This year, Hanukkah will begin on the evening of Thursday, December 10th, with the first full day being December 11th. Hanukkah will end on the evening of Friday, December 18th.
 
This is an annual Jewish celebration that’s observed for eight nights and days, dating back to the second century B.C. This event is significant, as it remembers the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
 
The holiday is celebrated in part by the nightly lighting of the menorah. Each night one candle of the menorah is lit, so that by the eighth night all candles of the menorah have been lit.
 
Also associated with Hanukkah are traditional meals, gift-giving and games.
 
How do you plan on celebrating? How might your celebration this year differ from years past? And what traditions are you continuing this year?
 
Please feel free to share your thoughts with us, by emailing Foundation of Hope’s publicist Katharine Booth at katharine@foundationofhope.us.
Also, you can post to our Facebook and Instagram pages:
Facebook.com/TheFoundationofHope
Instagram.com/TheFoundationofHope
 
We wish you a happy, safe and healthy holiday. Thank you!
Written by Katharine Booth, Foundation of Hope publicist

Monday, December 7th, will be National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. This day is meant to remind us all of the 2,403 lives tragically lost during the 1941 attack on the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.
 
This year, an event commemorating the day will be held on December 7th at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This year, the ceremony will be closed to the public, open for Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans. This event will be live streamed for the public through the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PearlHarborNPS.
 
Do you have a loved one or know someone impacted by the attack on Pearl Harbor? We encourage you to share your thoughts, as we at Foundation of Hope continue to support community through active dialogue and engagement.
 
Please share your story, by emailing katharine@foundationofhope.us, or by commenting on Facebook.com/TheFoundationofHope or Instagram.com/TheFoundationofHope.

Thank you.
Written by Katharine Booth, Foundation of Hope publicist

Capping the end of November, which is Native American Heritage Month, the Friday after Thanksgiving is Native American Heritage Day. This year, this took place on November 27th.
 
Both the month and the official day observance serve as opportunities and reminders to recognize, self-educate and appreciate the multiple cultures and traditions throughout the Native American population. This is also important, as many Native American communities face unique challenges, in general as well as during the current pandemic crisis.
 
As we note the close of the month and the passing of Native American Heritage Day, we’d love to hear from you—what does this day (and the month) mean for you? Did you celebrate in a particular way? Please let us know, by emailing katharine@foundationofhope.us or commenting on Facebook.com/TheFoundationofHope or Instagram.com/TheFoundationofHope.

Foundation of Hope is committed to building and advocating for our community. We would love to hear your perspective and your stories related to Native American Heritage Day and month, to further foster ongoing dialogue amongst us all.
 
Thank you.
Katharine Booth, Foundation of Hope publicist

Today, December 1st, marks the annual Rosa Parks day. On December 1, 1955, civil rights icon Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and move to the back of the bus, defying what was back then an all-too-common convention of racial segregation in every day life.
 
Her bravery and steadfastness absolutely deserve to be remembered, especially given the ongoing struggles against racial discrimination facing our country sixty-five years later.
 
As Foundation of Hope strives to facilitate community, dialogue, and equitable treatment of every one of our community members, we would like to hear your take on Rosa Parks day.
 
What does Rosa Parks day mean to you, personally and/or in the context of issues of racial discrimination we still see today?
 
Please share your thoughts with us, by emailing Foundation of Hope’s publicist Katharine Booth at katharine@foundationofhope.us, or by posting to our Facebook and Instagram pages, at Facebook.com/TheFoundationofHope and Instagram.com/TheFoundationofHope.

We thank you for your story, your input, as we both remember the bravery of Rosa Parks and look ahead to how best to continue her work to fight racial discrimination.
 
Written by Katharine Booth, Foundation of Hope publicist

To our amazing team, supporters, and family, we hope you had a safe, and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. We could not be more grateful for everyone that’s a part of the broader Foundation of Hope community. After all, Foundation of Hope is, first and foremost, driven by a desire to provide support to our community members.
 
