrc.org 


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Lopez Island Family Resource Center · PO Box 732 · Lopez Island, WA 98261-0732 · USA

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