Women of Vision

Hoops of Hope Event

2012-01-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

Our Eastside Women of Vision will be hosting a Hoops of Hope event in March! Watch the video of how it all started for 9 year old Austin Gutwein. We will be hosting our own Hoops of Hope event to get the community and children involved in fundraising for our World Vision projects.

When: March 24th 10am-1pm

Where: Cascade View Elementary School in Snoqualmie Ridge

Want to get involved? Email Susan at seattlemurphy@yahoo.com or Gina at snojones@earthlink.net

The Hole In Our Gospel Book Study

2012-01-29T12:20:00.000-08:00

Join us as we do a six week study on The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision. This will be a great study to invite friends to as we ask questions like how we can get more invovled, what is the hole in our gospel, and what is the church's role?

Julie McNamara-Dahl will be leading us through this six-week course in the evenings starting Feb. 23. If you are interested, please email her at juliemcd100@hotmail.com.

Join us for our Women of Vision National Conference

2012-01-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Women of Vision is a growing movement of women passionate about supporting and empowering women and children worldwide. In celebration of International Women’s Day, join us in March 2012 for our biannual conference “Every Woman Has A Story” in Washington, D.C.!

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel at Tyson’s Corner March 4-6, 2012.

This event-packed gathering will be an unforgettable time of learning and growth you won’t want to miss. You will:

Join other women who want to help build a better world for women and children enmeshed in poverty and exploitation
Learn from knowledgeable, encouraging speakers
Be inspired by the stories of courageous women worldwide
Put your passion into action with a Capitol Hill Lobby Day, supported by World Vision and Women of Vision.
Receive training to start, build, or improve your Women of Vision chapter.

Take a moment to read about the conference and navigate through this website, where you will find information to register and prepare you for your Washington D.C. experience.

Home

2011-10-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Women of Vision is a volunteer ministry of World Vision that educates, inspires, and equips women to use their God-given resources in compassionate, mutually life-changing service to impoverished and oppressed women and children worldwide. As Women of Vision we volunteer our time, treasure, and talents to support and serve with World Vision and other local projects.
Our women come from Maple Valley, Snoqualmie, Issaquah, Redmond and Renton. We focus on educating women on issues of poverty surrounding women and children. We will be engaging in book studies, watching movies, and listening to speakers on topical issues. We seek to educate ourselves on issues affecting the poor and oppressed so that we may become their advocate, their voice.

Are you a women of vision? Do you have a passion for serving the poor? Learning more about issues concerning women and children? Are you willing to let your heart be broken?

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these... you did for me." Matthew 25:40

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." James 1:27

Join us and other women around the U.S. in this exciting movement!

Sex and Money: A National Search for Human Worth

2011-05-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

We will be watching this movie at our next meeting on January 18th. This is an eye-opening film about the realities of trafficking within the United States.
Check out the website: www.sexandmoneyfilm.com and trailer

Echo Glen Volunteer Opportunity

2011-03-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

When: May 19th 6:30-8:30pm
Who: The girls of Echo Glen Juvenile Detention Center 33010 SE 99th Street, Snoqualmie, Washington 98065
What: We are teaming up with Women of Vision Charlotte to connect the girls of Echo Glen with the Camp Appalachia girls. We are making handmade cards with the girls to send over to the Appalachia, another program that we support. We will be helping decorate and create cards, fellowshiping and connecting with the girls at Echo Glen.