Whether you’re a part of the Foundation of Hope team, family or supporter of the Hope-filled work we do, we’d love to hear how you celebrated Thanksgiving this year.
 
What did Thanksgiving this year look like for you? In this trying and unconventional year, we’d like to hear from you—your message of hope or struggle, your conventional or unconventional Thanksgiving celebration.
 
Please share your story with us, either by emailing Foundation of Hope’s publicist Katharine Booth at katharine@foundationofhope.us, or by posting to our Facebook and Instagram pages, at Facebook.com/TheFoundationofHope and Instagram.com/TheFoundationofHope.

Be safe, be healthy, and thank you!
 
Written by Katharine Booth, Foundation of Hope publicist

By Katharine Booth

On November 2nd, one day before the 2020 election, Rita Daniels (direct descendant of prolific abolitionist Harriet Tubman) and Connecticut congressman Jim Himes hosted a government rally via Zoom.
 
Foundation of Hope’s own board member Wayne Winston set up the conference, and as a moderator was lively and informative with the goal of getting as many people out to vote as possible. His contribution to the forum was to help focus on the importance of participation by the black community to influence the outcome of the election.
 
Congressman Jim Himes helped introduce Rita Daniels. Congressman Himes painted in broad strokes the topics to be covered at length in the discussion. Himes pointed out that while our country has made great progress over time, it can, unfortunately, be reversed—and this makes it all the more important for every one of us to cast our vote for the general election, as well as to keep working together to build upon and advance the strides made by pioneering figures such as Harriet Tubman.
 
Rita Daniels then took the (virtual) floor. The bulk of the conversation included Daniels’ perspective of Harriet Tubman’s legacy and her own experience with racial injustice and discrimination. She also spoke about how Harriet Tubman’s past serves as an inspiration and a reminder for us all to keep pushing forward to fight racial discrimination.
 
Daniels provided participants with multiple snapshots in time of the reality of racial discrimination (and the work to combat it) in our country. She addressed this with the historical perspective of Harriet Tubman, her own personal experiences with discrimination early on in her life, and the harsh realities of fear, intimidation and violence facing people of color today.
 
For her part, Rita Daniels continues the work of giving back to the community through the Harriet Tubman Learning Center, working to provide educational resources Though the center is closed today due to Covid, she’s keeping up the outreach and work, and is in the process of developing multiple new locations of the HTLC in urban areas across the country.
 
Daniels is determined to keep moving forward with the HTLC’s work. Daniels explained that these efforts must continue, but she cannot continue alone. This sentiment applies more broadly to the strides made by past figures such as Harriet Tubman—the work to combat racial injustice and discrimination in our country must continue, and cannot be done in isolation: it takes the cooperation of us all to make it happen.
 
This virtual rally, with these larger discussions of racial injustice and progress in the US, circled back time and again to the importance of getting out the vote. Both Daniels and congressman Himes urged participants to vote, and encouraged others to cast their ballot.
 
To learn more about Rita Daniels’ ongoing work with the Harriet Tubman Learning Center, and how you can lend your support, visit the official website:
https://www.harriettubmanlearningcenter.org/

Post-event coverage
By Katharine Booth

On Sunday, September 6th, Foundation of Hope hosted its first virtual health fair, streaming its panel discussion from the SoNo Collection in South Norwalk. Foundation of Hope plans to continue hosting such virtual health events until it is safe and in the community’s best interest to return to an in-person, open to the community format.
 
The live stream was available to the public through Foundation of Hope’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. These are:
 
https://www.facebook.com/TheFoundationofHope
https://www.instagram.com/thefoundationofhope/
 
The panel discussion featured three special guests, all whom generously give their time to help Foundation of Hope’s mission.
 
 They were Dr. Dawn Hewitt, a certified Holistic Health Counselor; Wayne Winston, social justice activist and member of Foundation of Hope’s board of directors; and Roy Havranek, Media Director for Foundation of Hope, community outreach lead for the HOLA group, and a multi-disciplined engineer working for Lockheed Martin RMS Corporation.
 
