Beatitudes Blog

Summer Fellowship: Thank You, Children's Defense Fund!

Submitted by Carson Perez on August 6, 2008 - 10:51pm.

So, here I am. It is my last day at Children’s Defense Fund – California, and I am (needless to say) melancholy to leave. My time with CDF-CA has been truly fruitful and fulfilling, and I plan to share my positive experiences at CDF’s Oakland office, my week at Haley Farm (in Clinton, Tennessee), and the inspiration from Marian Wright Edelman’s Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors with my friends back at Yale Divinity School, my Episcopal church homes (St. Paul’s in Woodside, New York, and St. Thomas’s, in New Haven, Connecticut), and my family in Salt Lake.

I want to thank everyone at CDF (Oakland, Los Angeles, and D.C.) who have inspired me in my fellowship, enlightened me with the intricacies of a child advocacy/non-profit organization, and strengthened my compassion for children/youth and commitment to children’s rights. Especially, I thank these amazing and devoted child advocates and friends: Nina Moreno (my dear supervisor and CDF-mentor), Cathy Maupin, Julene Cirne Lima, Deena Lahn, Cliff Sarkin, Jonah Rabinbach, Jenna Kline, and Tasha Zuzalek. Also, Mickey McKinney, Saudeka Shabazz, Evan Holland, Lindsey Wade, Jose Rodriguez, Derrick Harris, Jennifer Kim, and Elizabeth Delgado. And, last, but definitely not least, the incredible Matt Rosen and Scott Jacobsen, Antonia DeBoer, and the other D.C. and Proctor workers/volunteers, and salt-of-the-earth folks at Haley Farm and St. Francis Episcopal Church.

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Summer Fellowship: What's Wrong with this Picture?

Submitted by Carson Perez on June 19, 2008 - 11:36pm.

Working at such an effective non-profit like Children’s Defense Fund, I am surrounded by statics that make me wonder about many things. I wonder why I haven’t heard these statics before. I wonder why our current administration focuses more on the “War on Terror” than the wars being fought in our own streets, like hunger, homelessness, poverty, and racism. And, I wonder why our great nation and our states do not reform unjust aspects of their judicial systems. Take California, for example. . .

In California, there are more than 9 million children. In California. . . more than 1.7 million children live in poverty; more than 200,000 children are arrested annually; almost 2,000 youth under 18 are incarcerated in adult prisons; and nearly 100,000 children are reported as victims of maltreatment.

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Summer Fellowship: Helping the Helpless

Submitted by Carson Perez on June 18, 2008 - 11:02pm.

In the 2006 Children’s Defense Fund Annual Report, Marian Wright Edelman introduces her message with two other prophetic voices: “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that there are two kinds of leaders: thermometer leaders and thermostat leaders. The former stick their fingers in the air to feel the political temperature and adjust; the latter seek to change the political climate to promote justice for all. For 34 years CDF has sought to be a thermostat leader and to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s often repeated statement as he sought to free India from colonial rule without despondency: ‘Full effort is full victory.’”

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Summer Fellowship: Children's Defense Fund-California (Oakland)

Submitted by Carson Perez on June 18, 2008 - 6:55am.

Moving to the Bay Area to serve as a Beatitudes Society Summer Fellow was one of the things that I had been looking forward to all spring semester. As a second-year, Master of Divinity student at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, I was excited to return to the Golden State, where I had spent my childhood and adolescence. Most importantly, I was excited to learn from, and to contribute to, one of the most respected social justice organizations in the nation (and beyond): Children's Defense Fund, founded by Marian Wright Edelman.

Yesterday afternoon, I made my final revisions to a letter that my supervisor will email early next week to approximately 1,100 religious leaders of various faiths in California. In this letter, I remind Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Baha'i, Buddhist, and other faith leaders of our common Divine mandate to care for, to protect, and to advocate on behalf of children everywhere. And, I encourage them to participate in the National Observance of Children's Sabbaths, on October 17-19, 2008--in worship settings, a weekend dedicated to raising awareness of our children's needs and practical activities that we all can do to ensure that they have the opportunity to live out their God-given potential.

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