Food Baskets for Olive Crest

2011-03-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

Every year our Eastside Women of Vision and children get excited to create Easter baskets for a worthy organization. We have provided over 50 baskets for Olive Crest and Childhaven. This year after talking to Olive Crest, they told us of their need for food baskets instead. While we were disappointed because this was such a fun project, we realized that the greater need was to fulfill the real need of the children of Olive Crest and not ours. So this year we are excited to provide food items to families in crisis. Olive Crest has identified families that could use help in feeding their families healthy foods. This also assists these at-risk families in keeping the family unit together.
If you'd like to be a part of this, please feel free to pick up any of these items as you are shopping and drop them off in Snoqualmie or email www.eastsidewov@hotmail.com

3-5 lbs. pasta – dry (spaghetti noodles, fettuccini, thin)
10 boxes pasta – boxes of mixes (mac n cheese, Rice-a-Roni, etc)
5 jars spaghetti sauce
2 jars peanut butter
3 jars jelly
12 cans tuna fish
24 cans soup
12 cans canned vegetables
12 cans canned fruit
10 cans canned beans (kidney, pinto, black, etc)
12 cans canned chili, Spaghetti O’s, ravioli, etc
5 boxes of cereal
6 boxes granola bars
6 containers shelf-stable milk
4 boxes brownie / cake mix
1 box microwave popcorn
24 pack toilet paper
1+ laundry soap
4 foaming hand soap
6 paper towels
2 dish soap

gift cards for entertainment (movies, zoo, aquarium, fairs, exhibits, museums)
gift cards for dining (restaurants, grocery stores, fast food chains)
gift cards to enhance living (gas stations, grocery stores, drug stores, Toys R Us)
gift cards for clothing/shoes (Payless Shoe Source, Target, Fred Meyer)

Be The Change

2010-12-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

Be The Change: Save a Life

Watch this year long project focusing on diseases and health conditions that disproportionately impact the world's poorest people on ABC News Friday night. This show will highlight different areas and conditions but also give ways YOU can make a difference! Check it out at http://www.saveone.net/

Shopping Event benefiting Eastside Women of Vision

2010-10-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

Join us for a night of shopping as krisandkate.com open their warehouse doors! For this night, krisandkate.com will donate 20% of every purchase towards our Eastside Women of Vision projects! Grab your girlfriends and have fun shopping!

Date: October 27th Thursday evening 7-9pm

Location: 35131 SE Center St. #105 Snoqualmie, WA 98065

Look for the mannequin at the front of the Nuprecon building

Email eastsidewov@hotmail.com for more info

New partners, Chris Sandvik and Kathy Hennessy have an online shopping boutique: www.krisandkate.com. With every shopping purchase 10% gets donated towards WorldVision's Micro program benefitting a woman entrepeneur. Shop here and know that you will be shopping for stylish clothing with a purpose!

kris&kate.com is the vision of Christi Sandvik and Kathy Hennessy. "We believe in using the gifts and blessings that God has given us to help women in need."

November 15th! Shayne Moore: Global Soccer Mom to speak!

2010-10-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Come hear Shayne Moore, author of Global Soccer Mom on November 15th 7pm at Sammamish Presbyterian Church, 22522 NE Inglewood Hill Rd., Sammamish WA 98074

About Shayne: Activist Shayne Moore knows the challenge of managing a home and the desire to make a difference for those who are suffering. As a full-time mom, she has journeyed from an insular suburban world into the arena of global advocacy, where she’s worked alongside media superstars to effect change. Using the power of story, she inspires women everywhere to start right where they are and make a real difference.

Moore’s work has taken her far beyond her comfortable home. She’s traveled to Africa to see the need first-hand and also to international summits. Shayne was featured in a commercial with Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Matt Damon. She’s been interviewed by CNN, NBC, and The Wall Street Journal, and featured in a photo shoot in Vanity Fair’s “Africa” issue.

WOV Help Desk: 1-877-968-4968

2010-10-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Need any questions answered about Women of Vision? Call 1-877-WOV-4WOV. Our help desk will help you find an answer to your questions about a chapter, partnership, an event, who to contact, anything Women of Vision related!

Backpack Stuffing Party!

2010-05-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

We came together at the World Vision Storehouse in Fife and put together 2180 backpacks for kids around the area. We had a lot of fun working hard and the kids there put their all into it. September 10th the Seattle Chapter will be going to Concord Elementary in White Center to some of the backpacks.

