Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

DETROIT (WXYZ) -

Quicken Loans the Detroit-based online lender thats been on Computerworlds Best Places to Work in IT list for 11 years running is hiring.

The company has also been named to Fortune magazines list of 100 Best Companies to Work For for the past 12 years! It ranked as high as Number 2!

Quicken Loans prides itself on providing a fun, collaborative work environment thats not stuffy or bureaucratic. And its grown to become one of the largest full-service residential mortgage lenders in the country.

Jobs offer excellent benefits packages which include a 401(k) match, medical/dental/vision & more. Personal empowerment coaching, leadership training, and ongoing personal growth training are also offered.

Incentives include contests and rewards such as trips, event tickets, cash prizes and more.

TOP 4 OPEN POSITIONS

1. Information Security Engineers The engineering job is one that Quicken Loans describes as a rock star who delivers security solutions and regularly consults the IT teams and other business experts to help interpret and communicate risk. Requirements include:

5 years of experience in a technical information technology role

Experience in Microsoft Windows preventative and detective controls, internal certificate authorities, Microsoft Active Director design/architecture & security data loss/leak prevention and multifactor authentication

Understanding of network design, encryption/PKI, mobile security, network security technologies and vulnerability management

2. Information Security Architects -- These hires are primarily responsible for interacting with development teams, other Software Architects and the business to help define how the business should develop secure solutions. Requirements include:

5 years of experience in general software development

Strong experience in web development and object orientated languages

Experience building processes for secure development within an enterprise using Waterfall, Agile and/or a hybrid development

Familiarity with secure software development lifecycle maturity models such as BSIMM and Microsoft SDL

Strong experience with relational database schemas and SQL

3. Mortgage Bankers These employees guide clients towards strong financial decisions and help them achieve their personal and financial goals. This position has real earnings potential.

New hires will receive 15 weeks of paid mortgage banker training and on-the-job coaching with real-time feedback. Mortgage Bankers get to use what the company calls cutting-edge, lightning-fast technology Its called Rocket Mortgage for a reason!

Requirements include:

Superb communications skills

Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

A positive attitude and desire to truly help people

4. Summer Internships Company leaders say these opportunities are about much more than making coffee or pushing paper. Interns get to learn about the industry and career they might want. They gain priceless hands-on experience across a wide variety of fields with those at Quicken Loans and Quickens Family of Companies. Responsibilities include:

Contacting third party clients regarding ordering

Follow up on and process homeowners insurance needed to close loans

Pull production reports

Develop and create presentations

Work on special projects as requested

APPLY ONLINE HERE FOR JOBS AT QUICKEN LOANS

You can always find helpful resources for your job search on http://www.mitalent.org.

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Quicken Loans is actively looking for people to fill some key jobs this spring and summer - WXYZ

On March 8, International Women's Day, I made my way to Washington Square Park in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village, a place with a long history of social activism and protest. Along with thousands of women and men, I was headed to a rally which would serve to give voices to so many of the marginalized women whose views and needs are all too often shut out of our national conversation, particularly now in the era of Trump.

Over the years, I've attended many protests at the parkwith its wide-open acreage, it's an excellent meeting point for large groupsfor everything ranging from anti-war demonstrations to Black Lives Matter marches, and it's never not inspiring to stand with other New Yorkers and feel like you're a part of something bigger. And yet this time felt different; as I approached the familiar pathways, rather than filled with protestors or even regular park-goers, they were lined with people selling buttons and T-shirts, hats and bandanas, all emblazoned with messages of empowerment, most frequently the words "she persisted." The cost for this merchandise ranged from about two to 20 dollars, but the irony of this blatant consumerism on a day which has its roots in the socialist movement was priceless.

The selling of empowerment is nothing new, of course, although its rapidly increasing deployment in the last few years can still feel surprising. And the fact that I have the capacity to still be shocked is in itself surprising; I do, after all, work at a women's magazine, one which not only covers the type of products that are usually described (self- or otherwise) as empowering but which has itself used the term descriptively on many occasionsand usually to great effect. It makes sense that young women, a demographic which has long felt and been powerless, would find this type of rhetoric appealing; power can be hard to come by for this community, its siren call seductive for even the savviest of consumersno matter if it is being promised by a deodorant or underwear brand.

It's complicated. On a personal level, "empowerment" is not something that appeals to me as a concept at all, but the reason for that goes beyond my ever-present cynicism and reveals something fundamental about me and my privilege: As a well-educated white woman born into a world of valuable social and cultural capital, I didn't really need all that much empowerment. I had power already.

Still, though, I find it hard to be completely dismissive of the term, even if I don't embrace it myself because, for many women, the reality of seeing themselves represented in ad campaigns and of having their lifestyles validated has actual value. For women who have historically been marginalized to suddenly be publicly told that they are beautiful and their bodies deserve to be seen and their voices deserve to be heard, this type of thing can make a difference; and not just to a brand's targeted demographic, but also to the young men who see a different type of model on the billboards lining the streets and the posters on the subway cars.

