Insight Pt. 2: United for Safety: Gun Violence Prevention, Community Baby Showers with Maternity Care Coalition, 50th Annual ODUNDE Festival

🎯 Gun Violence Prevention & Mental Health Support
Tiiu Lutter, Board Member at Child Guidance Resource Centers (CGRC), discusses the upcoming United for Safety: Gun Violence Prevention Event, happening Friday, June 7 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at 2000 Old West Chester Pike, Havertown, PA 19083. This impactful gathering promotes awareness, healing, and community action in the face of gun violence. Tiiu also highlights CGRC’s mission to support mental and emotional well-being across the region.

🌐 www.cgrc.org
📱 Facebook: @ChildGuidanceResourceCenters
📸 Instagram: @childguidanceresourcecenters
💼 LinkedIn: Child Guidance Resource Centers
 
🍼 Community Baby Showers with Maternity Care Coalition
Samia Bristow, Vice President of Programs at Maternity Care Coalition (MCC), joins to discuss MCC’s series of free Community Baby Showers, offering gifts, support, and resources to new and expectant families.
📍 Bucks County – Wednesday, June 5 | 12:00–3:00 PM
Silver Lake Nature Center, 1306 Bath Rd, Bristol, PA
📍 Chester County – Friday, June 14 | 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
Melton Arts & Education Center, 501 E. Miner St, West Chester, PA 🔗 www.maternitycarecoalition.org
📲 Instagram & Facebook: @maternitycarecoalition
💼 LinkedIn: Maternity Care Coalition
 
🌍 50th Annual ODUNDE Festival
Oshunbumi Fernandez-West, CEO, and Adeniyi Ogundana, COO of the ODUNDE Festival, preview the 50th anniversary celebration happening Sunday, June 8 on South Street in Philadelphia. This iconic African American cultural festival draws over 500,000 attendees and celebrates the richness of the African Diaspora through music, dance, cuisine, and tradition. 🌐 odundefestival.org
📲 Instagram: @odundefestival
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/ODUNDEFestival
🐦 Twitter/X: @ODUNDEFestival

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballad Morrel. On today's episode, we
will share details about a gun violence prevention event sponsored
by the Child Guidance Resource Centers, a series of free
community baby showers hosted by the Maternity Care Coalition, and
the fiftieth anniversary of the Odoon Day Festival. But first

(00:21):
we begin a conversation about the urgent need for equity
in mental health care. Today I'm joined by Asher Kemp,
Executive director of the Coalition of Culturally Competent Providers, and
doctor Reggie Banks. He is chair of the Coalition. He's
also CEO of Dunbar Wellness Group. And this is an
organization at the forefront of advancing equity and behavioral health,

(00:43):
and that is the Culturally Coalition of Culturally Competent Providers.
On Thursday, May twenty ninth, CCCP will host its second
annual Gala at the Franklin Institute, bringing together change makers,
mental health professionals, community members committed to building a behavioral
health system that works for everyone. So let's begin with

(01:04):
Asher tell us what inspired the founding of CCCP and
why Culturally competent care and behavioral health is more critical
than ever.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Sure, Lorraine, First, i'd like to say thank you for
having us on as you are aware and hopefully your
audience is aware. May is mental health Awareness month, so
it is very important that you take care of your
mental health so that you can have your physical health.
So the answer your question, this organization was founded by

(01:34):
a group of mental health and behavior health organizations that
wanted to look at how they support the communities they serve,
how do they support the most vulnerable, how do we
support the areas and what we talk about is the
social and emotional determinants of health. So this organization has
been up and running for a little bit over eight

(01:54):
years and we are excited to be able to have
our second gala on May the twenty.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Nine, Doctor Banks. What are some of the biggest challenges
still facing communities of color when it comes to addressing
effective mental health support and how is CCCP addressing them.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
Some of the challenges are historical challenges, so the concept
of going to or seeking health is a stigma related
challenge that has been around for decades. We are seeing
more engagement, however, despite the onslide of COVID that is
ushered in a whole another concept and way people see

(02:36):
the seeking health profession. And then some of these dynamics
are great because the concept of just going to see
someone in the office is a very traditional aspect of treatment.
Now we have apps, we have telehealth, we have a
variety of means for people to seek support and to
sell augment what services they may have as opposed to

(02:57):
a traditional setting. Trip has been very instrumental in terms
of just making sure that our community is aware services
that we have, that they are not only aware, that
we market the concept of healing in a way that
people can receive it from a cultural standpoint of view,
and then more importantly that we are you know, engaging

