fresh
PERSPECTIVE
FOR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS OF FRESH START WOMEN’S FOUNDATION | FALL/WINTER 2015
PERSPECTIVES This edition of Fresh Perspective unfolds the journey and success of three clients—Tina, Kate, and Lois—as they sought to pursue their dreams of owning their own business and overcame challenges to successfully complete Fresh Start’s rigorous nine month Small Business Start-Up program, offered through a wonderful partnership with Paradise Valley Community College. Tina, Kate and Lois’s entrepreneurial spirit and desire to make their mark in the business world is an inspiration to us, and we hope to you, too.
TERRY ROMAN Executive Board Chair
We are pleased that Fresh Start’s impact in the community is strong and continues to pave a positive path for women. In fact, Fresh Start currently serves 11,554 active clients and this past July through October placed 1,080 women in jobs through our on-site Goodwill Career Center. During this season of gratitude, we thank our supporters—each gift is so important in helping us carry out our mission. If you have yet to make an end-of-year donation, please include Fresh Start. As little as $10 will help scholarship a woman to take a lifechanging workshop. Or, a $50 gift can cover costs in providing a woman a life-saving support group session. Fresh Start is committed to financial transparency and accountability, honors each donation and maximizes its impact to provide quality programs and services for women. Together, we are making a difference in women’s lives—lives like Tina, Kate and Lois’s.
SUSAN BERMAN President and CEO 2
FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
SPECIAL SECTION SMALL BUSINESS START-UP: Pursuing the entrepreneurial spirit
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FORE! THE 21ST ANNUAL FRESH START CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC Presented by Valley Toyota Dealers, the Charity Golf Classic reaches new heights
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20th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE FRESH START GALA A milestone event where the past meets the future
8 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS • Inaugural Women’s Retreat • Law Day for Women • Freshgiving
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CLIENT STORY: DEBBIE
LAST NOTE 10 • Welcome Cathy Kleeman, VP of Development
• Charitable Tax Credit
UPCOMING EVENTS • Second Annual Women’s Conference • Inspired Leadership Series • 20th Celebration of the Fresh Start Gala
© 2015 Fresh Start Women’s Foundation
FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
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SMALL BUSINESS START-UP PURSUING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT “Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams, ” Ralph Waldo Emerson said. And, though moving toward fulfilling dreams is one of life’s pleasures, taking the first step can be overwhelming and unsettling, especially if the dream is starting a new business. As a source of support and a place of learning for women, Fresh Start offers budding female entrepreneurs the opportunity to take college accredited courses from Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) on-site through the Small Business StartUp program so they can take the necessary steps to achieve their career dreams. “When the 2008 recession hit, PVCC students— primarily women students—were losing their jobs and wanted to work from home,” said Dr. Dina Preston-Ortiz, resident faculty member at PVCC. “We put together the small business start-up certificate program in response to this growing need. Academically, the program that is offered at Fresh Start is the same as that taught oncampus at PVCC. It’s challenging coursework.” The program focuses on every aspect of business development including marketing, management, and 4
accounting, and is offered once per year and held each Saturday for nine months. Fourteen women made the commitment this semester, one of the largest groups since the inception of the partnership five years ago. “This course prepares women to start their own business. At the end of the nine-month commitment, participants walk out with a robust, carefully vetted business plan. Every successful business needs a strategy, and without it, business owners are just working in the dark,” says Preston-Ortiz. Most Fresh Start participants, even if they have an academic background, find the course to be rigorous. “Coming in and doing college-level work can be daunting. My job is to get them situated and to feel safe in a learning environment.” Many of the PVCC faculty who teach each unit are business owners. “Our job is to create a foundation. Once they have completed the Small Business Start-Up program, it’s our hope they will continue to connect with resources for funding and reconnect with mentors to keep the momentum going.” FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
Tina, Kate and Lois are recent graduates of the 2015 Small Business Start-Up program. Here’s what they have to say about their experience.
TINA
KATE
LOIS
Business: An online resource for parents with children with special needs.
