Episode 28: Community Connection Grant-Nick of Time

This week, Krista and Jeri come to you from the HAPO Center where they are helping at the Nick of Time Foundation event. Please tune in the find out the great work that REA is doing for our local community as a result of the WEA Community Connection Grant program. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Hello, welcome to REA Union Voices. I'm Krista. And I'm Jerry. And we are the president and vice president of the Richland Education Association.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

How are you doing, Jerry? I'm doing great. Yeah, well, I'm doing great too. We had our council meeting and oh yes, congratulations to the new council president.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

So I was elected um WEA Southeast Council President. And I think in our first podcast, we talked a little bit about how we have ENEA at the national level and then WEA at the state level. And then within the Washington Education Association, WEA, we have different councils around the state. And so I get to be the president of the council next year. And so and a role that you have done. Yes. So do you have any advice for me?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

I you know what? That role actually is where I learned to love politics.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

That is that was kind of my scary thing. And I did that before I did anything with the local. And I think that was my most favorite part was just seeing how the politics work from the top down. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

So I think you'll love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Yeah, no, I'm I'm excited for it. You know, I got to serve as well, the vice president in WEA Southeast and then was the vice president before I even came here. Yeah. You know, I had a conversation with my husband Jim because I kind of quit all of my union stuff in Central Kids Hap School District when he got his job.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

With um the Washington Education Association. But then, you know, the other day he goes, But look, you're right back where you left off.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

That's true. That's true.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

You know, because I have kind of it took me, you know, a little longer to get there, but I ended up going down the same path that I probably would have done.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Oh, yeah, if you had stayed.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

Had I stayed. It just would have been with a different council.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, in a different local. No, we need you here.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Yeah, no. So I I'm happy. I, you know, and this makes a good segue. Um, we're gonna take a little break from talking about the contract. We'll get back to article seven next week. But um we are at the Hapo Center right now in Richland, um, doing the Nick of Time or PASCO, sorry, doing the Nick of Time Foundation. And Nick of Time is a uh an organization that was founded after a young man named Nick, I believe a high school student, and I don't know where he's from. I have to read more of his story, but passed away due to a heart-related issue, um, I believe while playing sports.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

And undiagnosed, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Yeah, undiagnosed. And so his family, I believe, has worked really hard with various people to put together this foundation to provide free heart screenings.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Yeah, EKG.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Yeah, EKG to local kids. I high school. Yeah, I I think it even goes lower than that. I think it's like 12 up to 25.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

So it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Yeah. Um, and so we're here in PASCO, and and what are we doing here, Jerry?

SPEAKER_00 3:06

We are here volunteering, giving away swag, um, just supporting, and we did a big donation because we felt like it was the right thing to do.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Yeah, yeah, as part of one of the one of the things that I am most proud of with the Washington Education Association is their community connection grant program. And so part of our dues dollars goes into um serving local communities because we as the Richland Education Association can apply for a community connection grant. And typically, for the amount of members we have in our local, it's based on the number of members, we have been able to get anywhere from you know forty five hundred dollars, even up to, I think one year it was a little higher. I think we got eight thousand. Yeah. But but yeah, the last few years we've um been able to get about five thousand dollars to use in some way to connect with the local community.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

And so we have decided to give four thousand dollars to the Nick of Time Foundation to help them with their efforts. And then the other five hundred dollars was buying that cool swag. Right. We have you know, and we're here because this is our way too, to let the community know that you know the Richland Education Association cares and for them to connect the work we do with you know positive.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Community outreach, and you know, we want to be there for for the community, not just for our students, but to be out there and active in the community and volunteer.