(03:18):
other providers. Some have historically been providers of different races
and color in terms of ethnicity and so forth, but
you know, we're engaging across a rainbow of spectrum of
providers individuals and making sure that they have cultural competence
as a key indicator in terms of how they treat

(03:39):
the community.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
A sure. The theme of equity runs deep throughout the
work of Triple CP. I wonder if you can talk
about some success stories or recent impacts that the organization
has had both in Philadelphia and beyond.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Sure, and I'll give you one that happened during the
pandem make And as you were aware, the pandemic was
a new amveance for all of us in terms of
being able to navigate in this world. And as my
cog league, doctor Banks talked about telehealth, during that time,

(04:17):
people still needed services and they needed them more than ever.
And so the question becomes, when you have people that
have economic challenges, how do you provide them the level
of treatment that they really need. And so we were
able to advocate and partner up with the City of
Philadelphia where during the pandemic they gave out at least

(04:39):
twelve twelve hundred pads so that people can participate in teletherrapy.
And we were instrumental in passing out these paths to
the organizations so that people can continue to have their
treatment during the pandemic.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
Doctor Banks, let's talk about the Gale Up which is
happening on the two ninth. What can attendees expect and
how does this event support your year round mission.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Well, they can expect a class act by a group
of people who are dedicated to and for the community.
Many things that we do align with our council persons
and the Mayor's objectives around supporting and making sure that
our community has access to mental wellness services. This event
is well sponsored, it's you know, even though it's a fundraiser,

(05:27):
you know, there will be food and drink for people
to come right after work and have dining with us.
But this event is our second gala we're looking forward to.
It's in a great space Franklin Institute, So we're looking
forward to people to come out support us while we
continue our mission, and these funds that we raise help

(05:48):
us with that mission all year round.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Asher how can individuals and organizations get involved, whether through
attending the gala, sponsoring, volunteering, or supporting Triple CPS ongoing programs.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Sure, let me give you our website and also our
one eight hundred numbers. So our website is c c C.
That's three c's Providers dot com. Again, that's CCC Providers
dot com. And then our number is one eight hundred
nine four eight eight eight one five again one eight

(06:22):
hundred nine four eight eight eight one five.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
And if people want to know more about the organization
that you're the CEO of Dunbar Wellness Group. How do
they find out more?

Speaker 3 (06:34):
All right? You can call us at our office anytime.
We are open Monday through Friday from eight to five
thirty or five. And that number is two one five
eight seven eight, two one nine eight. Again, that's two
one five eight seven eight, two one nine eight and
that's Dunbar Wellness Group.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
Fantastic. The Coalition of Culturally Competent Providers is hosting its
second nd GAILA at the Franklin Institute, bringing together community leaders, advocates,
and supporters to advance equity and cultural competence in behavioral healthcare.
Thanks to Asher Camp, executive director of this organization, and
doctor Reggie Banks, who is chair of the board of

(07:18):
this coalition and also CEO of Dunbar Wellness Group. And
I want to thank you both for joining us here today.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Although the cases of gun violence have dropped over the
last year or so, it's still a crisis here in
the city of Philadelphia. And we're going to be talking
to an incredible advocate for youth and community wellness to
you Luter, board member of the Child Guidance Resource Centers.
We'll be talking about the upcoming United for Safety gun
Violence Prevention event happening on June seventh from eleven to two,

(07:53):
along with the impactful work that CGRC does every day
to support mental health and family wellbeing. Thank you so
much for joining us. Tell us about the upcoming United
for Safety event and what can the community expect on
June seventh.

Speaker 4 (08:09):
Yes, this is a very exciting event actually in the
community at our Southwest Philadelphia offices, which is right at
Island and Lindbergh Avenue, so it's very easy to get
two people can find it, and it's sort of a
community focus. There's children's activities and a resource fair and
food that's all free, and then a very educational and

(08:29):
impactful double set of panels, one with sort of community
activists and then another with legislators, so people from the
community have an opportunity to really talk about safety and
gun violence concerns with people who can make decisions and
make a direct impact. Then this year there's also going
to be a survivor's statement activity and an art exhibit

(08:50):
put together by Ceasefire PA, which I think really is
lays down on the mental health side of things. It
gives people an opportunity to talk about the kinds of
impact that loss and violence and tragedy has on our
communities in a way through art as well as conversation.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
I wonder if you can tell us more about why
gun violence prevention is a big priority for your organization.