Business: Mobile photo booth for weddings, parties and corporate events.
Business: Answering service.
“Small Business Start-Up helped build my confidence—I could really do this! Access to experts, the latest research, and best practices in entrepreneurship helped me make my dreams a reality.”
FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
“This experience has increased “This course helped me sharpen my my confidence and helped me professional edge. And, it changed understand how business works. I my definition of success, which is can take what I have learned and more than a good grade, it’s also apply it to any business opportunity. about how ideas are shaped and The program makes it so much presented.” easier to take your business ideas forward.”
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FORE! THE 21ST ANNUAL FRESH START CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC 2015 HOSTED BY
FRESH START WOMEN’S FOUNDATION MEN’S BOARD PRESENTED BY
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Celebrating its 21st year, the Fresh Start Charity Golf Classic presented by Valley Toyota Dealers, and hosted by the Fresh Start Men’s Board, welcomed a sold out crowd of nearly 230 golfers on Nov. 6 at Kierland Golf Club and grossed more than $360,000 with proceeds benefitting Fresh Start. The Golf Classic is one of Arizona’s largest non-celebrity charity golf events, and welcomed a sold out event for its second year in a row.
Golfers delighted in playing the beautiful links, enjoyed breakfast, lunch and beverages on the course, and finished with a spirited awards banquet and live auction. Throughout the event, players had a chance to win 12 hole-in-one opportunities, including an array of vehicles courtesy of Valley Toyota Dealers.
FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
20 years
CELEBRATING
FRESH START GALA
Pamela Overton Risoleo and Jim Risoleo CO-CHAIRS
Ina and Murray Manaster HONORARY CHAIRS
Nancy Hanley 2016 FOUNDERS’ AWARD HONOREE
20TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE FRESH START GALA The Gala is celebrating an exciting milestone and will honor two decades of support for Fresh Start Women’s Foundation on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at The Phoenician. Guests will be treated to a gourmet dinner, incredible live entertainment, dancing and many memorable surprises throughout this special evening.
The 2016 Founders’ Award honoree, Nancy Hanley, will be recognized at the event for her longtime devotion to the women of Phoenix and to Fresh Start. For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Amanda Schmidt at (602) 261-7140 or aschmidt@fswf.org.
Longstanding Fresh Start champions and supporters, Pamela Overton Risoleo and husband Jim Risoleo, will serve as co-chairs of the event. Honorary Chairs are Ina and Murray Manaster. FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS INAUGURAL WOMEN’S RETREAT In October, Fresh Start hosted its first personal and professional development retreat for 12 clients. Held in beautiful Prescott, Ariz., the retreat incorporated classes about emotional intelligence, forgiveness, and tools for life transition and transformation. Fun, outdoor activities including rock climbing, zip lines and yoga, created community and connection between participants. One client stated, “I learned to trust myself and to forgive those that have hurt me.” Overall, clients had a wonderful time and were able to take home useful, positive tools to use in their lives.
FRESHGIVING On Friday, Nov. 20, women and their children enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal during Fresh Start’s second annual Freshgiving event. Fresh Start staff and volunteers, as well as volunteers from APS served the delicious meal, and Child Watch staff provided activities and crafts for the children. Women also had the opportunity to get creative by adding a handprint to the gratitude tree sharing what they are most grateful for.
LAW DAY FOR WOMEN Once again, women from around the Valley had the opportunity to meet with an attorney at the bi-annual Fresh Start Law Day for Women held Oct. 24. One woman said of the program, “I feel much more informed and much more confident to go forward with my case, due to the advice and information I received today.”
A total of 63 women received legal information and assistance from 12 practicing attorneys in the areas of bankruptcy, family, employment, immigration, tax, landlord/tenant law, wills and trusts, and divorce financial planning. Many of the women were able to meet with more than one attorney throughout the day. Thank you to Tara Ryan with the Department of Child Support
Services and Danielle Gaudio with Arizona Summit Law School, and to the following attorneys for volunteering their time: Diana M. Baskind, Esq. Darin Colburn, Esq. Stephanie M. Corcoran, Esq. DeeAnn Gillespie Strub, Esq. Renee Hanson, CFP, CDFA John C. Kelly, Esq. Jolanta Rusinski, Esq. Felicia Schumacher, Esq. Carlene Simmons, Esq. René Siqueiros, Esq. Bree Stamper, Esq. James Wees, Esq. Susan J. Wees, Esq. The next Law Day for Women will be held Saturday, April 23.
