Breaking the Silence: Being the Change

"The times they are a changin"

 

Shining a Light on Gracemarie's Song

People tell me my cakes are the best so I'm gearing up to bake for Gracemarie's Song silent auction which is only one facet of the upcoming Benefit Concert Fundraiser for Grace's Place . More on Gracemarie's Song, Grace's Place and the upcoming event, but first could you vote on which cake I should put on the auction to be delivered to top bidder at the time and place of her/his choice?

Tripple Berry Charlotte

Buche de Noel

White Mountain, Tripple Chocolate Surprise 

Dark Chocolate Sweetheart Torte

When a woman celebrates her Feminine: nurturing and collaborative side, she opens the door to a Powerful dance with her own Masculine Powers of leadership and productivity, there by providing a mirror for other women who are ready to step into their autonomy as leaders and providers for self, family and community. Autonomous but interconnected, we are women and men each with a special talent and purpose in creating the life of our dreams.

We invite you to Central Minnesota Women Shine Annual Meeting: 

CMWS Wealth and Wellness Center, Actualizing the Dream. 

Join us in expanding our patterns of human functioning with Central MN Women Shine, the non-profit that will profit all who participate.

Subscribe to our blog,  net weave with us at CMWS Events and on Facebook to explore and expand Central MN Women ventures, initiatives, projects and products. It is fun, increases your connections with shakers and movers, provides a counterbalance to perceptions of scarcity and conflict offering a call to take a powerful new action towards peaceful prosperity.

Central Minnesota Women Shine: Actualizing the Dream

"Women are guided by huge visions, while shining light on small acts that matter: gestures of solidarity, patient mentorship, authentic living and deep listening that can transform the world..." Creating the World We Want to See. 

CMWS brings the power of kitchen table networking to the community

How the dream grew out of a netweaving: In 2011 area women of all colors, fields, walks of life and belief systems gathered with CMWS and agreed something new was needed to empower women. The next year, 2012, ideas, goals and a non-profit to guide its vision were developed through netweavings-- which is simply networking the women's way-- . If 2013 was the year to "Build the Dream", 2014 is the year to Actualize The Dream.

From the kitchen table to the community table, from homemakers to community builders, we are women and girls mentoring women and girls to create sustainable wealth and wellness 

CMWS invites you to lean in with women in the greater St. Cloud area to create a woman focused whole wealth and wellness center with a community kitchen, event center and multicultural marketplace. And, you don't need to be a woman to help build and sustain this community gem. As Ken Ferber says, "we all have a feminine side". Yes, there is a powerful mother inside each and every one of us that can be in on the birthing and benefit from leaning in with this group. 

• Register and attend CMWS Annual Meeting, it's free and open to the public. 
• If the mission, goals and actions resonate, become a member, add your golden voice and threads to this living tapestry. 
• Consider a leadership role as a board member or focus committee chair and grow with the CMWS community.

For more about Central Minnesota Women Shine,  please visit the website or  call Mary Margaret 320-266-5614 or Dara 320- 492-8486

A Woman Focused Wealth and Wellness Center Moving From Vision to Action

CMWS is the conduit for women leaders across all fields, walks of life, belief systems and experiences to collaborate with the community leaders and systems in place to create a woman focussed wealth and wellness center, community kitchen and international market. A Success Plan Team was organized in late February and has now grown to over 20 individuals and organizations sitting at the table, to move this initiative from vision to action.

These are the golden threads weaving a living tapestry of our talents, products, services and diverse community. 

A Woman Focused Visioning for Sustainable Wealth & Wellness

They are the pioneers building a 21st century community center and marketplace inspired by women who are joined by men determined to make sustainable wealth and wellness accessible to all women and their families. 

Women and Girls Mentoring Women And Girls With CMWS

We welcome you to connect with us locally and globally, be a part of or mirror our process and shine a light on the unicity of our communities and yours. 

• Subscribe to CMWS newsletters
• Opt in as subscribing member, organization or sponsor
• Apply to the success plan team or the board
• Donate your time, talents, materials and/or cash to build the dream

International Women's Day Central Minnestoa

Join Women's Summit Central Minnesota on International Women's Day 2014.
Celebrate, educate and empower with the many sponsors, vendors and providers.

Girl Scouts of MN and Wi Lakes and Pines are largely responsible for the program and including international games in the activities area from 11:00 to 12:00. See the full schedule of events and break out sessions:

The Women's Summit is very grateful to AAUW and SCSU for hosting this event at the Halenbeck Hall Fieldhouse.

International Women's Day 2014 & Women's Summit Central MN

Building Connections: Moving Forward Together

International Women's Day 2013 Central Minnesota-- women's organizations came together for a multi-cultural, multi-media event of women celebrating, healing and saving women. Chuck Czech, of KSMQ Public Radio and Mary Christen Czech, recorded some of this content as part of the award winning documentary film, Arrivals.

Scenes from International Women's Day 2013, back in 2014 by popular demand:

Click here for International Women's Day 2014 Program Guide

Eddah Mutua Dancers

Buddy King's Boys and Girls Club Dance Group

Keynote, International Women's Day 2014

Willow Sweeney
Central Minnesota Woman Leader and
Inspirational Speaker

This year, the women's collaborative has expanded under the leadership of American Association of University Women as Women's Summit Central MN: Building Connections: Moving Forward Together. The event will include: Viewings of the films Arrival and Half the Sky, followed by panel discussions; keynote, Willow Sweeney will inspire us with, Empowerment of Women, Improving from Within; Girl Scouts of MN and Wisconsin, Lakes & Pines has organized international games and stem activities for youth; African Women's Alliance celebrates with a beautiful cake to share with those who come; Eddah Mutua Dancers and Eddie King Boys and Girls club musicians will perform. Food vendors will be on site and area organizations and businesses who serve women and families will have plenty of information on how to access needed resources and be a difference maker as we move forward together.

