Irene De La Cruz: Important community events
Now that the month of November is upon us, it marks the beginning process of closing out the year while we celebrate some of the more significant holidays – and look forward to events coming up soon after the Christmas holidays.
It’s always exciting to me to look ahead at the calendar and see everything else that Merced County has to offer the residents of the different communities. Here is a brief preview of some major events in the coming year I feel will have a positive impact on residents because they provide resources and information that help enhance the quality of life for everyone:
▪ First, there is the Parent Leadership Institute Conference on Feb. 28, 2015, at Golden Valley High School. Free and open to the public, this conference focuses on recognizing the important role that parents, grandparents and guardians play in the lives of their children and how they can become change agents for a healthier community.
Last year, Rosa Barragan, program manager for the Early Education Department of the Merced County Office of Education, and Sol Rivas, assistant director for Head Start for the Office of Education had an extremely successful event with more than 400 participants and some 70 informational booths.
The conference resonated positively with the community, agencies, organizations, schools and businesses. The workshop facilitators and groups had informational booths, and saw an opportunity to reach out to a population that was eager to learn.
To hear the encouraging words of Joseph Castro, president of Fresno State University, one of the keynote speakers, was a first for most parents. Hearing Graciela Moreno, anchor woman for ABC Channel 30, talk about her upbringing and how she overcame various barriers was inspiring., especially when she encouraged parents not to give up when confronted with different challenges.
Conference organizers Barragan and Rivas, both of Merced, have a passion for helping parents “dream big” for their children. They saw a need to provide a venue for parents, and anyone else caring for children, that would empower and enhance the skills they already possess as caretakers and mentors.
Instead of taking parents out of Merced County to such attend a conference, they brought this special event to them and the response was outstanding. They had a dream of doing more for the residents of Merced County, and they made it happen. Check with your local schools for registration forms and additional information on the 2015 conference.
▪ Second is the “Expanding Your Horizons” conference held at UC Merced, also scheduled for February 2015. It is part of the growing trend of encouraging females to explore the possibility of pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.
This conference is hosted by the Society of Women Engineers Club at UC Merced and targets girls in middle school. Marisol Prado, a UC Merced senior student and this year’s club president, wants to share her experience study in these fields with other young females here in Merced County.
The successful event in 2014 included a number of young girls from Los Banos, Dos Palos, Merced, Livingston, Planada, Delhi, Hilmar and Gustine. So for those of you who are parents of young girls, plan ahead and consider allowing your daughters to attend this conference in your community – at UC Merced.
▪ Third, the “Youth to Youth” conference is held annually in March. This conference takes place at Buhach Colony High School in Atwater.
A youth leadership activity, high school students are trained to lead the conference aimed at disseminating information to middle school students about the problems associated with drugs, alcohol and violence.
Whether we like it or not, these topics need to be addressed in our communities. Every day our youth face the stresses brought on by peer pressure related to these issues and this conference assists our young people in acquiring a better understanding of the risks and consequences of their actions..
We are very fortunate to have these events in Merced, Atwater and at UC Merced. They offer so much as we prepare ourselves and our children for the future.
Stay tuned, though. Once the new year arrives, I’ll be talking about other events you can put on your calendars.
Irene De La Cruz is a resident of Planada and has been involved with a number of community events and projects throughout Merced County. She owns her own business. She attended Merced College and California State University, Sacramento. She can be contacted at dlcirenel@ gmail.com.
This story was originally published October 30, 2014 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Irene De La Cruz: Important community events."