Article on Afghan Midwifery program

2010-04-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

Our chapter is currently supporting a midwifery program in Afghanistan. Here is an article found in MSNBC that highlights our project. As mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters in Christ, we wanted to unite and support other women that lack basic necessities for a healthy birth.

Easter Baskets for Childhaven

2010-03-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

Our group is collecting and delivering Easter baskets for the children of Childhaven! Childhaven is therapeutic day care for neglected and abused children 5 years and under. We have collected over 40 baskets to deliver this week! This is a wonderful way to spread the joy of Easter and to include our children in the process.

Local Projects/Activities

2010-02-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

Our Eastside Chapter is involved in hands-on projects benefiting local non-profits. Some of the organizations we have partnered with are:

Olive Crest- Providing Easter baskets for the foster children there. Upcoming volunteer opportunities will be providing childcare for their support groups and being on-call for their welcome bags that the children receive when they are pulled from their home.
Echo Glen- We will be serving once a month (usually the 3rd Thursday of the month) with our adopted boys cottage. We are enjoying getting to know the boys, providing a constant connection, and good role models. Come join us as we serve, men and women welcome, must be over 21 to volunteer. First time volunteers can come without background check and then if you would like to continue, you need to fill out the necessary paperwork.
Vine Maple Place- Supplying presents for their Christmas store

ChildHaven- Providing Easter baskets for the children in safe care there

Eastside Baby Corner- Planning a drive for clothing, toys and baby items.

We are always looking for more people to help us with our local projects. As we grow, we'd like to commit to monthly activities. Please join us to be the hands and feet of Christ!

Cambodia Human Trafficking Project

2010-02-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

One child sold to a brothel is too many. Yet in Cambodia, so many children are trafficked into brothels that there are not enough high-quality shelters to care for the children who have been sexually exploited. Already deeply involved in anti-trafficking efforts, World Vision has a chance to improve care for trafficked children, protect survivors from further abuse, and make communities safer.

Several Women of Vision Chapters are supporting this new and scaled up Child Protection project which focuses on the prevention, protection and restoration of those at most risk of human trafficking. The project uses the best practices known in the field today and is part of a large child protection campaign of World Vision.

Our Eastside Chapter believes that every child is a child of God and deserves the right to be treated as such. Please join us as we support this project in Cambodia.

To get the specific details of this project click on: cambodia_fec_2011.pdf

Come Join Us!

2009-10-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Come join us and Renee Stearns as we study part 1 Hope In a World of Hurt. This is the first study to the Heart of The Matter Study. The Heart of the Matter Study is a biblically-based, interactive, study series which can be done individually or in a small group. The series includes three distinct studies which can be used one at a time or together for a longer study. Hope in a World of Hurt is foundational for them all.

Where: Samamish Presbyterian Church

Who: Renee Stearns will be leading

Time: 12:30-2:30

When: November 2, 9, 16, 30

Cost: suggested donation of $3 for study materials

RSVP: Julie at eastsidewov@hotmail.com

Support us by using iGive!

2009-10-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

When you are doing your online shopping, use this link: http://www.iGive.com/eastsidewov. Everytime you shop or search the 700+ participating online retailers, money will be raised toward Eastside Women of Vision projects! You are charged nothing extra! The participating retailer donates a percentage of your purchase price to Eastside Women of Vision! It's an easy way to get your shopping done and donate to our projects!

Sponsor a Child

2009-10-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Would you like to make an impact in a child's life by becoming their sponsor? Child Sponsorship is a program through World Vision where you can help not only a child who is in need but help transform a community as well. Our Eastside Chapter is sponsoring children from Cambodia. Cambodia is an area where the trafficking of children is a growing problem. 1/3 of the prostitutes in Cambodia are children. Sponsoring these children protect them from being sold and provides education.

Click here to get started in finding a child that's right for you! Child sponsorship makes a wonderful gift to a child, grandchild or friend. You can find a child a specific age, birthdate, and country.

If you have any questions about sponsoring a child, please email Deanna at eastsidewov@hotmail.com.