Of course CMWS will be there with an update on a Central MN women focused whole wealth and wellness center and opportunities to opt in. So mark your calendar for March 8, 2014 and join CMWS and the many organizations that made this event possible at SCSU Fieldhouse in Halenbeck Hall for International Women's Day 2014 to Celebrate, Educate and Empower with the women and girls in your life.

If you like this post please like it and share to make a difference in the world!

About Willow Sweeney

American Association of University Women and Women's Summit Central Minnesota are very grateful to have Willow Sweeney, a nationally recognized motivational speaker and trainer as keynote for International Women's Day, Central MN  2014. The former teacher and coach at Tech High School in St. Cloud will speak on Empowerment of women: Improving from Within.  Click here for the full program guide.

Biography: Willow Sweeney

Willow Sweeney is co-founder of Top 20 Training that provides training and materials to empower leaders. teachers, parents and students to develop their potential. She and her Top 20 team have trained over 250,000 leaders throughout the United States. Her work with businesses and companies focuses on developing more effective workplace teams and cultures.

Willow has co-authored Top 20 Teachers: The Revolution in American Education, Top 20 Parents: Raising Happy, Responsible and Emotionally Healthy Children and Top 20 Teens: Discovering the Best-kept Thinking, Learning and Communicating Secrets of Successful Teenagers.

Willow's present training, Living Above and Below the Line: Discovering the Power of Choice

 The training encounter focuses on becoming aware of our thinking so we know when it is working and when it is not working. It explores (1) the conditions that come up in our life that invite us to go Below the Line, (2) indicators telling us when we are Below, (3) how to handle Below the Line experiences with more grace and dignity and (4) how to trampoline back Above the Line.

Willow's career has included high school teaching, coaching and she has been a national speaker and trainer since 2002. She and her husband, Brian, have two sons and live in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Why a Woman Focused Wealth and Wellness Center and what does that mean?

Reserve your seat for "A Central MN Women Center Visioning"

Now is the time…

              to realize the dream…

                 of a central Minnesota women’s center.

“Without dreamers, no dream would ever be given reality, and we would live in a very small and shallow world.” —Vera Nazarian, Fiction writer

We are dreamers, and we dream big. And who better understands the dreams of women than women themselves? Dreams of opportunity, health, education, and a hope for a safe, supportive community where one can grow as an individual and raise a family are common to all.

Our dream as women of central Minnesota? A women’s center where women and girls of all ages and backgrounds can gather and learn from each other. A center where women or girls can meet with advocates and talk about anything from physical or mental health, sexual assault, domestic violence, or career aspirations.

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” ― Gloria Steinem

The center will be a place where women and girls can learn to cook, use a computer, or run a business. A place where a woman or girl can find a tutor, mentor, advocate — or herself. It will be a place of study, business, and socialization. It will be a safe, supportive zone where women can be allowed to act on their dreams. It will be a place where women can offer their services or sustainable products to the community, which will in turn, be a source of revenue for these women.

“How wrong is it for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself?” ― Anaïs Nin

The Central Minnesota Women’s Center will be a place where women and girls can create a flow of sustainable wealth and wellness for self, family and the larger community. It will be home to:

•  Classrooms for life skills classes, personal coaching, job skills training.

•  Small business and entrepreneurship development office.

•  A woman's room for personal and group whole health and wellness products and services.

•  Exam facilities for physical and mental health support. 

• Commercial kitchen

• Space for special events, workshops and speakers

These are just some of the possibilities we dream of for this center knowing they will grow and adapt to the changing needs of our community. 

We know — it’s a big dream, but it’s one that can become reality with your help and the help of other dreamers. Please take a leap of imagination and help us make the women’s center a reality. Come to the visioning session and be prepared to bring your hopes and dreams. And if you know of any women or girls who should be there, invite them to come along.

Shine on,

Mary Christen Czech, Mary Margaret & Dara Westra

The dream is alive and it belongs to all of us.

There will be a visioning session for interested women on February 1, 2014, in the Bremer Room at the St. Cloud Library, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. We will talk about a women’s center and imagine together the possibilities. Click here to reserve your seat.

If you are unable to attend but would like to participate or follow and support this initiative like CMWS4WealthAndWellness and/or on twitter @cmnwomenshine . For more information about  Central Minnesota Women Shine products, services, goals and aspirations visit the website or contact us or call Mary Margaret 320-2766-5614 or Dara Westra 320-492-8486.  

Limited seating available so please reserve your seat. If you need transportation or child care, or if you cannot attend but would like more information on steps and how you can participate please contact us via email: info@centralmnwomenshine.com or call Mary Margaret: 320-266-5614.

Mary Christen Czech

This inspiring visioning and invitation was written by Mary Christen Czech, a long time woman/family advocate, career coach and inspiring leader at Central MN Women Shine. Mary Christen is also a self-ufficiency counselor aTri-County Action, where she has created and managed a number of programs for area women to realize their goals.