5th Annual Purple Purse Party Program

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HELPING YOUTH OVERCOME TRAUMA AND BUILD HEALTHIER RELATIONSHIPS

Mission To create culturally specific awareness to prevent and end trauma as a result of domestic violence/intimate partner violence and sexual assault by helping people develop healthy relationships.

Vision A World In Which All People Are Safe And Free From Violence In Their Homes.

What We Believe

We believe people who know they are loved, are taught to believe in themselves, and given an opportunity to ex cel, can live amazing lives.

Who Are We? We Are Warrior Queens, Healers, My Sister's Keepers, Truth Bearers, Advocates, Community Mother's, Sisters & Partners! We are trusted, respected, and loved. We are a premier authority on healthy relationship, teen dating violence & sexual assault awareness & prevention. We are unique & authentic to our mission; we live, work, love and worship in the communities we seek to make the greatest impact. As members of the communities we serve, we have seen and experienced the same traumas, acts of violence, incidents of abuse, concerns, and hopes as the people we support and serve.

Because of this unique, empathetic, and critical insight to stated and unstated community needs, we are a trusted and rich asset to the project of community healing.

(323) 787-9252

www.prc123.org

info@prc123.org

WELCOME

Kandee Rochelle Lewis

Welcome family, friends, and community partners.

Thank you for joining the Positive Results Team and me as we celebrate each of you, your families, our communities, and the blessings of being alive!

As we planned this event, we kept thinking about Surviving these last three years! We had no idea that our entire world would change so dramatically!

Little did we know that was the beginning of what would be Six Pandemics colliding, hitting Black, Brown, Ingenious and Poor people the hardest (COVID, Housing Crisis, Economic Loss, The Murder of Unarmed Black People, and Increased Dating, Domestic, Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault of our most vulnerable population…women and children). All of these things were already happening, but with COVID, it only got worst!

PRC stayed the course, worked hard, utilized our creative genius, provided Free mental health counseling, and collaborated with amazing people and organizations to serve the community to the best of our ability, based on the community's needs.

We choose to be Joyful and Thrive. We Are Survivors! I invite you to take a moment to find your Joy and Thrive with us!

Respectfully, Kandee

MISTRESS OF CEREMONY

Mistress stress of Ceremonies - Vanessa Van Lewis

Born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, Vanessa Rochelle Lewis (MFA) is a Queer, Fat, Black, Femme performer, facilitator, educator, writer, activist, healer, joyful weirdo, and Faerie Princess Mermaid Gangsta for The Revolution.

Vanessa has danced across many professional and creative stages. She has been a Writer and Managing Editor for acclaimed feminist magazines, Everyday Feminism & Black Girl Dangerous; an Adjunct Instructor at multiple Bay Area community colleagues (including College of Alameda, Merrit College, and Chabot Community College); a Fundraiser and Events Coordinator for the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project; the ArtistFacilitator In Residence for the Young Women Freedom Center; and so much more. She is was a core team member for Creating Freedom Movements (an 18 month long social education project that supports grassroots visionary leaders to incubate healing and joy projects while learning more about the art, theory, and practice of social justice movements) and the Director Programs for the Positive Results Center.

Vanessa has spoken at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Hampshire College, The 5 Colleges Queer Conference, Saint Mary’s College of California, UC Riverside, California College of the Arts, California Institute of Integral Studies, Mills College, The SF Dyke March, Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, Women’s Policy Center, and more. In 2021, she was included in The Root 100, a list of the 100 most influential African Americans between the ages of 25-45.

When she’s not trying to save the world, Vanessa loves listening to audiobooks; making friends with strangers; attending local performances; funventuring with her friends, partners, and colleagues; and swimming in every body of water she can find.

Meet The Team - PRC Staff Kandee Lewis CEO / Executive Director

Vanessa Lewis Director of Programs

Ashley Burrus Director of Operations

Senait hardin Office Manager

Crystal Graham Social Media Manager

Shannon McKenzie Donor Engagement

Volunteers Brittany Lieteau Courtney Nicole Elika Bernard Leah Sayles Shanta Alexander Zeia King

Meet The Team - PRC Board Members Rhonda Carter Board Chair

Chinarain Howard Secretary

Venice Gamble Treasurer

Greg Burks Stephen Harris Daisy Newsom

Thank you to our Sponsors All Families Matter Counseling Center, AMAAD Back To The Basics Bernard & Shirley Kinsey Black Women For Wellness Change Reaction Community Action Partnership Councilmember Curren D. Price, Jr. Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson Kaiser Permanente Foundation Kinta & Matthew Gates Life Is A Journey Of Escapes Morrow Meadows Purpose Youth Foundation Sanctuary of Hope Sheedy Counseling She Ready Foundation SoCalGas Southern California I.B.E.W – N.E.C.A Supervisor Holly Mitchell Tribe Of Purpose Union Bank Weingart Foundation Carolyn Christian Hines, In Honor of Sonja Rose Niles