Trip Pictures

2009-10-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Getting a tour of the Storehouse

Driving through the hills and hollers

Early in October, 7 of our partners joined about 30 other women from other WOV chapters around the country for an educational mission trip to Philippi ,West Virginia. The Women of Vision chapter from Charlotte, NC hosted the event. Visiting the World Vision facilities was on the agenda, as well as meeting some of the staff. Members of the community, including some children, shared their experiences and the influence that World Vision and Women of Vision have had on their lives.It was such a blessing to see the dedication and love the employees and volunteers have as they are living out their faith in this rural community. We had a wonderful time together as a chapter-it was our first "trip" as a chapter. World Vision is an amazing organization and we were able to witness first hand the difference they make in the lives of those in need.

Become a Partner/ Donate

2009-10-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

Why partner with us? As Women of Vision we:

Pray for women and families in our projects
Educate ourselves and others on global and local issues affecting women and children
Volunteer with local ministries which serve women and children
Travel to World Vision projects we support
Advocate for issues affecting the poor and oppressed
Support selected World Vision projects through personal giving and special events
Partner with other women around the world to create mutual life-changing opportunities

Partnering can mean many different things. You can partner by paying your $50 partnership fee and joining us when you can. You can partner by committing to prayer the families that we serve and support. You can partner with us by being involved in the planning and monthly leadership meetings. You can also partner with us by donating to our projects that we support. There is no set requirements or commitments except to have a passion for what God is calling you to do!

As a partner you will receive subscription to our WOV e-news, access to monthly telephone and webinar briefings with global experts, travel opportunities, and priority reservations to local, regional, and national conferences. You will also be a part of a growing movement of women in the U.S.!

If you'd like to become a partner with Eastside Women of Vision, please click here. An annual chapter partnership is $50 and over half will go to our chapter activities and projects, the balance will help fund international projects supporting women and children.

You can donate online by clicking here. If you'd like to mail a check, you can mail checks to: 12641 SE 60th St. Bellevue, WA 98006. Please make checks out to World Vision/Women of Vision with "1089220 Eastside Chapter" in the memo line. Thank you!

Questions? Please email us at www.eastsidewov@hotmail.com

Appalachia

2009-09-28T15:03:00.001-07:00

This year our Chapter has committed $10,000 towards Appalachia. We are partnering with other Women of Vision Chapters in the United States toward this project. In Appalachia we are supporting:

KidREACH- an after school enrichment program in the area.

The Youth Empowerment Program- a 20 week program that trains youth to become positive influences by engaging in leadership development activities, community service, and civic involvement.

The Family Initiative- assisting families in distress through innovative programs, outreach ministries and existing service organizations.

Our chapter was able to visit Appalachia in October 2009. We met WV staff, the families, and other Women of Vision partnering with us to support Appalachia.

In February 2009, Diane Sawyer presented a 20/20 special on "A Hidden America- Children of the Mountains." Sawyer reported on the issues of poverty that face the children of Appalachia. To view this full show go to: http://vp2.abc.go.com/watch/2020/166626/180725/2020-children-of-the-mountains.

Afghanistan

2009-09-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Our Eastside Chapter has committed to supporting a midwives projecct in Afghanistan for the year 2009-2010.

Facts on Afghanistan:

* Fewer than 15% of births are attended by skilled medical personnel.
* One out of every four Afghan children will not live to the age of 5.
* More than half of all girls marry before they are 16—many as young as 11.
* Afghanistan has the world’s second worst maternal mortality rate
* Afghanistan has the world’s third worst infant mortality rate.

