Divas For Christ

Devoted, Inspired, Victorious, and Assigned to...
Working with our Lord Jesus Christ to rebuild individuals and communities.

Creator: Our Lord Jesus Christ

Co-laborers: Sandra, Margaret, Shanel

Scripture: We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now. Become friends with God. He's already a friend with you. 2 Corinthians 5:20

Purpose: To take back and build our self-esteem, our wants, desires, and our neighborhoods. To introduce to some, and present to others, our Lord Jesus Christ. To walk with individuals down the path of understanding, purpose and power. To show how to incorporate God in all that we do, knowing apart from Him we are nothing and can do nothing. Diva's for Christ is not a church, but we are women who love the Lord, who have learned to walk with the Lord, through battles, problems and unforeseen circumstances. Learning how to move from the pit to the palace of God's Kingdom.

Assignment: To begin support groups for the young and seasoned individuals. Because we are the image of Christ, Diva's for Christ want to encourage others to present their bodies, personalities, and their gifts as a sacrifice unto God in every manner necessary for edifying of the Kingdom of God. For some, it will mean losing weight, so we have an exercise program with a personal trainer. For others, it's getting a better understanding of who God is, who you are, and what God has for you.

Proverbs 4:7 says, Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding, by spending time in God's word. Learning to love all of God's creation, because it says in John 13:35, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another... Diva's for Christ would like to show under the unction of the holy spirit, how to walk with God for the best He has for you.

Minutes - July 28, 2009

SENA Meeting - July 28, 2009

JoAnn (SENA President) called the meeting to order and announced the agenda for the evening.

Rhonda from Trinity Institute gave a report about the Arise one-week community leadership training she attended in NYC. The training focused on what you as an individual wanted. What you want in your community and what you can do to advance your future. They also did lots of one-on-one training. It was a very good seminar, overall.

Robert (South End resident) also attended the Arise training and talked more about the program. Obama went through the same community leadership training with the same organization and same teacher. About 150 people attended the training. Robert said they focused a lot on the question "What is our real self-interest?" They used agitation to get people to discover and clarify what they really want so it can become a reality and not just a dream. They want you to get angry so you can fuel your passion. With the one-on-one training, you were able to gather information, help another find their self interest, and discover your own self interest. Another exercise they did was to create a list of things in your past that were opressing you, so you could go forward freely.

JoAnn announced that National Night Out was next week.

Sandra (resident) talked about her organization "Diva's for Christ". She wants to help the South End by helping kids get off the street. Now she's in school studying construction engineering, but she would like to get in contact with someone who will support her organization and help her with the next step to accomplish her goals.

Joe from the Fire Dept. introduced himself and said he deals with any code enforcement issues. He also announced the August 15th city auction. Many buildings in the South End will be put up for auction. It will be held at Albany High School. Visit albanycounty.org for the details.

Mark (SENA Vice President) asked what happened to the restaurant on Alexander that closed down practically overnight.
Matt from the APD said it was overrun with rats.

Joe also said there was some stimulus money the city earmarked for demolition, so some of the buildings in the South End might be taken down.

Sandra asked how you could get a vacant building rehabbed to become a community center.
Joe answered that first you have to find which building you want. Then find out who the owner is contact them. The city and county can also help with grants for rehabbing.

Tom from Grand Street Community Arts said there's an empty lot on the corner of Elizabeth and 4th Ave. The city is the owner, so they're trying to work with the city to create a space for kids to come and do performances. They also talked to the neighbors, since they want them involved with what happens to the lot. He said he was willing to pass on whatever information he knows to Sandra.

Katie from the City of Albany handed out the SEAC Menu of Resources. She also said Citizen's Bank has a program where if you want to buy a house in a low or moderate income area, they can decrease the interest by 0.5 - 1%.
JoAnn asked for copies of the Menu of Resources for National Night Out, which Katie agreed to make.

Matt gave a police report. There were many car larcenies recently. If you see someone doing anything suspicious, call 438-4000 right away and report what's happening, what the person looks like, and when you saw the activity. He also reminded us not to leave anything in our cars.

Sandra O. from South End Improvement Corp. announced that the HARP and ReStore programs have been funded, though the money won't be available until January.