Speaker 4 (09:14):
Sure well, if we think about our mission is to
provide mental well being to the greater community and children, families,
and adults in the greater Philadelphia area. If you think
about a fundamental basic need, even Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right,
the very first one is physical safety. And if you
don't feel safe in your home, if you don't feel
safe on your street, that undermines all of mental health

(09:36):
and mental wellness. It creates anxiety, depression, breaks up families,
the loss of someone by gun violence and then a
friend or relative reaches out and has to take revenge.
It just creates this incredible cascade of devastation that you
can't be well in an unsafe situation. So we feel
it's really really important to take not just treating the

(09:59):
illness that come out of it, but to treat the
causes and to be an advocate and a leader in
the community to help people convene the conversations that need
to be happening.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
I wonder if you can tell us more about how
is it CGRC. Is that how you refer to it,
or do you have a cool nickname?

Speaker 4 (10:17):
I call it child guidance. It's Child Guidance Resource Centers
and a lot of people will in writing drop it
to CGRC, but then it's you know what is that ABFDAT?
I just think about it as child.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Guidance, child guidance?

Speaker 3 (10:31):
It is.

Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yes, that's great. Well, listen, you do provide resources, and
I wonder if you can talk more about the services
you provide, and especially about how you support families and
children who've experienced trauma or mental health challenges.

Speaker 4 (10:46):
Well, we have a couple of unique programs for a
family that is struggling in a traumatized family. We have
some in home services. Family First is one where a
team of therapists actually works with a family in their
own home, seize the kids at school in the communities
for thirty two weeks and provides basically therapy to everybody
in the family. If they also can provide supports if

(11:08):
they need to go shopping, they can help them get
to the store, they can help them organize. You know
who's sleeping where how do we help people get a job.
It's basically a mental health and social work combination intensely
in a family. Then we also offer trauma focused cognitive
behavioral therapy at all of our offices, even for little
kids like six, seven, eight years old who've experienced a trauma,

(11:32):
where it's short term way of helping them get their
brains around a narration of the trauma, of how they
want to understand what happened, and then it culminates with
them sharing the story with their family and loved ones,
which then helps the entire family kind of conceptualize things
that have happened. Those are two. All of our services

(11:53):
are trauma informed, right because people come with lots of
different but in terms of specific to gun violence and loss,
those are who that are really really helpful.

Speaker 1 (12:01):
I love what you say about your services because it's
not just about treating one individual, It's about treating the
whole family and doing it holistically. It's not just even
about the therapy, it's about all the different factors that
surround that family that can contribute to their healing when
it comes to experiencing trauma or different issues related to

(12:23):
mental wellness. So that is really unique and really wonderful.
I'm so happy to hear about the services you provide,
and I wonder if you can tell us some ways
that listeners can get involved to support the work you're doing,
especially around the June seventh event and beyond.

Speaker 4 (12:38):
Well, the most important impactful thing would be to show
up or send a friend or share that it's happening,
because anytime people talk about the event, that helps push
back against the stigma, both the mental health and also
of the shame of gun violence. So I think that's
the first thing. And to drop by, tell a friend,
come by, put your kids in the bouncy house, have

(12:59):
a pretzel, look at the art exhibit, maybe listen to
the panels. That would be the nicest thing. And I
think that since the pandemic, we really struggle to convene communities,
and whether they're convening in our community or somewhere else,
those would all be very helpful in terms of helping
child guidance. It is a desperate time out there right
now for mental health services. They are underfunded, understaffed. If

(13:21):
anybody wants to make a small donation or a big
donation to the mental health service of their choice, that
would be great if it says dot org get the
end of their website they need your money.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
That is sadly very true. And certainly Child Guidance is
a great organization to support the Child Guidance Resource Center,
which is happening an event call United for Safety Gun
Violence Prevention June seventh from eleven to two. Where's the location.

Speaker 4 (13:50):
Yeah, it's at our Southwest Philly office, which is at
the intersection of Island and Lindbergh Avenues in Southwest Philly.
It's about four minutes from the airport.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
Great and what is your phone number and your website?

Speaker 4 (14:03):
The phone number is four eight four four or five
four eighty seven hundred and the website is CGRC dot org.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
To louter board member at the Child Guidance Resource Center
check it out June seventh. It is a United for
Safety Gun Violence Prevention event. Very important to be talking
about this issue. Great resources available. Thank you so much
for joining us.