Nearly 30 years of war and instability and continued insecurity in parts of the country have wreaked havoc on Afghanistan’s infrastructure and healthcare system. Despite significant gains in health and education and high levels of assistance from the international community since 2001, Afghanistan remains the 5th poorest country in the world. With a population of about 33 million, Afghanistan’s GDP per capita stands at $163[1] US dollars with an estimated unemployment rate of 40%.[2] Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies of childbirth related complications. Making motherhood safer is a critical component of efforts to help women realize their full potential not only as mothers, but also as fully contributing members of society. Afghanistan is among the most challenging countries where WV works, and yet despite the challenges, WV is having a real impact. In order to reduce maternal, infant, and child mortality rates in western Afghanistan, World Vision is training midwives in two provinces and is implementing a 4 year child survival grant from USAID called Better Health for Afghan Mothers and Children. WV also started and continues to support a neonatal unit in Herat Maternity hospital, where the lives of premature and medically fragile newborns are being saved every day. Funding from Women of Vision will increase the impact of existing projects by building the capacity of local female healthcare providers to provide quality care for mothers and their babies.

Herat Maternity Hospital
The maternity unit of Herat hospital is a 100 bed facility serving a patient population of nearly 2 million people. It is a major regional referral hospital serving patients from all of the surrounding rural areas as well as Herat city itself. Approximately 1600 babies are delivered in the hospital in a typical month. Of these, about 10% will have birth complications and need to spend some time in the neonatal care unit.

The Maternity Hospital has recently moved into a new, modern building that is a vast improvement over its previous location, but the improvement in physical infrastructure does not in itself lead to improved health outcomes or enhanced quality of care. Afghanistan is a conservative Muslim country in which most women are unwilling to be treated by male healthcare providers. The number of skilled providers at the Herat Maternity Hospital is still not sufficient to ensure that all mothers and babies receive quality care and the Ministry of Public Health does not have sufficient resources to increase the number of staff.

Having made their way to the hospital from remote villages, often with great difficulty and in the midst of prolonged labor, women still die unnecessarily after they have reached the hospital. Fragile low birthweight babies who need constant monitoring are left untended for extended periods of time. Mothers admitted to the maternity unit do not get adequate care and counseling in lactation, newborn care or self-care due to the shortage of staff. It is not uncommon for patients to be admitted to the hospital with symptoms that would warrant immediate attention and yet have to wait up to 24 hours to be examined and treated. Most maternal deaths that occur in the hospital could be prevented with timely attention. The survival rate for infants admitted to the neonatal unit could also be improved if more staff were available to provide the one-on-one intensive attention that these babies require.

Expected Outcomes
Positive outcomes for mothers and babies can be achieved and more lives can be saved by:
1. increasing the number of staff on duty at the hospital during all shifts
2. providing refresher training for staff in mother-baby friendly care
3. recognizing the signs of complications
4. treating complications in a timely and effective manner
5. teaching the staff how to provide appropriate counseling to mothers and family members during their limited time in the hospital.

Project Description

At Herat Maternity Hospital, mothers who have undergone normal vaginal deliveries without complications normally stay at the hospital for only about an hour after delivery. Complications in either the mother or the baby often arise later, after the mothers have returned home. Mothers who have had C-sections may stay up to five days in the hospital, but the amount of counseling that is provided to them during this time is minimal due to staff shortages.

Through education and awareness raising with communities, families and hospital management, WV is encouraging women who have had uncomplicated vaginal deliveries to stay for a minimum of three hours, but this has been a challenge due to lack of staff who could provide services that patients want and value during this time. Providing good-quality care is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that maternal health services are used, and that the lives of mothers and babies are saved.

With support from multiple Women of Vision chapters, additional staff will be made available. All staff will have improved training on guidelines of care to enable them to more thoroughly assess and monitor the condition of babies and mothers and provide new mothers (and equally importantly their mothers or mothers-in-law, who usually accompany her to the hospital) with crucial information and counseling on newborn care, infection prevention, lactation counseling and education about the importance of exclusive breast-feeding, family planning counseling, immunization information and information about signs of complications that require an immediate return to the hospital. This information will help to ensure that healthy mothers and newborns who leave the hospital will continue to do well and that the families will recognize signs of complications and seek help in a timely manner. WV will provide take-home materials to mothers and families with key messages on newborn care.

