Name: Molly Stump
Date registered: December 30, 2011
May 21 2013
Despite its use as a derogatory slang term for homosexuals, the term Fairy largely tends to conjure images of small, often winged magical beings that inspire mystical and enchanted childhood beliefs and memories. This week West Valley one n ten got a chance to create its own pixie magic in what seems to be its most popular crafts night when it made Fairy Jars. Led by West Valley’s own Commander and volunteer Avi; who spoke a bit about discovering the project last summer through a close companion who mentioned a Pinterest idea that then had to tested and adjusted. The jars were introduced at last year’s OUTdoors! Camp where they were a favorite cabin project by several cabins. With the back-story out of the way, Avi broke out the supplies and demonstrated to the youth how to capture their very own fairy in a jar.
Beginning with mason jars, the youth mixed silver, diamond, and white glitter into their jars. Next, a small piece of white tulle fabric was cut and added to the jar, which helped to suspend the glitter inside the jar. Finally, glowsticks of all colors were cracked and lit before being cut open and the contents added to the jars. With a little shake, the jars quickly came alive and “Fairies” could be seen floating in the middle of the glittering and glowing jars. The youth were quick to mix colors, creating their own custom shades of magic and feeling like wizards, or a certain Hylian hero in their creations.
The remainder of the evening consisted of social time, as the school year for many of our youth is drawing to a close. The youth feedback was tremendously positive, with many stating that this project has been their favorite crafts project. Beyond the wonderful creativity of our youth, the evening seemed to spark childhood excitement and wonder in them as well – which is the most powerful magic of all.
*Special Thanks to Gabriel Durante for his suggestion and inspiration of the original project.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/21/you-caught-a-fairy-west-valleys-crafts-night-is-magical/
May 20 2013
Though temperatures are creeping into the triple digits here in the Valley Of The Sun, in other parts of the country May typically signifies the beginning of spring weather and activities. With spring comes a new beginning as flowers and trees burst into a virtual rainbow of blossoms of all shades. West Valley one n ten took the opportunity to celebrate by planting seeds of its own with a Spring Planting Night.
Youth were given flower pots, potting soil, and a mix of flower seeds to create their own mini flower garden as their own symbol of spring rebirth. Encouraged to decorate their pots with stickers, ribbon, glitter, and paint before planting a mix of flower seeds that will not only look beautiful, but attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The youth were then given the challenge to keep their flowers alive and document it through pictures as they will compete who can keep their plants alive the longest, and will be judged at the end of summer by our staff and volunteers. It made for a fun way to celebrate springtime and warmer weather with an activity that encouraged creativity in the present sense, and nurturing qualities in the longer term as the youth care for their plants and watch them grow and thrive – not altogether different from what one n ten volunteers and staff do with our LGBTQ youth every day.
The rest of the evening was devoted to social time for the group, because what better excuse than springtime to simply relax and socialize as spring fever hits, even if you live in AZ where winter means wearing a hoodie? It kept the mood light, fun, and positive for everyone as we had our own celebration and even got our hands a little dirty in the process.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/20/growing-strong-west-valleys-spring-planting-night/
May 10 2013
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/10/farewell-melissa/
May 07 2013
When you look back on your life, where are the important places that pop into your memory? Perhaps it was the first school you attended, or a close relative’s house. Maybe it was a favorite vacation, or a secret fort as a kid. West Valley one n ten had the opportunity to identify and share places and events that were important to them. Our youth were joined by Central one n ten’s very own Commodore Bea as well as youth from one n ten’s Promise of a New Day Housing Program who chose to visit West Valley in hopes of starting a mentoring program between themselves and the younger West Valley youth.
The activity for the evening was drawing “hotspot” maps which identified personal places of importance in their lives such as places they find comfort, support, where they are able to be themselves, and places where important events happened in their lives. The group was given sheets of paper and different art supplies, then allowed to break up and create their maps.
Later in the evening, the group formed back to allow everyone to share their maps. Common places identified were old homes, homes of friends, life in other cities and moving to Arizona, one n ten as a safe space, church as spiritual support, and OUTdoors! Camp (gay camp) as a place where our youth found support and their own identities. The evening proved to me a moving and enlightening one where the youth were able to interact with each other in a different way and learn all new kinds of things about people they thought they were already familiar with.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/07/mapping-out-your-life-west-valleys-hotspot-map-workshop/
May 07 2013
In response to the NBA’s Jason Collins’ public coming out, Channel 12 interviewed several one n ten athletes about their thoughts concerning this announcement. This announcement made Collins’ the first male professional athlete to publicly come out as gay while still actively playing in a major professional sports league. You can view the video of this interview below.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/07/one-n-ten-athletes-on-channel-12/
May 07 2013
With new faces joining West Valley one n ten, it was high time we tested the LGBT pop cultural and historical knowledge of our youth with a series of fun and challenging trivia questions spanning decades of LGBT related movies, television, music, and history with volunteers serving as judges and awarding points for correct answers, and occasionally providing hints to stumped participants.
With the promise of “fabulous prizes” to tempt them; our youth “buzzed in” and answered individual questions ranging from events and people from Ancient Rome through 2013 drawing on gay icons such as Judy Garland, Alan Turning, Freddie Mercury, Madonna, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Lady Gaga; as well as events impacting LGBTs such as Lawrence v Texas, DOMA, Proposition 8, DADT, states allowing same sex marriage; and even tested LGBT related terminology such as defining pocket gays, fruit flies, gaydar, and chapstick lesbians.