Speaker 4 (14:27):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
Philadelphia's infant mortality rate stands at about eight deaths for
one thousand live birsts. That's nearly forty percent higher than
the US national average. The Maternity Care Coalition is hosting
a series of community baby showers to connect families with
resources while celebrating new and expecting parents. The events are
part of MCC's broader mission to support maternal health, early childhood, development,

(15:01):
and economic security across Pennsylvania. Joining us right now is
Samia Bristow, who is Vice president of Programs at Maternity
Care Coalition. Samia tell us more about the Maternity Care
Coalition and your role in supporting families across the region.

Speaker 5 (15:18):
Yes, so, Maternity Care Coalition. We've been around the Philadelphia
community since nineteen eighty. We are a community based nonprofit
that serves Pennsylvania and the state of Delaware, and we're
really committed to improve in maternal and child health and
early care and education. Our mission is to improve the
health and well being of pregnant and parenting families and

(15:40):
to enhance school readiness. We really envision a future where
parents really impacted by racial and social inequities can birth
with dignity, parent with autonomy, and raise babies who are healthy,
growing and thriving. And we do that in numerous ways.
Of course, through service delivery, and we have a number
of services that we do offer to families, but we

(16:03):
also do research and evaluation and policy and advocacy.

Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, I've learned so much from the Maternity Care Coalition.
I went to one of your conferences a number of
years ago and learned about postpartum depression for the first time.
This is a while back before it really was something
that people were very aware of. So MCC has been
very much on the forefront of raising our awareness about
some of the issues facing moms and parents in general.

(16:30):
I wonder if you can tell us or explain to
us what limited services are and how they held bridge
gaps in maternity and early childhood care.

Speaker 5 (16:38):
Yeah. So one of the things that we have linked
into through our strategic plan is really recognizing how families
come to MCC. And one of the things have been
around concrete goods, right, which is like diapers, wipes, formula,
those emergency supplies that someone needs in a critical time period,

(17:00):
and that's how a lot of providers and families kind
of come through our doors. And secondary is all of
the additional services that we offer, which is home visiting, childcare,
community and parenting, education, doula and lactation, behavioral health which
you mentioned, reproductive health, and our workforce development. So our

(17:22):
limited service program is really designed to really support individuals
who might be having a hard time. There might be
a gap where they need diapers, wipes, formula, some emergency
supplies to get them over until the next time that
they have resources to buy those things. And we've been
doing that for many, many, many years, even back when

(17:44):
when we used to do when we were doing street outreach,
and we now do it by doing pop ups community
pop ups where we're able to deliver those items diapers, wipes, formula,
and other concrete goods popping up in high traffic areas
as a way of like making those connections in a community.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
So you've got a bunch of community baby showers and
I wonder if you can tell us what families can
expect when they attend.

Speaker 5 (18:11):
Yeah, so community baby showers have really been a stake
for MCC. We've done them for many, many years, and
recently we have expanded to new communities and that the
two new communities that we've expanded to within it the
last two years have been Chester County in Berks County,

(18:31):
and we thought about the other counties in which are
also new to newer to our footprint. So we thought
about what would it be like for us to host
a number of community baby showers, and right now we
are preparing for our third one and we have two
more to go. So we hosted a number of baby showers,
and really what we focus on, I want to say

(18:53):
kind of five things, which is we want to celebrate
and honor the expecting parents by welcoming them, right, creating
them environment that's warm, freely and kind of creates that village.
Then the second aim that we have is really around
resource distribution and education, and that's really ensuring that we

(19:14):
have we invite providers from each of the communities to
come out and table so that expecting parents and families
have all of the resources and education as it relates
to journeying through pregnancy and also parenthood. And then our
next pillar is really kind of access to services. So
really we're hoping that individuals who stop past the various

(19:38):
tables and vendors, they're getting connected to the services that
meet their well being. And often we want to kind
of focus on equity, right, so really supporting individuals, you know,
supporting individuals and black and brown families who face disparities
when it comes to maternal and infant health outcomes.

Speaker 1 (19:57):
Yeah, no, it's such important work and I know of
it as I was raising my own son, I felt
very ill prepared to do all the things, and I
think a lot of parents feel that way. And then
multiply that by lack of resources and being under resourced
in communities, and then you really have an issue that
needs to be addressed, and that's what Maternity Care Coalition

(20:18):
does so beautifully. Can you share the specific dates and
locations for the upcoming events?

Speaker 5 (20:23):
Yes, So the two showers that we have coming up.
One is June fifth and that is taking place in
Bucks County at the Silver Lake Nature Center and Bristol, PA.
And then we have another shower that is taking place
in Chester County June fourteenth, and that's at the Arts

(20:44):
Center in Westchester, PA. And both showers are taking place
between eleven and three and we welcome all families to
join us.

