Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

The Kohl's School Contest

Liza Elcayam was my daughter's wonderful teacher in kindergarten, second and fourth grade.

After years of working online, it seemed like just another attempt to gain cheap publicity on the backs of moms who use social media. The money is significant... unfortunately, there are thousands of schools in this country who are hurting for funds. How do you pick the 20 most worthy?  Certainly not through a popularity contest.

Then I received an email from the PTA President of Megan's old elementary school.

Out of thousands of eligible public and private schools throughout the country -- somehow -- Darby Avenue Elementary had garnered enough votes to make it into the Top 100. And it was the only LAUSD school to make that list (just one out of nearly 800 in the District).

It had a shot.

So I went to the Kohl's Cares Facebook page and cast five votes for Darby Avenue Elementary. I liked the fact that you get 20 votes to allocate any way that you like to as many schools -- but are limited to five per school. So I was able to vote for Megan's former middle school and current high school, as well.

Then I checked the rankings. At the time, Darby Avenue Elementary was number 80 with about 5,000 votes. The Top 20 schools were almost all private parochial schools on the East Coast, with 50,000 votes a piece. I think there was one public school in the entire list.

Obviously, there are folks at these private schools who have been engaging in some sophisticated social media campaigns to garner that volume of votes.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. After all, that's how Darby's PTA managed to get 5,000 of its own votes out of a school population of about 300 students. And it's exactly what I did by tweeting news of the campaign to my 4,500 followers... and writing this post here.

Since then, Darby's stock has gone up on the Kohl's leaderboard: At this writing, they're ranked #52 with 9,402 votes. But the top vote getters are in the astronomical range: The number one school has nearly 83,000 votes. Eighteen of the top 20 are private parochial schools -- and now, there are some on the West Coast, including one I've never heard of that's right here in my community. There are only two public schools in the entire Top 20.

I would love to see a report on how those schools campaigned for those votes. That will probably come when the competition ends (after September 2). In the meantime, I was pleased to see that Darby Elementary was getting some media assistance of its own today, by staging a rally that included a visit from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. And it was covered by all of the local news stations, including Fox, which set up cameras at the school at 4:30 AM this morning.

My fingers are crossed that in this huge metropolitan region of 24 million people, some will be motivated to get onto Facebook and vote for this little elementary school in Northridge. As Villaraigosa pointed out, all they need is for 10,000 of those people to cast five votes and they'll hit 50,000. (OK - so now they will need 20,000 people to do that... but that's still a tiny fraction of the people who will see the news coverage.)

At the same time, I see the irony in going all out to support a school that's already doing better than most in our troubled school district. Darby has some really good teachers and an energetic PTA. They don't have as many English learners and low income families as other schools in the district. Their API scores are high. At first glance, this is a school that doesn't need help.

Unfortunately, there isn't a public school in the district that doesn't need financial help. Every year, LAUSD squeezes the budget belt tighter. Every year, our schools lose teachers and support personnel. Five years ago (when my daughter attended Darby), there were classroom aides and janitorial services. Now, I'm told that parents are being asked to donate the most basic supplies... like toilet paper.

Half a million dollars could bring back instruction in the arts... music... science... a school nurse...

I keep hearing on the news that while money is tight and unemployment is high and banks are not lending... at the same time, corporations are sitting on big piles of cash. Kohl's is spending $10 million on a social media campaign that is getting everyone with a child in school to talk about them, engendering good will in the community and ultimately, garnering them new customers. It sounds like a pretty good return on investment.

What if more major corporations followed suit? I'm not talking about more popularity contests -- but what if Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Federated, Kroeger, McDonald's, et al each threw some real money at our nation's schools?

I can dream, can't I?

Bittersweet Chocolate & Champagne: A Fundraiser for the FAIR Fund

Our synagogue is led by a very savvy Rabbi, who understands that once a kid has had his or her Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the family tends to drift away from the congregation. That's why he used every opportunity during my daughter's last year of study to pitch the parents on letting our kids continue through to "Hebrew High." He pointed out that adolescence is a tricky time, when kids may need a safe place where they can reach out to trusted adults outside the family.

My own teen years were kind of rocky, so I found the Rabbi pretty persuasive... and I guess the other parents did too, as most of my daughter's friends are continuing their Jewish education on Tuesday nights.

I soon learned that the biggest difference between Hebrew High and plain ol' Hebrew school is that the kids are older. (Duh!)

But I mean older. As in, they have drivers' licenses and are not afraid to use them.

