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September 20, 2011

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sept. 25 Season Premiere with Michelle Obama

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Since 2003, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EM:HE) has provided 188 home renovations to less fortunate families throughout the United States. Each episode has consisted of telling the story of a family that has endured hardships and their attempt to make the best of their situation. Former model, carpenter & TV host Ty Pennington and his team of designers have dramatically changed the lives of many people throughout the last 8 seasons and this season’s premiere with Michelle Obama definitely will definitely tug at the heart.

Michelle Obama joins Ty Pennington to celebrate and honor Barbara Marshall, a 15-year Navy Veteran, who is fighting to end homelessness among her fellow woman veterans. Barbara Marshall established The Steps-N-Stages Jubilee House in Fayetteville, NC, using her own money and hard work. Jubilee House is a place where homeless female veterans can turn to in their time of need. Jubilee House offers the woman veterans shelter, support and services such as career and life coaching. Barbara’s life has been dedicated to making Jubilee House successful and offering the women who come through the doors a second chance at life.

Not only does Barbara Marshall strive to take care of the woman veterans, but she also is a mother herself. Her daughter is currently serving in the military, and her teenage son, who suffers from a learning disability, lives with her full time. At the taping of the show, Jubilee House was the home to three other families as well, and unfortunately the house needed additional space and repairs in order to stay afloat.

Mrs. Obama, Ty Pennington and the “EM: HE” team of designers Paul DiMeo, Tracy Hutson, John Littlefield, Sabrina Soto, local builder Blue Ridge Log Cabins and hundreds of community volunteers helped build the new Jubilee House, which in my opinion, is one of the most amazing homes I’ve seen so far on EM:HE.

The most important aspect of this season premiere is that it also sheds light on the issues so many veterans face after leaving the military. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states roughly five percent of the nations’ homeless veterans are female.

This show does what television does best it shines a light on the best of who we are as a country…She (Barbara Marshall) represents what military familys are….she’s served in the military herself, and continues to serve ~ Michelle Obama

The Season 9 premiere of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” airs SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (7:00-8:00 & 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

To learn more about The Steps-N-Stages Jubilee House and to make a donation, visit their website: http://www.stepsnstages.com.

Steps & Stages, Inc.:
Resourcing Disabled Women Veterans
P.O. Box 9764
Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311-9764
Tel: 910.977.2303
email: womenvets@stepsnstages.com

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sept. 25 Season Premiere Michelle Obama joins Ty Pennington to celebrate and honor Barbara Marshall, a 15-year Navy Veteran, who is fighting to end homelessness among her fellow woman veterans. Barbara Marshall established The Steps-N-Stages Jubilee House in Fayetteville, NC, using her own money and hard work. Jubilee House is a place where homeless female veterans can turn to in their time of need.

1 Comment / entertainment, Recent / Yesha Callahan
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September 12, 2011

Serena Williams: The Outbursts & Backlash

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Serena Williams is no stranger to controversy when it comes to her outbursts on the tennis court. Two years ago during the 2009 US Open, Serena Williams issued an apology to a lineswoman, who was on the receiving end of her outburst, as well as her opponent, and also received fines from the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

What seemed to be a bit of deja vu with her infamous outbursts, last night at the 2011 US Open, Serena once again voiced her displeasure in a call made by umpire Eva Asderaki.

“Code violation for this? I expressed who I am! We’re in America last time I checked,”

“I despise you. You’re not only out of control, you’re a hater, and you’re just unattractive inside,”

As I wrote last year, one of the main reasons I started watching tennis as a kid was because of John McEnroe, the original bad boy of tennis. McEnroe’s outbursts were legendary. You knew the moment he hit that court that not only were you in for a hell of a match, but you could probably assume he’d lose his temper as well. McEnroe did every thing from curse, yell and break rackets. In his total career, he received over $91,000 worth of fines, which is nothing in comparison to the fines that Serena have already received. His larger than life attitude also became immortalized in various rap songs, as well as joke punchlines through out several Hollywood movies.

Granted the age of anonymous comments on blogs/news sites weren’t around in McEnroe’s era, but he definitely had his share of “haters” back then as well, but the amount of hate that is spewed online towards Serena Williams pales in comparison.

So far today, I’ve seen her being called:

Man’ish

Boorish

Ape-like

Ugly

Aggressive

Overweight

…and those are the less harsh terms.

I think it’s a sad commentary on society’s views about black women in general. I understand everyone has a freedom of speech and opinion, but to discount the fact that Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players ever, to only negate her physical attributes is just ridiculous.

As of this afternoon, Serena Williams has been cited for verbal abuse and the USTA has fined her $2,000 for verbal abuse toward the umpire. Maybe the issue isn’t with Serena’s outbursts but with the archaic ideologies surrounding the rules of tennis. Imagine if you couldn’t express any type of emotion in football, hockey, baseball, basketball? They’d make for pretty boring games. Serena’s intensity and competitiveness is what has gotten her this far in tennis and it’s why she’ll remain a force to be reckoned with.

2 Comments / Recent, sports, women / Yesha Callahan
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September 7, 2011

EBT Cards & Extra Value Meals

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As a kid, this was me:

I hated being sent to the store for groceries. I hated it even more that instead of money, I was sent with food stamps. Even though it was pretty much commonplace to see them being used, there was the stigma attached to them and embarrassment as well. I still remember on one occasion running into a classmate at the corner store. I tried my hardest to hide the food stamps, but failed. He pulled them out of my hand and waved them around. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, but the store owner quickly came and snatched them from the boy’s hands and threw him out of the store.

Since the advent of the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, I guess you can say using public assistance has become a lot more inconspicuous. No one has to see you pull out food stamps from a book, instead your benefits are accessed through your EBT card. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, between 2005-2010, the number of business that accept food stamps have grown by 1/3.

In a report done by USA Today, many restaurants are now trying to get a share of the food stamp/EBT money:

Louisville-based Yum! Brands, whose restaurants include Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver’s and Pizza Hut, is trying to get restaurants more involved, federal lobbying records show.

That’s a prospect that anti-hunger advocates welcome, but one that worries some current food stamp vendors and public health advocates.

Federal rules generally prohibit food stamp benefits, which are distributed under the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), from being exchanged for prepared foods. Yet a provision dating to the 1970s allows states to allow restaurants to serve disabled, elderly and homeless people, USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel said.

Pros? Cons?

Of course there are both to consider.

How would allowing the use of EBT cards at fast food restaurants affect childhood obesity rates? Like my friend Danielle said today, “the hood doesn’t have grocery stores”, and she definitely has a point. When I was a kid, you couldn’t just walk to a grocery store. We had bodegas on just about every corner that accepted food stamps, and let me not forget the Korean owned “fish” markets, where you could get a healthy fried fish sandwich, which most people preferred to the fresh fish they also had available.

Some parents are lazy, and would probably use the EBT access in a heartbeat at the likes of Taco Bell, KFC & Long John Silvers. So I can see why people like Kelly Brownell, director of Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity would have an issue with it:

“It’s preposterous that a company like Yum! Brands would even be considered for inclusion in a program meant for supplemental nutrition.”

But if we’re speaking in regards to the homeless population that typically doesn’t have access to refrigerators and grocery shopping, how preposterous is it for them to have access to already cooked food?

“They think going hungry is better?” counters Edward Cooney of the Congressional Hunger Center. “I’m solidly behind what Yum! is doing.”

So do we worry about the obesity rate or the fact that this could actually help people in the long run?

9 Comments / Recent / Yesha Callahan
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