SPEAKER_02 4:39

And yes. So Jerry and I are here. We have our office administrator Emily. She has kind of dragged her son. You've dragged your husband, yeah. They're all everywhere all of us are wearing our REA stuff. And we're excited because I believe that there are students from um Richland High and Hanford High who are gonna be busing in today. And but this isn't just about Richland, this is for um any of the uh all tri-cities is yeah. Well, all tri-cities and the surrounding areas area. Yeah, we always say tri-cities, but I think we always mean, you know, like Ty B could come and city, but yeah, businesses. Yeah, so no, so it's it's really cool, and there's a lot of volunteers here, and they're actually doing a training with the volunteers um to help start training local people to be able to run this so that the people from the Nick of Time Foundation wouldn't necessarily have to come across the state to do it. There would be people associated with Nick of NIC of Time who could do it here, yeah, who could organize it here, you know, on a yearly basis.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

So yeah, and they've got a pretty good um sign up, they said, you know, close to 300, which is they kind of shoot for 500, but for their very first time being here, I mean that's huge.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Yeah, if it's something that I mean, what I was saying to I think all of our people today is yeah, with it being a first-time event, I think they will get a lot of word of mouth. And if they're able to do it next year, then some of the kids who did it the year before families will be like, oh man, you should definitely sign up.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

You know.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I mean, because it doesn't cost you anything.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

No.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

So why wouldn't you?

SPEAKER_02 6:25

No.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

And I should have signed up, Rodie. You should have done. I didn't even think of that.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

You should have well, you might even, I don't know, I don't know if they have if you have to sign up ahead of time. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

I think you did have to like take a time slot or something.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

But yeah, but really for any for any young person, I mean, whether you're in sports or not, just being active. I mean, I know, you know, my own, you know, personal connection. I had a really close friend who was probably my first friend from kindergarten who ended up passing away from a heart-related incident six weeks after. This is gonna be a big downer. Six weeks after she had a baby.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

And it just happened like in an instant. And so I didn't even think about that until today. But she was 23 years old, very healthy, active, had been, you know, a gymnast, you know, newly married, excited to start her family. And you know, boy, that her child, boy, that was like 95. Gosh, would be what, 30? 91, yeah. Yeah.

unknown 7:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

I she was from a friend from California, so we had kind of gotten out of touch and everything. So I feel bad that I hadn't really kept up with her family and things. So I I do wonder though, but but yeah, so I mean that's just something to say. It's it's something to talk to your child's doctor about.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Especially if you have family history of anything. You know, I mean, too. I I mean I was adopted, but I did find out later in life that um both sides have heart problems. Oh, okay. I had several biological brothers who have had heart, you know, gone into the hospital and had to have bypasses and things like that. And so, you know, I mean, maybe if I was in high school or something and my parent my adopted parents knew that, you know, this might have been a good thing for me to do just to check.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Oh, yeah. Well, and my husband, Jim, you know, his father passed away uh when his father was 33, not when he was 33, but his dad. Oh wow. Um so, you know, I mean, had five young children and everything. And I believe, I don't know if Jim's sister is on any sort of heart medication, but I think his him and his four brothers or his three brothers all, you know, have their they're on and you know, cholesterol and you know, all of that. And so, yeah, so they are definitely high risk, you know. So it's out there.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

So this is a great thing. We're we're super excited to be here and supporting them.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Yeah, and I just think it's a it's a great way to end this week. And so we're gonna be here, and I think you're taking a little bit of personal leave because what is it that you're oh I'm going to the National Hill Climb. Oh, okay. And what is that for?

SPEAKER_00 9:04

It's for dirt bikes that they it's the national, they there's a hill, and it looks like it just goes straight up and they have to ride their bikes up there, and it is a blast. And then kind of later in the evening, as it's winding down, they have the little kids get out there, and oh my gosh, it's just so much fun to watch them.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

Oh, so cool. Yeah, so it's a whole weekend of dirt bikes and so you get to you get to go do that later this afternoon when as we finish up here, and then um I'm actually heading across the state over to the Seattle area because I get to participate in it's called COPE. Oh, that's right. I don't remember what it stands for, but it's the Washington State Labor Council, and so it's the endorsement process, and a lot of different labor unions are gonna have delegates there, and I guess WEA is gonna have like 93 people. See, that's the fun part. You'll get to lots of things like that. So I'm I'm excited for that. Networking, networking is huge. So, well, and so I guess next week we will be back back to uh back to talking about Article 7. Um, this was a lot more fun. And but yeah, we gotta go because we gotta get back in there to help at our booth, and and probably in a little while people are gonna come in for the actual heart screening. So we'll just go from there. And so remember what do we say, Jerry? In union, there is strength.