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FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
CLIENT STORY: DEBBIE IN HER OWN WORDS, FRESH START CLIENT DEBBIE SHARES HER STORY husband. It was a vicious, never-ending cycle. I had lost all hope. Fast forward 24 years, nothing had changed except the kids had all moved out. One morning, as my husband was on a drunken rampage, I realized that I could just grab the car keys and drive away; nothing was forcing me to stay. As I backed out of the driveway, with my heart pounding out of my chest, I knew I would never return, not even for my clothes. With no education, no work experience, not even a high school diploma, I began submitting applications for work. Finding work proved impossible. I was homeless and lived in my car for one-and-a-half years.
I’m so grateful for this opportunity to share with you what Fresh Start has done for me in the few short months since I walked through the doors of this wonderful foundation for women. It would be impossible to explain how far I’ve come and how different my outlook is today without explaining the path that led me here. Having a mentally ill mother and alcoholic father, my childhood was full of violence, and the door constantly revolved as a result of being rescued by my loving grandmother and then forced back home to endure more abuse. By 16, I had run away too many times to count. I opted to have a child of my own to be deemed an adult and became a young teenage mother. I struggled with extreme poverty and faced many hardships. I met a man many years older than myself and thought nothing of it when he began to hit me. The morning of my 22nd birthday, I married him. By that night, I had a badly broken arm, wrist and hand, along with three broken ribs. By 26, I had four kids, was totally dependent on my husband, and was not allowed to work or have any friends. There were many times I fled with my children to domestic violence shelters, only to return to my FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
Sick of abuse plaguing my life, I was determined for the sake of my sister, who had recently committed suicide, to finally stop just surviving and actually begin living. The guilt and the grief of her death was difficult to overcome and I was worn down. For nearly 16 months, I had lived in a deep depression, void of all feelings and I became a living dead person. On April 3 of this year, the dark cloud finally lifted from my life and for the first time in 437 days, I awoke with hope! I wanted a job, a new life, a fresh start, so I went to the Goodwill Career Center to work on a resume and was referred to Fresh Start. After taking the Center orientation and then the weeklong Jump Start program, I applied for On-the-Job Training (OJT) and was accepted. I requested to work in the warehouse and my request was granted. Though my time in OJT has ended, I still work in the warehouse at Fresh Start, and I am so grateful. I am whole again—mentally, physically and spiritually. Fresh Start helped me find the old me and merge it into the new me, a confident and strong woman. The staff is wonderful. The opportunities are endless. You, yourself, may never need to utilize the services offered at Fresh Start, but you may run across a woman who does. I am actual proof of what Fresh Start does for hurting and broken women. Please, have full confidence that sending them to Fresh Start can change their lives from the inside out. 9
LAST NOTE WELCOME CATHY KLEEMAN, VP OF DEVELOPMENT Fresh Start recently welcomed Cathy Kleeman as vice president of development. Kleeman’s involvement with Fresh Start began nearly 20 years ago as she served on Fresh Start’s Executive Board and was a part of the lead capital campaign team to build the Jewell McFarland Lewis Fresh Start Women’s Resource Center. During her tenure as a board member, she chaired several Fresh Start fundraisers including the Gala in 2002 and 2007. Kleeman previously served as owner of KNK2, a strategic marketing company and also as vice president of sales and marketing for the Phoenix Suns. Her involvement with community organization boards and memberships include: Heart Ball chair, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Childhelp USA, PANDA and chair of Xavier College Preparatory’s scholarship fashion show.