Benna from Trinity Institute said Trinity was debuting many programs in mid-September. They are also working with two National Night Out events and African American Family Day. Another Family Neighborhood and Resource Center in Arbor Hill is also being opened in mid-September.
Rhonda added that they were working with kids through the arts with African dance, step, colleges, GSCA, etc.

Darren from Albany Housing said they were re-funded for the affordable housing program. Scavo's Market will be taken down. Apartments and townhouse style homes will be built. Some vacant buildings will be rehabbed. We will start seeing changes in fall and spring.

Benna said there's someone who owns a bakery in the Port that wants to have a bakery on South Pearl. If Albany Housing wants to make the old knitting factory into a storefront, maybe he can apply for that building.

Carmela asked if anyone was doing anything towards having a community college in Albany.
Darren said no one is doing anything in that direction now, since Monique left, but they're open to suggestions. SUNY is active in Arbor Hill and is looking to rehab a storefront.

JoAnn talked more about National Night Out. She sent out an email for volunteers, though she still needs more. Set-up crew should arrive by 5pm. The event starts at 6pm. 500 flyers are printed and ready at the SEIC building on 38 Catherine St. She needs volunteers to pass them out to the community.
Sandra said she can get people to help her hand out the flyers at the Towers.
Benna said she can cover the flyers at Trinity.
Tom can distribute flyers on Grand Street.
Noriko can do 1st and 2nd Ave from S.Pearl to Elizabeth.
Terry, JoAnn, and Mary can also distribute flyers.
JoAnn also announced the National Night Out committee meeting at the SEIC building on July 29th.

Sandra said Diva's for Christ wants to do a back-to-school event. She already got many donations of school supplies.
JoAnn suggested contacting Giffen Elementary School and maybe work with them, since they also have a back-to-school fair.

The meeting was adjourned. Next meeting scheduled for August 25, 2009 at 6pm.

Minutes - June 23, 2009

SENA Meeting – June 23, 2009

Those in attendance: JoAnn Morton(president), Yoko Chaumont(secretary/webmaster), Chris Kollias(AFD), Benna Eldridge(Trinity), Sandra Obiedo(SEIC), Rhonda Brown(Trinity), Esther Patterson(resident), Arielle King(resident), Mark Beaudoin(vice president), Nellie Morton(corresponding secretary), Rebecca Platel(GSCA), Robert Chaumont(resident), Noriko Chaumont(resident), Matt Montesano(APD), Carmela Triolo, Tom McPheeters(GSCA), and Katie Bronson(City of Albany).

JoAnn called the meeting to order and everyone introduced themselves.

JoAnn announced SENA is partnering with the Mansion Neighborhood Association for the National Night Out event on August 4th. It will be held on the Eagle St side of Lincoln Park. She asked who would like to be on the committee and who would like to volunteer. She also asked if anyone was able to provide food donations.
Benna volunteered to be on the committee and said Trinity would be able to provide bottled water.
Esther also volunteered to be on the committee and asked what kind of publicity we would have for National Night Out.
JoAnn said last year we distributed flyers and that we will do it again this year, along with any other possible methods.
Sandra volunteered for the committee and said they could hold the meetings at the South End Improvement Corporation(SEIC) at 38 Catherine St.
Arielle King agreed to be on the committee and volunteered to make posters for National Night Out.

Rebecca introduced herself briefly and talked about her new position working with Grand Street Community Arts.

JoAnn introduced the main speaker, Sandra, to talk about SEIC and the grants available.
Sandra said SEIC was a small, non-profit organization that helps provide rehabilitation for homes. The eligibility for grants are based on income, and the building needs to be owner-occupied. Sandra also mentioned the block-by-block program and the list of homes targeted. The South End is zone three, which is starting in early fall. The houses will be inspected and they will be looking for violations.