WV will also make staff available during all shifts in the neonatal unit. Babies in this unit are particularly fragile and require constant monitoring, attention, and feeding assistance to thrive. New staff will be trained to provide this and to counsel mothers and families on appropriate care and monitoring for babies who have had a difficult start in life. Mothers will be encouraged to visit with their babies, bond with them and to learn to care for them at home.

[1] WHO (2006), World Health Report, (2003 data)
[2] CIA World Factbook, (2007), Afghanistan

Our Eastside Chapter has committed $15,000 to this project this year. Please prayerfully consider supporting us in this project also. You can email http://www.eastsidewov@hotmail.com/ for info on how to donate to our projects.

Book and Movie List

2009-09-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some good books and movies to view concerning issues around women and children in poverty:

Books
Global Soccer Mom by Shayne Moore
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns (president of World Vision)
Terrify No More by Gary Haugen
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity by Ronald J. Sider
Half the Sky: by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Radical by David Platt

Movies

A Walk To Beautiful- award-winning documentary following five Ethiopian women suffering from obstetric fistula
Miss HIV- explores the international collision of HIV/AIDS policies while following the journey of two HIV-positive women who enter the contest in Botswana
Blood Diamond
Beyond Belief- two American women travel to Afghanistan to meet other widows
At The End of Slavery- movie done IJM about slavery around the world
BABIES

Heart of The Matter Study

2009-09-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Heart of the Matter

Thank you for your interest in the Heart of The Matter Study. It is our prayer that this study blesses and challenges you. The purpose of this study— "the heart of the matter: touching the lives of women in poverty" – is to help participants broaden their understanding of the world around them. The stories they will hear, the statistics they will see, the experiences they will share are real. They are about real people, in many ways not unlike the women gathered for this study. Many women in the study group want to respond when they become aware of the harsh realities that their fellow sisters around the world are facing day in and day out. Whether that response is prayer or financial support, volunteering or educating others about the needs, there are opportunities for everyone to do something. One of the important goals of this study is to stimulate such women to take appropriate action in response to these needs. As a result of the awareness that the study will create in women, one of the important roles of Women of Vision is to be a knowledgeable resource on what action steps are available. The primary reason that World Vision exists, of course, is to provide a vehicle for help from those who desire to do so to those who are in need. Information about World Vision and Women of Vision will accompany the class as we study the situation and needs of women around the world.

To download your own study go to: http://womenofvision.wordpress.com/hotm-module-1/

Calendar/Events

2009-09-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

October: Eastside partners to go to Appalachia to visit our project with Seattle Chapter
November 9th: Meeting and Trip Report
November 3-5: Leadership Gathering at WV headquarters
November 15th: Shayne Moore: Global Soccer Mom to speak at Sammamish Presbyterian Church
December 16th: The Three Wisemen Concert at Westminster
January 18th: Sex and Money Movie night (trafficking within the U.S.)
February 8th: Planning Meeting
March 3-7: National WOV Leadership Conference in Washington DC
March 24th: Hoops of Hope event
April: Jamaa Movie night

These events and times are subject to change. Please check back to make sure.

Past Events

2008-11-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

An awesome day of stuffing backpacks at the World Vision Fife Warehouse. This year we stuffed 2364 backpacks!

Another great year of putting together Caregiver Kits! This year we had partners and guests come to help assemble 227 caregiver kits. These kits go out to villages where caregivers use them to care for AIDS patients.

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During Christmas time, our Children of Vision got together to write letters to their sponsored children. They had fun writing letters and drawing pictures. We also came to gather our gifts for Vine Maple Place.

We gathered the kids to have a devotion time led by Addison, one of our Children of Vision.

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In July our group, friends and families came to help put together 228 Caregiver Kits at Cascade Covenant Church. We filled kits with basic supplies for caregivers of AIDS patients.
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Our Women of Vision group put together Easter Baskets for Olive Crest last spring
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2008 Our Children of Vision held a lemonade stand/bake sale to raise money for Caregiver Kits. The kids raised $500 and had a great experience. They were able to talk to others about what they were raising money for and work together for an event that they enjoy participating in.