CHARITABLE TAX CREDIT As you make your year-end contribution, please support Fresh Start. As an Arizona taxpayer, you can receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $400 joint/married and $200 individual when donating to Fresh Start by Dec. 31. This tax credit can be used with the education tax credit. Our friends at the Chandler Compadres will contribute even more to Fresh Start if you select us as your charity of choice when making your secure online donation through their website. For more information, visit freshstartwomen.org/charitable-tax-credit.
UPCOMING EVENTS SECOND ANNUAL WOMEN’S CONFERENCE Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 The 2nd Annual Fresh Start Women’s Conference offers women the opportunity to discover their purpose and successfully navigate some of life’s challenges through expert-led courses that will leave participants feeling empowered and inspired.
INSPIRED LEADERSHIP SERIES Third Friday of each month, Jan. – Oct. 2016 Offered to mid-level professionals in the community, the Inspired Leadership Series is a free lunch and learn event, thanks to a grant by American Express. An engaging expert presents a topic each month about a topic relevant to current workplace trends.
20TH CELEBRATION OF THE FRESH START GALA Saturday, March 12, 2016 As Fresh Start’s largest fundraising event, the 20th Celebration of the Fresh Start Gala will honor two decades of one of the premier charity events in Phoenix. 10
FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
EXECUTIVE BOARD CO-FOUNDERS: Pat CHAIR
Terry Roman PAST CHAIR
Joan Brubacher VICE-CHAIR
Lorraine Field SECRETARY
Jude Miller Burke TREASURER
Katie Scardello
Lynn Agnello Barbara Anderson Tracy Bame Betsey Bayless Kate Birchler Kristin Bloomquist Gena Bonsall Renee Castillo Meghan Grabel Joelle Hadley Ruth Hunter Karlene Keogh Parks
Petznick and Beverly Stewart Kim Kiyosaki Janet Kizziar, Ph.D. Eleanor Klein Christine Kline Marlene Klotz-Collins Leah Lewis Nancy Loftin Fran Mallace Kim McWaters Annette G. Musa Jodi Noble Sally Odegard
Pamela Overton Risoleo Pat Petznick Susan Segal Lisa Stevens Anderson Beverly Stewart Jacki Tatman Julie Tomich Barbara Tripp Mary Upchurch Theresa H. Vella Patty White
STAFF Gaeliel Apostolou, Program Coordinator Wendy Arana, Child Watch Supervisor Brooke Baumer, Program Coordinator Susan Berman, President and CEO Martina Carrizosa, Child Watch Coordinator Linda Cohen, Chief Financial Officer Kelly Cook, Social Work Manager Michelle Gere, Events Associate Chelsee Gille, Program Coordinator Edna Gomez-Green, Family Law Support Manager Audrey Greene, Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator Elizabeth Howard, Client Services Manager Trinka Jones, Client Relations Assistant Cathy Kleeman, Vice President of Development
Tracy Lathion, Executive Assistant Shay Masterson, Program Coordinator Carolyn Quinn, Social Worker Leslie Ramirez, Family Law Support Specialist Frances Rodriguez, Resource Specialist Laurie Rosales, Resource Specialist Merle Salus-Herbig, Social Worker Amanda Schmidt, Events Manager Meg Sneed, Program Manager Regina Valdez, Client Relations Coordinator Jennifer Wagner, Marketing/PR Manager Mandy Watkins, Grants Manager Sunshine Watson, Data Technologist
Fresh Perspective is a newsletter published bi-annually by Fresh Start Women’s Foundation. Jennifer Wagner, Editor : Pete Choukalas, Designer : Harvey Shank, Photos (Cover and Pg.9) FRESH PERSPECTIVE | FALL/WINTER 2015
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Fresh Start Women’s Foundation 1130 E. McDowell Road Phoenix, AZ 85006
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602-252-8494 | info@fswf.org | freshstartwomen.org |
“Fresh Start offers a nonjudgmental, supportive environment. To find a safe haven in a metropolis was wonderful because it was my quiet space to find myself again. Fresh Start offers such wonderful resources. It feels so good to say I’m back!” Tina, Fresh Start Client