The Greenwood SAGE Project: February 2009

Upcoming Events

The Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans (PSARA) comes to the Greenwood Senior Center!

In an effort to continue expanding civic engagement at the Greenwood Senior Center, PSARA, a group dedicated to upholding justice and civil rights for seniors and all Americans, will begin holding a monthly discussion group at the senior center. PSARA is a chapter of the national Alliance for Retired Americans, working toward progressive change in the areas of health care, social security, housing, transportation, immigration, and many more. To learn more about PSARA's work, check out their website: www.psara.org.

The first meeting is this Thursday, June 10, from 1-2pm at the Greenwood Senior Center. All meetings are facilitated by Bette Reed, Community Vice President of PSARA.

Join us!

Monthly SAGE meetings begin.

On Tuesday, June 15^th, at 2pm, SAGE will have its first monthly meeting to begin discussing SAGE’s transition into a more sustainable model (see post below). We’ll talk about our collaboration with PSARA and start planning for the fall. Please join us if you can!

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Emily at the Greenwood Senior Center (206-297-0875/emily@greenwoodseniorcenter.org). Thanks!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Civic Engagement Fair

Advocacy Training

On January 20, the day of the inauguration of President Barack Obama, we spent part of the afternoon learning how to work for the "Change we can believe in" with an advocacy workshop led by two Washington CAN! organizers. We reviewed the legislative process in Olympia and discussed how the proposed cuts in the Governor's budget would affect many health programs and social services.

We then practiced using the Legislative Hotline to leave a message for our senator and two representatives. This toll-free hotline is a fast and easy way for citizens to leave brief messages about specific bills: 1-800-562-6000, 8 am- 8pm M-F, 9 am - 1 pm Sat.

Welcome

Welcome to the Greenwood SAGE Project blog, where you can find information, photos, and reflections on past and upcoming projects.

The SAGE Project is a program of the Greenwood Senior Center, located in the Phinney/Greenwood neighborhood of North Seattle.

SAGE stands for Seniors: Active, Giving, and Engaged. The intent of the project is to bring seniors together to learn about, discuss, and address social justice issues on a local, national, and global level. The hope is to couple education and action, recognizing that becoming familiar with an issue is necessary to engage in effective action.

How does it work?

WE CHOOSE AN ISSUE
Each quarter focuses on a particular issue that is affecting communities at the global, national, or local level.

WE LEARN ABOUT IT
Typically, we have one or two education days a month, occurring on a Tuesday afternoon. Education can be in the form of a presentation or lecture by a local organization that is working to address the specific issue or through screening various films related to the issue.

WE TAKE ACTION
The purpose of SAGE is not to merely learn about an issue, but also try to address a component of that issue through action in our community. Action can be in the form of volunteering for a local organization, writing letters to congress people, or informing our peers about the issue. What is important is finding an appropriate avenue to turn our knowledge into action.

SAGE coordinator

Hello SAGE participants! My name is Emily Brosius, and I am the Americorps intern for the SAGE program here at the Greenwood Senior Center. A little bit about myself: I am a recent graduate of Carleton College, a small liberal arts school in Northfield, Minnesota, where I studied anthropology and sociology. I learned about public health issues abroad in South Africa for a semester and completed a senior thesis on personhood and Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States. I play the violin, the er-hu (a stringed Chinese musical instrument), enjoy pick-up games of soccer and Frisbee, and love baking. This summer, I worked at an all-boys camp in northern Wisconsin where I taught a cooking class. But perhaps most importantly, I strive to be aware of social justice issues both within our community and abroad and to make a continual effort to confront them in the ways that I can.

The Greenwood SAGE Project