When I first showed up to pick Megan up a few minutes before class got out, there was a line of cars snaking out the parking lot, as all the spaces were occupied by the vehicles of students who drive there themselves. And since I HATE being at the end of a long line, I got in the habit of getting there really early so I can find myself a spot at the front.

So I find myself most Tuesday nights sitting in a parked car for a good twenty minutes with nothing to do. This is when I'm most thankful for my smartphone. I answer email, follow tweets, play games... and listen to the radio -- most often, one of the public radio stations.

That's how I happened to find myself catching the tail-end of a riveting - and harrowing - conversation between one of the local radio hosts and a woman who had been promised a job in the United States... and ended up a sex slave.

It was a harrowing, tragic, emotional tale -- which fortunately, had a happy ending, as the woman is now on the outside, working to stop the devastating practice of human trafficking... which continues globally, and in many instances, right under our noses. 

I was sobbing a little when my daughter emerged from her Hebrew school session. Thank goodness she's used to me getting emotional over things I hear on the radio.

As a woman who was once a teenager with -- I guess we'll euphemistically call it "issues" -- I can project how easy it might be for a young person to get snared in the trap of one of these predators. And so I didn't have to think very long when I was asked to blog and tweet from tonight's Bittersweet Chocolate and Champagne fundraiser for the FAIR Fund.

It will be a swanky event, with celebrities, "real" media (E! Entertainment television) and yet another red carpet. It should be fun.

More importantly - it should begin raising awareness of this organization which is working hard to enact programs to combat the exploitation of young people.

Will likely have more to say about this tomorrow.

Back to the Red Carpet: Sex Trafficking and Streamys

The post I started yesterday -- which was about how easy it is to become overextended -- never got finished. All of my obligations have come due at once and I found myself overwhelmed in a sea of email, obligations and pet-related duties.

OK, that's not entirely true. It was a beautiful day, my husband was working downtown and he was free for lunch. I took a couple of hours off to play hooky.

It was worth it - but I'm paying the piper now.

I guess I could not get enough of the red carpet at the Academy Awards last month: On Sunday, I'll be reporting live from another red carpet --  at the esteemed Streamys.

What? You've never heard of the Streamy Awards, honoring achievement in web-based television? Neither had I -- and neither of us should feel too badly about that, as this is only their second year. But online television is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with. I was surprised when perusing the nominated programs at how professional they all look... not to mention how many of the actors I'd recognized. Last year's big winner was Neil Patrick Harris. This year's nominees include Tony Hale ("Arrested Development," "Chuck"), Zack Galifianakis ("The Hangover"), Ileana Douglas (who's been in like, EVERYTHING), and Justine Bateman and Lisa Kudrow (do I have to tell you where THEY'VE been?)

As this is the web, it should be a lot looser, funkier and more FUN than the Oscar experience, and I'm expecting to have a good time. And - thanks to my friends at Kodak (who, once again, are sponsoring), I'm going to be giving away a really cool prize in honor of the event. (TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR DETAILS... in the meantime, if you haven't already entered the drawing for the popcorn popper on my review site, PLEASE do so NOW! I'll be announcing a winner on Monday.)

If that was the only thing on my plate this week, it would be enough. After all, I have to get red carpet ready -- or at least, as ready as I can, considering it's been months since I've colored my hair and I don't think I can find the time for that before Sunday. I should at least try to get a manicure in, don't you think?

Right now, I'm wishing I had the bucks to pay Mary Gene, the makeup artist who made Sweatpants Mom and me look beautiful for the Academy Awards. I'm presuming that the folks at Kodak know that I'm a 53-year-old housewife from the Valley (and not some hipster), so they probably won't be surprised when I show up there looking like... well, me.

I'll be dressing up again for another red carpet on Thursday night, when I'll be tweeting live from a fabulous chocolate and champagne event that's raising funds and awareness for an organization that's working to eradicate a very serious problem: human sex trafficking. (You were probably wondering when I was getting around to that, right?)

FAIR Fund, a D.C. based international nonprofit preventing human trafficking and sexual violence in the lives of youth, especially girls, around the world. FAIR Fund builds the capacity of communities to better identify and assist youth who are at high risk or have been exploited via human trafficking and sexual violence. FAIR Fund has active programs in the United States, Bosnia, Serbia, Russia, and Uganda. There are over 200,000 children right here in the US being trafficked for sex every day!