Esther asked about abandoned buildings.
Chris from the Fire Dept. defined an abandoned building. An abandoned building has additional means of security, suck as a padlock. Also, if it has been unoccupied for more than a year, it is considered vacant. The longer the building stays vacant, the more money the owner has to pay to the city each year. The city is trying to contact the owners and get them to register their buildings.
JoAnn asked about the process of the inspection of vacant buildings.
Chris said it was basically an exterior inspection. If there are stairs deteriorating, paint chipping, exposed wood, etc, the owner has 30 days to fix it. If they need more time, they can call and ask for more time.
JoAnn asked if it was hard to contact the owners.
Chris answered that they send a letter to the owner, if they do not respond or fix it within the allotted time, it goes to court. After that, the court handles it and he can't speak for the court. Every case is different.
JoAnn asked if it was a friendly process, since it may be intimidating to seniors or other residents.
Chris said it's pretty friendly, as much as possible. They do need to be firm about it, though.
JoAnn and Benna said they would like to spread the info about the available grants to people. Maybe they could hand out flyers with the grant information a week or two before block-by-block begins. Maybe they could send a paper about the available grants when they send the letters to the owners.
Chris said Joe from the Fire Dept couldn't come this meeting, so he was filling in, but the buildings on Alexander St brought up last meeting were taken care of.

Esther asked if the Fire Dept can come to neighborhood block parties and events.
Chris said they can if they have time, and you can call Captain Lajoy to get more information.

Benna gave the news at Trinity. They got some new staff members. Sometimes they have HIV blood screenings available. They also have Capoeira lessons at SUNY Albany. They are taught by Brazilian teachers who speak no English, though they have translators with them. They're willing to teach any age. Most people in the class are students, since it's held at SUNY. Hopefully they will have an ice cream social at the end of July with another Capoeira demonstration. The Capoeira lessons are from 1:30-5pm on Saturdays. The ice cream social will probably be held around 4-6pm. Rhonda Brown is the new activity coordinator. The Family Neighborhood Resource Center is expanding with new staff. Trinity is trying to get a small bus to go to and from the hospital 4 times a day. Trinity is also trying to work with the business community and get them involved. Benna also invited anyone to stop by Trinity on Wednesday evenings to see some fancy bikes. They have a bike program where people can come in, learn how to fix your bike, get a new part for your bike, or even build your own bike. No cost, completely free. About 30 people come to each session. If you have an old bike you don't want, you can also donate it to Trinity.

Katie talked about the city's second public bicycle master plan meeting, where she presented the draft and asked for comments. About 70-80 people were there. She also announced that there is a SEAC meeting next month, and there was none this month.

Tom explained briefly about the Arise Leadership Training, held in the beginning of July. If you would like to donate money to help sponsor someone to go, you can write a check to Arise, with the person's name in the memo. He also gave several announcements. There is a performance series celebrating diversity in the arts called “Out of the Margins” held at Grand St Community Arts (GSCA), 68 Grand St, from June-August. Youth Organics finished the spring session, and are starting the summer session on July 6th. The vegetable garden is up, so you can go to the garden to buy vegetables. If you would like to purchase a garden share, you can contact Rana Morris. Rebecca, the newest staff member, is jumping right into the vacant lot project. They also have some artists that are working with young people through the summer youth employment program.
Rebecca said one artist is a former architect working on the vacant lot project and is thinking about a plan for the big vacant lots on Alexander St.
Benna asked if it was possible to provide a nice place for people to just sit outside. Arbor Hill residents had expressed a desire for a nice place to sit. Maybe a vacant lot could be used for that purpose.
Tom said the Sloane St apartments had another vacant lot area they were looking into.

Matt said he could email the dates he's available to do the Neighborhood Watch, but he can't do it at the next meeting, July 28th.

Esther said the Howe Library is gorgeous, she did a walk-through the building and it's completely different. They plan to open it back up in Spring 2010.

Matt gave the crime stats for this year, comparing it to last year's. The grand total for crime is down 10% from last year. He also reminded the residents to call the police if they see anything happen. If you don't call, it didn't happen. The phone number for the police is 438-4000.

Tom said 2Deep Entertainment does 10-15 minute shows at National Night Out events.
Matt said clowns, PAL, McGruff, and police horses also visit the different National Night Out locations.

Katie said you can buy and plant a tree, if you would like. The city is willing to pay half, which is $50.
Nellie asked how much maintenance they needed.
Katie said very little maintenance, just basic things. She said they were very nice to have.
JoAnn asked what to do about a tree caught in electrical wires.
Katie said you can call National Grid and ask what they can do about it.

Esther announced they were having a block party and yard sale on July 25th, Saturday, from 10am to 3pm, on Grandview Terrace.

JoAnn called the meeting to a close and announced the next meeting date, July 28th.