Speaker 1 (20:53):
So where can listeners go to learn more or to
follow along with Maternity Care Coalitions work?

Speaker 5 (20:59):
Yep, So we are on all socials, So on our
website you can reach us at Maternitycarecoalition dot org. And
then we're on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, and individuals can
sign up to either be a vendor and or if
a family would like to attend to sign up so

(21:19):
that we can expect them and have a headcount, but
families are also too able to show up one a
day out.

Speaker 1 (21:26):
Well, we're very very grateful for the work that Maternity
Care Coalition does for all of us. As we help
our babies and our moms and our dads, we lift
everybody up. It's very very important. Samia Bristow, who is
vice president of Programs at Maternity Care Coalition, thank you
so much.

Speaker 5 (21:45):
Thank you, thank you for having us.

Speaker 1 (21:51):
I cannot believe this, but Ohdunda is celebrating its fiftieth
anniversary this year and joining us in the studio right
now are the CEH and the COOO of a Dounde
Ocean Boomy is Fernandez West. She is the CEO and
Adio Goondana. I'm so thrilled because we were there with

(22:11):
your mom yes back in the day. The organization and
the event had been going on for a few years,
but we jumped on in and have been a strong
supporter Power ninety nine and WDAS and I wonder if
you can for those who don't know, which is hard
to believe that there isn't anyone who doesn't know, but
please boomy, tell us what Oduonde is.

Speaker 6 (22:32):
So odunams, Happy New Year. Oh Donde is the largest
African American street festival in North America. It covers up
the sixteen city blocks, has over one hundred and fifty
arts and crafts of foodland as we call them business
owners entrepreneurs. It has tuesdays of live entertainment and from
ten am to APM throughout that dooration, up to a
half a million people come to Odondey.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yes, well, your mother, Lois Fernandez, was all about succession,
and she groomed you to be the CEO, and you
in turn are grooming someone else to be rising up
in the ranks. You're a coo. Tell us about your coo.

Speaker 6 (23:07):
Well, yeah, he's my son. He's my son, my oldest son,
and I'm so excited that he's going on his journey
with me. I tell my son, like my mother told me,
if you want old done is yours. But God did
not put your earth to live my dreams. So my
son is doing it on his terms, and that's why
I'm talking. I'm so happy about But I'll let him
tell you more about how he feels about it.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, absolutely, So you have a lot of history behind you.
Tell us how do you feel kind of taking on
this new role.

Speaker 7 (23:31):
I feel blessed. I mean, like my whole life, I've
been around here doing they buy my mom, my grandmom.
I didn't really get a magageable doing day at a
young age, but the older I get my friends people
around me saying, yo, are you taking this over? I'm like,
I don't know. I don't know if I'm gonna do it.
But now that I know what at nineteen twenty years
old was I got this is my destiny. Almost was like, okay,
I have my own spin on this. Help break the
gap between the present generation and the new generation. And

(23:54):
I'm excited for that and I really can't wait.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
Well, you know, it's very important to always bring in
fresh ideas and fresh attitudes about anything. And I wonder
if you have any thoughts about the future that you
see that Odonde will evolve into.

Speaker 7 (24:08):
Well, definitely, my two main projects right now as COO
is social media, trying to expand our social media present.
We have the human capital over five hundred thousand people
attendo Dunde, but converting down to social media capital on Instagram,
I wont TikTok at a Doun Day festival. How can
we convert that into the human capital into social capital.
That's my main project right now. And also Modune Sports
is a new venture we're looking to get into. Under

(24:30):
World Cup is coming up in twenty twenty six. We're
excited for that. Soccer. We have won soccer lounge at
the Odon Day Festival, so a lot of stuff is
coming up. I'm really excited and I can't wait.

Speaker 1 (24:38):
That is very impressive, Boomy. Let's talk about your mom,
Lois Fernandez for those who don't know, because she's left
us and has joined the Ancestors for a number of
years now, but she was such an important figure in
the city of Philadelphia. Give us a little taste of
who your mom was.

Speaker 6 (24:56):
My mother was my life. She was my best friend,
she was my anchor, she was my everything. And my
mother pours so much into me and I'm so thankful
that God allowed me to be her one and only
daughter because it was amazing because like my son, my
mother said, Boomy, you have to come with me. You
have to learn and see this. You have to see
who's for you and who's against you.

