Today’s travel took me to Venice; no, not to the Italian city of gondolier fame (where the first official woman gondolier may soon be paddling), but to the California one of gallery fame. The reason for my journey to Venice was to participate in the monthly Volunteer Day of the organization, A Window Between Worlds. The last time I made it to a Volunteer Day was in October of 2009 and a day of volunteering was long overdue. The actual trip was uneventful (at least I hadn’t forgotten how to get to the place) and I was the first volunteer to arrive.
As usual, the table in the volunteer room was setup with the projects for the day and the two activities were to cut out positive images and words from magazines, as well as to stuff envelopes for a fund raising event. Art produced in a client workshop covers one wall, while on the opposite side is a wall full of art supplies waiting to be chosen by the shelters. Sitting in my preferred position at the table, I jotted down some notes while waiting for others to arrive. While she was doing last minute things, I met the new Volunteer Coordinator, Lonnie, who came into the position in March of this year. Turns out that she had gone to school in Massachusetts, specifically Brandeis and that her mother had gone to Clark. Clarkies everywhere. There were a number of Back East connections among the primarily women volunteers seated around the table – typical of any large gathering of people in California.
I was part of the assembly line of stuffing envelopes for the annual wine tasting fund raising event which is being held at Zazou: Cuisine of the Sun in Redondo Beach on Sunday 3 October 2010. There were eight of us working on that project, while a similar number were working on the magazines. It went quickly and was made enjoyable by conversation. After people explained how they came to know about A Window Between Worlds; the main topics were Seattle and Octavia Butler – a city I’ve never visited and an author I’ve never read. Obviously my input was minimal. The instigator of these topics was Diahnna, who actually lives in Seattle but was back in California visiting her mother Trini, who is A Window Between Worlds staff member. Seattle has free public transportation in the downtown area during business hours and a new eleven story public library. And Octavia, who eventually moved to Seattle from Pasadena, had actually been known by another volunteer, Fran (originally from New York), when she initiated a call to Octavia when she was still living in Pasadena. Connections everywhere.
Lunchtime arrived and pizza was the fare – barbeque chicken was delicious. Ate while sitting outside among some sorority sisters, who I believe were from Cal State, and who had been working on another volunteer project. Returned inside to the other volunteers and spent the rest of the time cutting up magazines – actually found a pair of adult scissors! Conversation centered around films and stories of travel. One of the volunteers, Andrew, asked about good places to eat, as he and his girlfriend Taylor are new to California. And of course they are from Back East – the D.C. area. Some places in the Venice area were recommended, as well as The Pantry in downtown Los Angeles. One by one, individuals began leaving and the Volunteer Day came to a close. Did the usual cleanup and said good-bye to people. The next Volunteer Day is Saturday 11 September 2010.
Mission Statement – “A Window Between Worlds is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using art to help end domestic violence. Through creative expression, battered women and children recover a sense of renewal and power. Their images of hope, survival and strength educate the public and become “a window between worlds’ for survivors taking steps to change their lives.” - Brochure
A Window Between Worlds
710 4th Avenue
Suite 5
Venice, California 90291
Phone: 310-396-0317
Fax: 310-396-9698
Website: http://www.awbw.org
E-mail: info@awbw.org
Images:
Left: Front cover of AWBW brochure
Center: AWBW website header from the website awbw.org
As usual, the table in the volunteer room was setup with the projects for the day and the two activities were to cut out positive images and words from magazines, as well as to stuff envelopes for a fund raising event. Art produced in a client workshop covers one wall, while on the opposite side is a wall full of art supplies waiting to be chosen by the shelters. Sitting in my preferred position at the table, I jotted down some notes while waiting for others to arrive. While she was doing last minute things, I met the new Volunteer Coordinator, Lonnie, who came into the position in March of this year. Turns out that she had gone to school in Massachusetts, specifically Brandeis and that her mother had gone to Clark. Clarkies everywhere. There were a number of Back East connections among the primarily women volunteers seated around the table – typical of any large gathering of people in California.
I was part of the assembly line of stuffing envelopes for the annual wine tasting fund raising event which is being held at Zazou: Cuisine of the Sun in Redondo Beach on Sunday 3 October 2010. There were eight of us working on that project, while a similar number were working on the magazines. It went quickly and was made enjoyable by conversation. After people explained how they came to know about A Window Between Worlds; the main topics were Seattle and Octavia Butler – a city I’ve never visited and an author I’ve never read. Obviously my input was minimal. The instigator of these topics was Diahnna, who actually lives in Seattle but was back in California visiting her mother Trini, who is A Window Between Worlds staff member. Seattle has free public transportation in the downtown area during business hours and a new eleven story public library. And Octavia, who eventually moved to Seattle from Pasadena, had actually been known by another volunteer, Fran (originally from New York), when she initiated a call to Octavia when she was still living in Pasadena. Connections everywhere.
Lunchtime arrived and pizza was the fare – barbeque chicken was delicious. Ate while sitting outside among some sorority sisters, who I believe were from Cal State, and who had been working on another volunteer project. Returned inside to the other volunteers and spent the rest of the time cutting up magazines – actually found a pair of adult scissors! Conversation centered around films and stories of travel. One of the volunteers, Andrew, asked about good places to eat, as he and his girlfriend Taylor are new to California. And of course they are from Back East – the D.C. area. Some places in the Venice area were recommended, as well as The Pantry in downtown Los Angeles. One by one, individuals began leaving and the Volunteer Day came to a close. Did the usual cleanup and said good-bye to people. The next Volunteer Day is Saturday 11 September 2010.
Mission Statement – “A Window Between Worlds is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using art to help end domestic violence. Through creative expression, battered women and children recover a sense of renewal and power. Their images of hope, survival and strength educate the public and become “a window between worlds’ for survivors taking steps to change their lives.” - Brochure
A Window Between Worlds
710 4th Avenue
Suite 5
Venice, California 90291
Phone: 310-396-0317
Fax: 310-396-9698
Website: http://www.awbw.org
E-mail: info@awbw.org
Images:
Left: Front cover of AWBW brochure
Center: AWBW website header from the website awbw.org
Right: Front cover of AWBW wine tasting invitation
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