The evening was lively as youth tried to answer quickly, often times scrambling to buzz in to answer, then stump others by picking older decades and more obscure categories. In the end, when scores were tabulated, a rainbow round was held to determine the final prizes, which as promised, were fabulous gift cards to Target and Barnes and Noble and a special prizes of books on Gay encouragement for further research. As a bonus that was the highlight of the evening for the youth was the presentation of “Official Gay Cards” for their demonstration of LGBT knowledge; which both reminds cardholders to love, honor, and respect each other, and come with a “3 Strikes and you lose” clause for offenses against fellow LGBTs.
The evening served as both a learning opportunity from the trivia portion, but also allowed the youth to feel validated, empowered, and connected to the greater LGBT community. While the concept of a “Gay Card” brings a chuckle, and a smile to older members of the community, it was simply magical to watch the pride our youth had as they left for the night, with those cards in hand and sense of authorization and endorsement from “senior LGBTs.”
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/07/coming-out-of-the-past-west-valleys-gay-history-gay-pop-culture-night/
May 06 2013
With 90 seconds to sketch a randomly drawn person, place, or thing; West Valley one n ten youth competed in teams against each other with hilarious funny guessing and cheers at correct answers at some of the most basic and random of sketches of LGBT related subjects. It was Gay Pictionary Night in West Valley, and the teams were playing for keeps.
Before the game was announced, the volunteers were asked to write down a person, place, or thing and place it in a bag. The youth were then split up into two teams and given mere minutes to pick team names and captains. As the game started, the random words were drawn from the bag by the youth team members as they rotated up in competition to draw their subject for their team to guess. With people like Lady Gaga, Harvey Milk, Judy Garland, and Jeffery Star; places like San Francisco, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and Home Depot; as well as things like Diva, Unicorn, and Fierce – both artistic and logical deduction skills were pushed to the max. The competition was fierce in every sense of the word, with the teams tied at the end of the allotted time. This resulted in a “ Sudden Death Rainbow Round” to declare a winner.
The evening was lively, the sketches and guesses hilarious that truly made for an energetic and playful night of camaraderie and good natured competition that also welcomed new members to West Valley.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/06/queer-sketching-west-valleys-gay-pictionary-night/
May 06 2013
One thing that has always been popular at West Valley one n ten has been snacks. While our youth love and appreciate the usual snacks provided for them every group, they LOVE when they get an opportunity to create their own treats, and learn a recipe they can share with friends and family. West Valley’s very own Zinc Saucier Avi returned for a night dedicated to bringing the youth together through cooking simple and delicious snacks.
On the menu were perennial favorites Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries and Candy Sushi. Beginning with the Strawberries, Avi demonstrated how to hollow out the berries then showed another group of youth how to mix the cream cheese filling with vanilla and powdered sugar, then how to pipe it into the strawberries using a Ziploc baggie before finishing with a graham cracker topping. He then showed another group of youth and volunteers how to make Candy Sushi using thin sheets of Rice Krispy treats, rolled around twizzlers or gummi worms, and wrapped with fruit rollup “seaweed”, and accompanied by whipping cream “wasabi,” slices of strawberry fruit rollup “pickled ginger,” and chocolate syrup “soy sauce.”
The desserts were a huge hit, mostly due to the sugar content, but also in that it encouraged everyone to work together creatively on a common project as well as how deceptively simple the desserts are to make. Several youth with little to no cooking experience left for the evening stating how they were going to make these treats on their own to share with friends and family members. It was great to see youth not only enjoy the evening, but learn a new skill in the kitchen and become inspired to create and share something with those closest to them.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/06/3250/
May 04 2013
Valentine’s Day always seems to conjure up extremes for people; whether it’s a day of love and romance, or a Hallmark holiday meant to make the lonely even more miserable. At West Valley one n ten the goal was to simply use the day as an excuse to have a party complete with baked treats. The evening kicked off with a brief discussion of the history of Valentine’s Day before the youth were asked what the holiday means to them. As expected, the responses were varied from positive, negative, and simple apathy. The youth were then asked to share best and worst Valentine’s memories, though few volunteered to step up and share stories.
The evening moved on to social time with an edible crafts activity. Mini red velvet cake hearts were baked for the youth to decorate and eat while they socialized. The youth seemed to enjoy this portion of the evening as they began making cake sandwiches and other goodies before they turned their attention to a bundt cake which they frosted with rainbow frosting and candy hearts.
The evening proved to be a welcome respite from the pressures of love and relationship the holiday seems to inspire, and instead simply allowed our youth to enjoy a social evening with lovingly made treats that allowed them to tap into their creativity, but satisfy their sweet tooth to boot.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/04/crazy-little-thing-called-love-west-valleys-valentines-night/
May 03 2013
West Valley one n ten spent an evening reflecting on the kindness of others and the power of compliments as they participated in Appreciation Night. The evening kicked off with the group asked about random acts of kindness they have done for others, or that others have done for them. Examples such as receiving Queermas gifts were offered, which many youth reported feeling surprised and humbled to even have a gift through their one n ten family. This was followed up by a discussion of how it feels when someone does something nice for them, and the effect a compliment does to someone when they are feeling down or in an otherwise bad mood. The group was reminded of the power of random compliments.
The main activity for the evening involved clipping a paper to the back of everyone’s shirts, with others writing one thing they appreciate about that person, or offer one compliment to that person. Within minutes the group was writing “secret” messages of appreciation and compliments to each other. Following the activity, the group was called back together to share what others wrote of them, and their reactions when they read what others had to say about them. One youth put it best:
“I really appreciated the compliments you all wrote on my paper. It really meant a lot to me, I had no idea you all had such nice things to say about me. I’m really glad you’re all in my life. You’re like my big gay fabulous family.”
The evening ended with an encouragement to give compliments frequently, as it not only makes that person’s world that much brighter, but your own as well.
Permanent link to this article: http://onenten.org/2013/05/03/appreciating-the-little-things-west-valleys-appreciation-night/