HONOREES

BERNITA R WALKER

Advocate for the Eradication of Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Bernita R. Walker, a Women of Faith is the Chief Executive Officer and CoFounder of Project: PeaceMakers, Inc., in South Los Angeles, Since 1995. As a Violence Prevention Practitioner, an IPV survivor, and a retired Deputy Sheriff for the County of Los Angeles, she has been in the field of DV/IPV for over 43 years where she began by co-founding Jenesse Center.

Presently, she serves as the Representative of the New 9th Council District for the Honorable Curren Price on the City of Los Angeles Domestic Violence Alliance where she has been a member since its inception in 1994 and the co-chair of the DV and Religion Committee for the Los Angeles County DV Council. Since 1995 Project: PeaceMakers, Inc., under the direction of Ms. Walker, has trained approximately 1,300 - 40hr DV/IPV advocates. In 2021, she was chosen to serve on the LA District Attorney’s African American Advisory Board and recently appointed to the DA’s Governance of South Los Angeles. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at Holy Tabernacle MBC where she has been a member since 2004. Her commitment to the erasure of DV/IPV is : “I am a solider and a servant when it comes to addressing this health issue. Care to join me?” Bernita also believes that “L.O.V.E. Is the Answer”.

HONOREES

Eve Sheedy

Eve Sheedy, Esq. is the former Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council, having retired from that position in December 2021. In that capacity, she worked with survivors of domestic violence, public agencies, nonprofits, policy makers, and others to improve the County’s response to domestic violence. Prior to that position, Ms. Sheedy was the Director of Domestic Violence Policy at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. Ms. Sheedy’s decades of work in the domestic violence field are highlighted by her success at addressing the connection of domestic violence to other issues including child welfare, public health, homelessness, gang violence, gun violence, and workplace violence. Her efforts are reflected in legislative and policy change and through education and training. Ms. Sheedy is an active member of the California bar and has practiced law in the areas of criminal defense and prosecution, civil litigation, first amendment, and privacy. Ms. Sheedy received her B.A. from Haverford College and her law degree from Boston University School of Law.

HONOREES

John Jones Jr.

During Covid, we served over 350,000 meals. Right now we serve about 300 families weekly at about 1200 people since November 2021.

John Jones III was born in Gardena and raised in the Florence-Firestone and Watts communities. As a youth, he believed he was destined for gang life due to both sides of his family being members of a local gang in Watts. At the age of 14, after being a part of a tagging crew, he met Deputy Ernie Ortega and Ramsey Nicholson who helped change his life for the better.

In the summer of 1994, Jones and his friends were offered jobs by the same people who once adversely affected his life. From this experience he learned the value of hard work, making a hardearned dollar, and the truth about gang life.

Jones began visiting Roosevelt Park where he participated in youth football and basketball. He would go on to play both sports at Fremont and Huntington Park High Schools.

At the age of 19, John was blessed with a child, which led to life changes. Although he had to stop attending school and forgo enlisting in the military to work, he bounced back. He decided to enroll into. A Job Corps and Guajome Park Academy (SIATech) and earned his high school diploma, Business Management and Office Management certifications by the age of 21. After completing these certifications he became Field Deputy for Council District 15 under Councilmember Joe Buscaino for seven years.

At the age of 28, he took on an opportunity that would change his life forever. This opportunity led to the start of East Side Riders Bike Club (ESR), a community-based organization that has provided support to people in need in the Watts community since its beginning. In 2018, ESR became a nonprofit and has continued its mission of providing food, bikes and more to the Watts community

HONOREES

Michelle Long

Michelle Long is a Chief Real Estate Section C Manager with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

She has worked for the IRS for 34 years. Michelle has worked in multiple business units throughout her career before finding her passion in the Facilities Management and Security Services.

In her role as Section Chief, Michelle oversees real estate projects and programs for 18 large IRS employee-occupied facilities throughout Southern California. She supervises a staff of 20 employees, ranging from Management Assistants to Senior Project Managers. Her team supports approximately 2,200 IRS customers within a real estate portfolio that totals more than 800,000 square-feet of rentable space.

Michelle and her staff are responsible for obtaining and maintaining leases, planning, implementing space acquisition rent reduction projects, designing IRS space, and maintaining logistical programs that include the mail, government vehicles and shred programs.

