February is Black History Month! Each year, a different Black History Month theme is chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Here is an article from ASALH about this year’s theme of Black Health and Wellness. “This theme acknowledges the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birthworkers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora… The rise of fields, such as Public and Community Health and Health Informatics have led to a rise in preventive care and a focus on body positivity, physical exercise, nutrition, exploring other dietary options such as veganism and vegetarianism, and gardening. Black Health and Wellness not only includes one’s physical body, but also emotional and mental health.” This paragraph, in particular, made us think of some Black healthcare workers we are so fortunate to have within our PCA Family! Meet Mount Sinai’s ER Doctor, Quinn (Cheer New York), and Stanford’s Credentialed Healthcare Trainer, Shelton (CHEER San Francisco) in PCA’s Black History Month 2022 SPECIAL FEATURE! |
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Meet A PCA Team: CHEER Tacoma |
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This month we caught up with a CHEER Tacoma co-founder, Fernando, for some insights about his team’s past, present, and future. Tell us how CHEER Tacoma got started! What inspired your founders to create a team and to join PCA? CHEER Tacoma was born from past volunteers who were a part of CHEER Seattle. As people who lived local to the South Puget Sound we saw there was a need for an organization with the same mission to support non profits in our community. We see you've welcomed 6 new volunteers to CHEER Tacoma in January! How are the newest members going to shape a new trajectory for CHEER Tacoma? Our newest members are so excited to be a part of our organization. Additional volunteers assist with outreach to the community. They also allow us to create high flying routines to incite folx watching our performances to donate to our cause. But mainly we are creating a space for people who are a part of or an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community to have a home away from home. A question from our Equity and Inclusion Committee: CHEER Tacoma has a lot of members who are affiliated with the armed forces. This is a piece of demographic data that PCA's Equity and Inclusion Committee has not explored deeply. What tips do you have for our Member Teams and other volunteer orgs to create a more safe and inclusive environment for military members, veterans, and spouses? CHEER Tacoma was founded by some veterans. I myself was brought to the area through the military. It is important for folx who experience intersectionality between our communities to find a group they can identify with and feel at home. It’s important for us as an organization to create flexibility in our programming to allow military members of all types to participate in our volunteerism. The Pierce county area tends to have a higher focus of low income households. Keeping that in mind we work hard so folx can volunteer with us with minimal financial contribution. Our organization's culture is focused on fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that creates belonging. |
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Last month, PCA hosted Charitable Cheerleading events at the Sin City Classic XV in Las Vegas, NV. A full recap of the volunCHEERing and competition went out last month in our Special Edition issue of Rally. Now it’s time to unveil the fruit of our fundraising efforts! From the money bucketed and electronically collected during events associated with the SCC 2022, PCA was able to make a donation of $1,500 to beneficiary Golden Rainbow. Golden Rainbow provides housing, education, and direct financial assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Nevada. The help Golden Rainbow can provide with a donation of this size is tremendous! $1500 could provide a month of emergency housing for 6 different individual clients, could provide 15 families with a week's worth of shelter, could provide 20 different families with a month's worth of utility assistance! Against seemingly insurmountable odds, we were able to unite in Vegas and raise an impactful amount to support a worthy cause! Never underestimate the peppy people-power of PCA! Thank you to our donors in Vegas, in our home cities, and around the world! Thank you to the 7 PCA teams that were able to support volunteer attendance at the event: Cheer Portland CHEER San Francisco Cheer Los Angeles Cheer New York Cheer Salt Lake CHEER Seattle CHEER Tacoma And thank you to our Partner orgs and the rest of our PCA Member Teams for your continued support as we unite, support, and develop this mission worldwide. #PCARocks |
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PCA was officially incorporated on February 29, 2016. (We’re a leap year baby!) We’ll celebrate our 6th birthday on the 28th this year with some fun videos on social media! Special thanks to Sparky’s Balloons! |
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