Speaker 7 (25:14):
Boomy.

Speaker 6 (25:15):
You have to be able to read a room, boomy.
So you can't learn that from a book. And so
the main thing my mother taught me is that if
you don't know your worth, no one else will, whether
it be in life, your personal life, your business life.
If you don't know your worth, no one else will.
And I know my worth. I know old doing it
is worth, and I know how much my mother sacrifice
for O doond my mother. It took us told my
mother's physical health, right. And what I learned from that

(25:36):
is that God was saying, Boomy, don't repeat this. So
I take breaks. I have a balance. My mother didn't
have a balance. She was working and working for the
city a social worker and thinking of me and my
brother and then running old doing day, you know. And
so I learned that you have to have a balance,
especially as a woman when you're a mother, where you're
a wife. You know, Lorraine, it's a lot, you know,
we're wear a lot of hats, you know what I mean.
But half that balance as a woman, know, as a

(25:58):
complete sentence, one thing I learned from my mother. I
have to say no, you can't be there for everybody
and forget to look in the mirror, right, You can't
pour from an empty cup, you know. And so I'm
just thankful that my mother instilled in me. She educated
me the vice of being a woman, but also knowing
the balance, please Lord, a balance.

Speaker 1 (26:17):
Well, there's so much, and that's such an important point
to make. But also I have to bring in a
little personal here, because every year you have this procession
and you give libations to the goddess ocean. Right, yes,
we do, right, And so I did that a number
of years ago, and so I gave you know, my
my tribute. And in that tribute, it was a it

(26:37):
was a loaf of bread, and I hollered it out
and I put in all the things that I wanted
in a partner. I listed it, you know, funny, community activists, cute,
artistic and all those things.

Speaker 6 (26:51):
Specific on your blessing.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
Well, hey, specific, I was so specific, and I put
it in this this bread, and I threw it into
the river, as you know, as all is offering. And
then a year later I met my husband.

Speaker 6 (27:04):
Loraine, can you please tell everybody that is real, real
your testimony. Listen, everyone know that God is real. Don't
the stand me, Lorraine?

Speaker 7 (27:12):
And I thank you for that, Lorraine.

Speaker 6 (27:13):
Because some people want to know why do we go
to the river? We pay how much to God? Oh
Douney has the lasted fifty years. That's not because of me,
not because of my mother, not because of my son.
Because God loves Donde and every second Sunday in June
reminds me of that. So we have to have our possession.
And I thank you Loraine for that testimony because people
need to hear that, People need to know that. And
I thank you for saying that.

Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yes, well, I give Dundae complete credit for finding the
love of my life. And so Oh Dun Day is
a festival that everyone needs to go to. And Ada
ni yi, can you tell us the specifics of the date,
the time, the location, all those things.

Speaker 7 (27:50):
Yep. So of course we'll be on June eighth, and
that is the festival day. But we have a week
of events from June, first of June and seventh, and
of course we all cultivate and come together for the
festival in June eighth from ten am to eight pm.
That walk to the rivers around Newon. It's a flexible time.
We're on sixteen CD blocks. We kind of have a
main hub on twenty third in South but it's up

(28:10):
and down Salva Street, sixteen city blocks and we're excited
to have everybody well.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
I am so excited for Odoon Day celebrating its fiftieth
anniversary and Boomy. I know all the struggles, all the challenges.
There have been many times in which there are many
forces that we're working to shut down Odoon Day, and
yet not only have you persisted, but you've expanded and
you've flourished, and you bring together people from not only
the Delaware Valley but all across the nation to come

(28:37):
to this huge, beautiful festival. If people want more information
about Odoon Day, where do they go?

Speaker 6 (28:43):
They can go to our website, oh Doom Day Festival
dot org, but also follow us on all social media
platforms TikTok and Instagram at o Dooday Festival. Follow us
on Instagram TikTok so you can keep up to date.
We have a week of events. As my son said,
cult to Wild website. Come to the events we have
from yoga to business round table. We have event call
combled with the CEO with Radio shol Blazers. We have

(29:04):
Mimi Brown and Patty Jackson come out and support us.
Wonderful events everybody.

Speaker 1 (29:08):
Oh Shoon Boomi Fernandez West, who is the CEO of
Odoonde and her son who is the COOO, adanihi Ogondana.
Thank you both so much. And Adani, I am so
impressed with you and I love to see a young
leader such as yourself taking on the mantle of leadership.

Speaker 7 (29:26):
Why thank you, Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app ye Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Marral and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?

(29:48):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you