That's a chilling statistic. I've read plenty of news accounts about women who were enslaved and forced to be part of the sex trade, and it horrifies me. But after I've shuddered at the news and thanked God it's not my daughter, I go on living my life -- because how can one individual help these young people?

One individual can't - but an organization can.

I don't give a lot to the community. It's not just because I'm selfish (although I am). It's just the fact that simply living my ordinary life often leaves me feeling overwhelmed (I am still trying to figure out how to get everything done with the added responsibility of being a dog owner. I'm serious). I'm reluctant to make commitments because I'm afraid I won't be able to deliver, because the kind of tasks that are usually asked of moms who volunteer are things I suck at. (You know what I mean: negotiating freebies for silent auctions, doing crafts, being nice to people...)

But the FAIR Fund tasked me with something I am sort of good at: They asked me to blog. And tweet. And help spread the word about what they are trying to do.

So here we are.

The timing isn't great -- but it rarely is. Hence, this slightly schizophrenic post. I'll have more to say about the FAIR Fund and the work they do -- once I've had my glam fun at the Streamys. In the meantime, if you live in Los Angeles and want to mingle with celebrities (and me!) while raising funds and awareness for a really good cause, affordable tickets are still available for the FAIR Fund's Chocolate and Champagne event - click here for details.

DISCLOSURE: I have not received any monetary compensation from any of the companies or organizations mentioned in this post. Kodak is sending me product to use at the Streamy Awards.

Maria Shriver's WEConnect Weekend

I don't usually post press releases verbatim... unless they're extremely funny (like the one I excerpted last week) ...

...or if they are promoting an important public service, like this one that came in my email today:

Hello – this weekend, Maria Shriver and The Women’s Conference is hosting a weekend called WE Connect  Los Angeles, that is designed to help families take full advantage of the valuable financial programs available to them – such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – by bringing together local, state and federal public and private resources all in one place. All the info is here  - weconnect.net. 

The event also boasts FREE:

• Tax Preparation
• Foreclosure Assistance
• Employment/ Resume Assistance
• Bag of Produce
• Flu Shots
• more

We just hosted a similar event in Fresno and over 26 thousand people were served – and over 200 thousand dollars in EITC credits were returned to families in need!

One woman who had not filed her taxes in three years discovered that she was owed about $13,000 -- more than half her annual income.

The event this weekend is at the Forum in Inglewood, from Friday, March 26th – Sunday, March 28th 2010.

• Friday: 3:00 – 8:00pm,
  
• Saturday: 10:00 – 7:00pm
  
• Sunday: 11:00 – 3:00pm

Don't You Think This Man Could Be the Next Face of Benetton? PLEASE VOTE!

I just received a text from one of my daughter's favorite former coaches.

Brian's background wasn't gymnastics, but (I believe) football. He had been working his way through college as a personal trainer when he landed his first job working with young gymnasts. I think the fact that he didn't come up through gymnastics was an asset. The kids all loved him, because he helped them succeed without resorting to some of the harsh tactics that some of the other coaches used.

He's also one of the sweetest guys you'd ever want to meet. Not to mention intelligent. He graduated with honors from CSUN and is currently finishing his studies at USC Law School... while he continues to coach kids in gymnastics. I know this hasn't been easy for him, as both endeavors require a lot of time and focus, and I worry that the immediate need to be able to support himself will keep him from doing what he needs to do to realize his ultimate goals.

 Did I mention that Brian is handsome? Like movie star quality? I don't think I ever told him this - but whenever I showed off photos of Megan's meets, my girlfriends would lose interest in my daughter's amazing feats once they saw a shot with her coaches. The inevitable exclamation was, "Who is THAT?"

  Some of my friends thought I was hanging around the gym for reasons other than supporting my daughter.

 Apparently, others have noticed Brian's good looks. He is in the running to be a model for Benetton, and this could give him the cash he needs to quit coaching and focus on school.

 I would like to see that happen.

 PLEASE take a moment to vote for Brian here. 

 And if you have a moment, please pass this link to your friends. You may even want to tweet it or post it to Facebook.

 You would be doing something really nice for a man who has done a lot for my daughter and her friends.

Thank you!

(PS: The Benetton site is a little bit confusing. I just tried voting for Brian myself and found myself entered in the model search contest, too. Which would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.)

(PPS: It took me about half an hour to figure out that you can't vote if you sign in with your Facebook account. I eventually created a new "voting only" account and it finally took my vote. I'm so lame.

The good news is that I can vote for him once a day.)