Michelle is an avid volunteer who believes in giving back to her community. Her mother and young, 96-year-old grandmother instilled the importance of giving back to others when she was a little girl. Ironically, that’s how she was recruited to work for IRS. During her senior year of high school, while volunteering at her church, someone gave her an IRS application, and the rest is history.

While she participates in a myriad of volunteer events, her pride and joy are serving as the Site Coordinator for the “Compton Initiative,” which is a 40-year plan to revitalize the City of Compton one house at a time – www.justdogood.org and volunteering for as many events as possible hosted by the Positive Results Center. Michelle is very involved at her church (Hope In Christ Community Church, Compton) where she is a Youth Leader, Capital Project manager, Community Liaison, Church program and event coordinator and she also helps wherever else she is needed within the ministry.

In her spare time, Michelle enjoys reading, coloring in adult coloring books, cooking, hosting family and friends at home, and of course shopping (retail therapy).

Michelle is also an event planner. She loves working with her family, friends, and clients to create amazing events and bring their visions to life. She earned an Associate’s degree from LA Harbor City College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from Cal State University Dominquez Hills, and a Master’s degree in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peace Building also from Cal State University Dominquez Hills.

HONOREES

Big John Harriel

Big JOHN HARRIEL JR. DIVERSITY MANAGER / SUPERINTENDENT Duties and Responsibilities: Participate and assist our team with implementing training and development for our employees.

Be our corporate liaison with customers, employees, and the community regarding employment opportunities and the development/training we provide.

Assist our customers, employees, and the community with proven methods for educating and developing opportunities for potential new employees. Support and mentor our employees and managers in the tools and skills necessary to carry out our corporate mission and vision regarding employee development.

Help us become a better corporate partners in the communities we work in. Work with the various Local Unions and Apprenticeship Programs to streamline apprenticeship opportunities to underserved communities.

HONOREES

Sikivu Hutchinson & the Young Women’s Freedom Center The Women’s Leadership Project (WLP) is a Black feminist mentoring, civic engagement, and advocacy program designed to educate and train high school and college-aged young women of color and BIPOC queer youth in South L.A. to take ownership of their school communities. Using a Black feminist humanist curriculum, the WLP seeks to empower youth to develop their own voices and self-determination, promote critical consciousness about and activism around racial justice, gender justice and reproductive justice, sexual violence, domestic violence and LGBTQIA+ empowerment, while providing them with a foundation to prepare for college, community activism, and careers.

HONOREES

Sikivu Hutchinson, Ph.D is an educator, author, playwright, director and guitarist. Her books include Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical (2020), Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (2003), Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (2011), the novel and play White Nights, Black Paradise (2015), on Black women, Peoples Temple and the 1978 Jonestown massacre. Her articles have been published in the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, The Humanist Magazine and the L.A. Times. She is the founder of Women’s Leadership Project, Black feminist humanist mentoring and civic engagement program for girls of color in South L.A and a co-founder of the Black LGBTQ+ Parent and Caregiver group.

She is a recipient of the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year award and a 2021 Domestic Shelters Outstanding Youth Leadership Initiative award with Women’s Leadership Project youth for domestic violence prevention advocacy. Her latest novel and play, Rock ‘n’ Roll Heretic: The Life and Times of Rory Tharpe, was published in March 2021 and debuted at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June 2022.

WORSHIPPERS

Anointed Feet Dance

Anointed Feet Dance is a Christian Based Dance School committed to Promoting health, wellness, family support & community development through Dance Workshops & mentorship for ages 3-65 to L.A. County since 2014. AFD offers technique classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary as well as fitness classes including Afro-Fitness, Spin Cycling, Cardio Kickboxing, Line Dance and Xtreme Hip Hop fitness. AFD also regularly conducts mentorship workshops that encourage self esteem and life skills for all students.

Anointed Feet Dance’s rapport within the community has graced them the opportunity to dance at mega dance conferences and conduct master classes nationally and internationally. Anointed Feet Dances mission is To Inspire dancers of all ages to embrace a lasting love and appreciation for dance through creative and innovative choreography and education. AFD encourages their students to lead, teach, and to be positive reinforcements to all those they come encounter with.

MUSICAL GUESTS

Belle & Her Funky Cousin’s

AERIALISTS

Aerialist - Darielle Wiliams

Aerialist - Pamela Donohoo

For Your Enjoyment Catering Summit Events veronica@summitevents.com

Decor & Design Ashley Nicole Events ashleynicoleexperience.com

DJ, Audio & Visual Lindor Johnson Lindorjohnson@att.net

Gift Baskets Rhoda's Best Shot rhodasbestshot.com

Photography Madison Shalae madisonshalae@gmail.com

Photography & Videography KD The Shooter KDTheShooter.com

Videographer Sheryl Sims shurlgurlprod@gmail.com