Jessica Stark, Women's Empowerment Projects Manager

In looking for ways to continue the momentum focused on women’s empowerment, Community Impact LAB was thrilled to bring 50/50 Day to San Leandro.  Let It Ripple Film Studio and Director Tiffany Shlain produced “50/50: Rethinking the Past, Present, and Future of Women + Power” and developed a platform to share its message and engage individuals and communities in a global discussion on gender parity.
The May 10th 50/50 Day event spanned across the U.S. and the world with over 11,000 events. Two of the key themes contemplated in the film were: “Where are we really on the greater arc of history of women and power?” And “What’s it going to take to get to a 50-50 world, not just in politics and board rooms, but truly shifting the gender balance to true equality for women.”

My name is Jessica Stark, and I recently become more engaged with Community Impact LAB and its vision of creating a world where women and their abilities are valued and where families are supported to act as a force for positive social change.  
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This film was a call to change the narrative, from scarcity to abundance, to call out and recognize the strong, powerful and inspiring women that are around us in our communities and globally. Those who attended reinforced this image, with their bright, bold, intelligent and engaging post-film discussion. I was truly honored to help facilitate and grateful to be apart of an organization that fosters this and a community that supports it.
The most powerful quote to me from the film is from Laura Liswood, who is the Secretary General of Women World Leaders, when she describes change in terms of a standing ovation. That initially it is only a few people who stand and clap, and little by little the audience rises.  It reminds me, it only takes a few to start a movement of change, but eventually we will have the whole crowd up on their feet.

Overall, I came away from this event renewed, inspired and in acknowledgment of how important witnessing and recognizing women empowering women is to ensure that the supportive trend and narrative continues. Community Impact LAB has been an example to me of how empowering women produces results and builds a stronger community. Xouhoa Bowen started this organization with the purpose of helping women and families. Through her engagement and leadership, she’s gathered a group of extraordinary women that make-up the organization’s board and manage initiatives focused on empowering women to live, give, and grow to their fullest potentials. With each social good, learning, and family lab project, the ripples of support and change extend beyond those directly impacted. The more we can pull each other up, mentor and support each other, the more successful we all will be.

I look forward  to being able to help coordinate and participate in more events that recognize, celebrate and support women and families in this community.
A large thanks goes out to Let It Ripple Film Studio for making this film and this day possible, to FilmHero for being our liaison and ambassador for this project, to Pilot City for providing the space to host and to the San Leandro Women Entrepreneurs and all the inspiring women who joined us to make this event a powerful catalyst for change.

Jessica Van Soest, Learning Lab Projects Manager
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With so much happening in the world today, it is not always easy to focus in on a specific topic to analyze and open conversation around. A fantastic documentary, #GoAgainsttheFlow,  was brought to our attention by a start-up called Film Hero. The film features the wisdom of several women entrepreneurs in a mainly male-dominated industry. True strength, innovation, and determination were displayed by these powerful women leading companies brought to life through their hard work and intelligence. After the screening, we had an open Q&A panel discussion with local San Leandro women entrepreneurs and mothers. Taking on the dream of starting a business is not easy, doing it with a young child at home and balancing work and motherhood is a whole new world of multi-tasking and management. Talking with these mompreneurs (Xouhoa Bowen of Community Impact Lab, Neha Sampat of BelongLab, Sara Ubelhart of Zocalo Coffeehouse, and Sysamone Phaphon of Film Hero)  was an uplifting experience that left everyone in the audience leaving inspired. Focusing the discussion around how much women can achieve their goals at home and in the workplace is something Community Impact Lab is trying to bring to light and empower our members to do.

To continue the discussion of kick ass women, we will be hosting another screening but this time we will be joining millions of people across the US and in 27 countries for 50/50 Day on May 10th to screen the film 50/50 and talk about what it's going to take to get to a more gender balanced world! #Gettingto5050 . Let’s talk about it!