Each speaker brought their own perspective into a wide-ranging discussion of current issues in public health, social justice and community activism.

 
SPEAKER PROFILES

Certified Holistic Health Counselor Dr. Dawn Hewitt spoke about the impacts of autoimmune diseases today. She approached this issue by relating her own experience being hospitalized for and recovering from Grave’s Disease, and cited common societal issues that can potentially make the body vulnerable to autoimmune diseases, such as lack of nutrition, pollution and stress.
 
She went on to discuss the broader impacts of today’s advertising industry and the marketing of unhealthy foods. Citing her past experience working at an ad agency, she explained how today, in her words, there is “a whole industry now working to make you hunger and thirst for things you don’t need.”
 
Dr. Hewitt addressed specifically the negative health impacts of refined sugars, food coloring and artificial sweeteners. She went so far as to explain the proliferation of artificial chemicals in children’s food as similar to “chemical experiments.”
 
She explained how high fructose corn syrup is causing unprecedented liver damage today, specifically non alcoholic fatty liver.
 
Dr. Hewitt then took listeners on a journey through the damaging processes of such chemicals through the human body, explaining how refined sugars can produce a false sense of hydration, thus leading to a “double duty” of dehydration in our bodies.
 
To bring it all home, she explained how a body used to these chemicals can feel a dramatic shock when deprived, leading to the temptation to seek out these products to feel better.
Conversely, she explained how a “clean” body can feel a notable shock when exposed to products with such chemicals.
 
Dr. Hewitt encourages avoiding these harmful chemicals and foods, and emphasized the importance of proper hydration, which can help flush out a body used to unhealthy chemicals, and to help stay cleaner and healthier on a daily basis.
 
(Please note: This information is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please consult a medical professional for medical advice.)
 
***
 
Wayne Winston, board member and media director for Foundation of Hope and social justice advocate, spoke about the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 on our communities, and the current social justice struggles nationwide.
 
He spoke about how we’re all living in an unprecedented time because of COVID-19. He also explained  how the pandemic, combined with current events and protests for racial justice, and social media have shown us how people see these events and society in many different ways.
 
 In discussing the recent protests, Wayne Winston provided some historical context. He noted the great strides of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, and noted the accomplishments made for black social justice and the fight against segregation. However, Wayne Winston recognized the civil rights movement did not finish the work—there is more to be done today.
 
Foundation of Hope Founder Rebecca Prosper asked Wayne what we can do to help the ongoing crisis. He replied that it is crucial to understand the troubled, racist foundation of our country to change things now.
 
Turning back to the present day, Wayne challenged two prevailing social attitudes undermining the struggle for racial justice. He questioned the mentality of excusing police conduct and blaming victims, as well as the concept of “bad apples” within police force. Wayne Winston argued that police departments’ moving of and shielding offenders is reminiscent of how the Catholic Church moved and shielded child abusers within its ranks.
 
He argued these attitudes and actions serve to excuse those responsible for the worst acts of police brutality we’ve seen in recent times.
 
Wayne Winston closed his portion of the panel discussion by stating, “We have to have conversations, and people need to have ears to hear us.”
 
 
**

Roy Havranek, Media Director for Foundation of Hope and community outreach lead for the HOLA group, discussed current issues of supporting young children and education in the time of COVID-19.
 
He spoke of how COVID-19 has created a “global trauma” for children, who have been kept from attending school and socializing with other children. In this context, he described his own efforts with HOLA, in partnership with Foundation of Hope, to provide educational supplies for children in our local communities.
 
This past August marked the second annual Back to School Supply Drive, which involved collecting donations from the public for backpacks and essential school supplies for local underpriviliged children.
 
He explained that, rather than donations being hindered by COVID-19, the group actually received double their set goal for donations. Their initial goal was to fill 20 backpacks, but they in fact collected 40 backpacks. Roy Havranek took this as a sign of hope that people today truly want to help children caught up in the many struggles brought on by COVID-19.
 
While working to provide basic school supplies for the children involved, the drive made a point of meeting the moment of COVID-19, by providing children with hand sanitizer and masks, to help raise awareness and encourage children to be mindful of basic health and sanitation practices.
 
Roy Havranek reflected on the rewarding nature of these efforts, saying how it was fulfilling just to see the looks on the children’s faces when receiving their donated backpacks.
 
 
**
 
This event was unlike anything Foundation of Hope has ever done before. We hope to reach a point soon when we can safely hold our larger-scale Honor Your Health community fairs. In the meantime, we are committed to being safe and mindful of the current reality of COVID-19, and will continue to host further virtual Hope Conversations live stream events.

       Optimus Health Care, a community partner of Foundation of Hope’s annual Honor Your Health fairs, is doing its part to help our underserved communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
        Specifically, they are offering COVID-19 testing for undocumented immigrants in Bridgeport and Stamford. This testing is safe, and participants will not be reported in any way.
         Optimus Health Care has been an established medical provider for over 40 years. Over this time, they’ve made a point of providing their health services to undocumented peoples, and assert that they have never been reported to anyone, and they never will. Overall, Optimus Health Care puts providing essential services first, as a “safe haven for medical care.” A key part of their organizational mission is providing health services to our uninsured and underserved communities.
         Here’s what anyone interested in this COVID-19 testing for undocumented immigrants needs to know:
·      Bring a form of identification with you
·      This can be an old passport, or any other type of information/picture, even if it’s outdated
·      This ID is meant to ensure the right patient with the right medical information
·      You will not be reported for seeking safe COVID-19 testing with Optimus Health Care
 
       COVID-19 testing through Optimus Health Care is currently being offered to the public at these two locations:
·      982 East Main Street, Bridgeport
·      805 Atlantic Street, Stamford
 
          To make an appointment for testing, call 203-683-3630. For more information, visit Optimus Health Care’s official website at http://optimushealthcare.org/opthc/.
          Foundation of Hope is proud to be community partners with Optimus Health Care, and we applaud their services provided to our underserved communities in this challenging time.

Katharine Booth, Publicist for Foundation of Hope

        As we enter the second half of 2020, it’s clear that the world of January 2020 was starkly different than the world we live in today. The public and social health crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, the protests surrounding the brutal death of George Floyd, have placed us as individuals and as communities at a crossroads, to think critically, to act, and to support one another as we work together these unprecedented and challenging times.
         The COVID-19 pandemic has strained our health care systems, and placed tremendous pressure on the front line workers fighting the pandemic for us all. The crisis also put the onus on every individual to be safe, not only for themselves, but for everyone around them. While COVID is not completely over and done with, there is a glimmer of hope today that we may be gradually returning back to “normal,” albeit a new, changed “normal.”
       The more recent protests following the tragic death of George Floyd have brought to the forefront the ongoing issues of police brutality, systemic racism, and more generally the stark differences of life in America along racial divides. Amidst the appalling reality of police brutality and ongoing strains and dangers faced by peaceful protestors, we’re seeing the spread of ideas for radical policy change to meet this crisis head-on, and make meaningful change.
     The dangers of COVID-19 have not dissipated. And the uphill fight for fairness and equality for everyone, regardless of skin color, has a ways to go as well. One thing that is clear is that in the face of adversity, we are better when we work together.
        At Foundation of Hope, we are committed to serving our most vulnerable communities, and providing health and social resources for those who need it most. Many of our own community-centered initiatives have been altered to meet the demands of the moment, and others have been rescheduled. As we all move forward through this “new normal,” we are cautiously optimistic that, in the coming months, we will be able to resume our usual community outreach and health fair events.
        Until such a time, please stay safe and stay healthy. Even amidst the darkest times for our local and national communities, we are inspired by the hope of real, concrete change taking place before our eyes, to meet these challenging times.
            Above all else, please know that you are not alone.
            Thank you.
Katharine Booth, Publicist for Foundation of Hope