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​We recently launched our brand new series Mamahood Coffee and Conversation, a forum where moms can connect with others, gain support, and discuss topics relevant to their current lives and it went so well that we really wanted to share about it!
Our inaugural meeting was a tremendous success: we had eleven total attendees all of whom shared their need to connect with other parents and learn from one another. Participants shared a little about their current parenting situations, as well as what they wanted to get from their participation in the group. When asked to share their best parenting quality, the group's answers included: flexibility, creating experiences, structure, patience, and fun. The strengths and skills brought to the table by all the participants was tremendous and demonstrated just how important it was to have a space like this series. Moms asked for future meetings to focus on discipline, co-parenting, and relationships -- issues that affect most parents almost daily.
My name is Carolynn Langsdale, and as a child and family psychologist (as well as a parent and a member of our CIL leadership team) the importance of these kinds of connections and caring spaces is in the forefront of my mind both personally and professionally. When I gave a series of talks last year about parenting, it was clear that folks wanted to connect with one another as parents and find strength in one another. I have been working with parents and children since the very beginning of my mental health career and it has been and incredibly rewarding path for me, and fits so well with the mission of CIL. People are at their best not just when they are handed solutions by experts or professionals, but when they find their own solutions and a space like this series allows parents to figure out what will work for their family.
The warmth and optimism of the moms at the table was heartwarming, and a clear reminder of why building community and supports is so vital to parenthood: we cannot do this alone -- we are stronger together.
The space around our group was filled with both laughter and frustration as everyone shared their parenting challenges and recognized their own struggles in others. Even after the official close of the event, several moms stayed back just to socialize with others and continue the feelings of support and care.
Mamahood Coffee and Conversation meets the second and fourth Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Zocalo Coffee House in San Leandro. The group is member-directed and facilitated by members of our leadership team. As with all CIL event, parents are more than welcome to bring their children to these meetings (and several did!).

We hope that anyone in need of this kind of support will join us!

Community Impact Lab is teaming up with Groupeezz, Inc. to present a screening of "Go Against the Flow" & a panel Q&A session with inspiring women entrepreneurs and mompreneurs. ​

Calling all mamas who could use some support! We are launching a new meeting series: Mamahood Coffee and Conversation. This will be a bi-weekly meeting where mamas can come together, talk about a variety of challenges and triumphs in parenthood, and get support from other mamas in their community.
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Come make cards and care packages to send along with baby carriers to refugees in Europe. We'll be sending them on through the folks at Carry the Future. We will be at Casa Peralta in San Leandro at 10:30am! This is the first in a series of weekend opportunities for you to volunteer as a family. ​

Saturday, November 19th 10am-12pm
​Post-partum depression is a very common experience for mothers and should be talked about a lot more in society. The birth of a baby can trigger a jumble of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety. But it can also result in something you might not expect — depression. Join us and learn from somatic psychotherapist Alexis Azzam, MFT.

​Yesterday CIL hosted an awesome group of moms and their kids for our latest social good project! We assembled gift bags for the Courageous Women Association's free shopping event for women and children escaping domestic violence, homelessness, and impoverishment. We made 25 Lift-me-up bags and mini-gifts filled with donated books and educational toys for 200 kids! Join our kid-friendly events to meet new families and help encourage, inspire, and empower each other while giving back.

​6 carriers were just dropped off for our #communitylabcarries project. A note pinned to one carrier: "Sending prayers for your safe journey. May you carry your child into a peaceful world."
We can't stop the violence and war on our own, but we are all capable of kindness, compassion, and love. This small gift matters. This act of kindness is more powerful than hate and intolerance.❤️

Workshops that welcome kids means that more moms get to learn and grow! Last week, our members were lucky enough to get a hands-own opportunity to learn from Jessica van Seost, physical therapist and CIL Learning Lab Manager. She taught the group about common pains and conditions many parents experience, and led everyone in exercises that help alleviate them.

Good things happen when you enable families to act in impactful ways. Our team just delivered $6,000 worth of needed baby supplies (car seats, liftmeup bags, strollers, diapers, baths, and more) to No One Left Behind - San Francisco East Bay Chapter. ​We are so thrilled to be able to support community partners who share our mission to help others.