Certainly, consumers aren't so naive that they don't know what it is that's happening when every other ad campaign these days promotes empowerment and when it's clear that it's only a matter of time before the words "she persisted" are trademarked. Buying a trend doesn't necessarily mean buying into it, after all. Targeted audiences can know that brands are promoting a product with dollar signs in mind rather than, like, good vibes, but they can also think it's preferable that the messages being used right now are ones of inclusivity and diversity, no matter the intent.

Problems arise, though, when brands which are supposed to stand for tolerance and diversity and, yes, empowerment are revealed not to practice what they preach. The same cognitive dissonance that I experienced at last week's Women's Day rally cropped up again this past Tuesday when Racked published an expose about the brand Thinx, which sells "period underwear," along with a healthy dose of empowerment via its viral marketing campaigns and diverse array of models.

Racked's Hilary George-Parkin reported that there was a big difference between Thinx's "message and their reality," and that while the brand preaches female empowerment, its work culture is one of "substandard pay, flimsy benefits, and scarce perks," with a shamefully inadequate maternity leave policy on the books ("two weeks leave at full pay plus one week at half pay for the birthing parent, and one week leave at full pay plus one week at half pay for the non-birthing parent"). George-Parkin spoke with many Thinx employees, all of whom reported the surreal experience of working for the brand's co-founder and onetime CEO, Miki Agrawal, who's highly touted in the media as being an ultra-feminist, while also knowing that, while they still believed in the product and brand mission, Agrawal was not above calling a former employee "a bitch" and remonstrating her current employees if they asked for a raise.

Agrawal has responded to the Racked article in a Medium post, published today, in which she blames the company's problems on its fast growth and her lack of know-how when it came to basic things like hiring someone to work HR. Agrawal's explanation for the accusations now leveled at her company is in itself fraughtit ends with a Teddy Roosevelt quote which praises entrepreneurs and derides critics as cowardsand notably fails to contradict many of her former employees' accusations, instead focusing on the good parts of working at Thinx (there were team retreats and bonuses), and adopting a tone of "hey, we all make mistakes, right ?? :)"

But it's hard not to wonder if this might signal some sort of tipping point when it comes to the selling of empowerment. (Another indication that we've reached its nadir is the announcement of a forthcoming children's book titled She Persisted and written by none other than Chelsea Clinton.) This isn't to say that brands will stop pushing empowerment as a means of selling to women; this isn't even to say that they should stop doing it. It's, after all, better than bombarding consumers with the sexist advertising messages of past years, when the peak of a woman's achievement meant the attainment of one end of the Madonna-whore binary or the otherand nothing in between.

Instead, perhaps this is the point where consumers will stop listening simply to the outward-facing messages that brands present, and start paying attention to their internal workings. The branding of female empowerment probably isn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon, but it's up to us to make sure that when companies talk about women's power, we as consumers make sure their money's where their mouths are. And if not? We should take our dollars elsewhere.

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On Thinx And The Complicated Politics Of Empowerment Brands - NYLON

JP Sears is running an emotional healing and coaching practice. Heworks with people worldwidevia Skype. His satirical methods involveretreats around the world which focus on different healing and personal empowerment themes which facilitate similarpeople to coming together to learn, grow, and heal. JP Sears: How DoesComedy Meet Wellness?

The influential coachtells us that true art is about giving people what they need and creating a deeper connection to their minds.

The Yogi coach has a YouTube channel called, AwakenWithJP. Hecreates videos which encouragepeople to help themselves. These videos include a hilarious, Ultra Spiritual Life video series. The coachuses comedy to share tips and adviceabout health, wellness, and spirituality. Sears is even teaching us how to take Yoga photographs for Instagram. This unique method is seen in his best video called- Ultra Spiritual Life 34.

Searstells us that he coaches through peoples vulnerability. His humoroustechniques are helpingpeople connect to their emotions, feelings, memories and experiences.

JP Sears has developed a cult-like following on both Instagram and YouTube, whereby people are both intrigued and confused. They are uncertain as to whether or not he is joking around or providing extremely informative tips for wellness through entertainment. Despite this debate, Sears does share some very valuable messages about health and spirituality.

JP Sears believes that life is not worth living without humour. The way to living a healthy and fulfilled lifestyle is by creating meaning in our lives. His methods may be unorthodox, but he is certainly one of the top influences of wellness for 2017.

1. Make your bed everyday!

This may be a small action, but it has adomino effect over your day. JP Sears says it will make you feel as if your day has been started on a clean slate. By simply knowing your room isclean and fresh, you will feel more motivated for success.

2. Write daily for a minimum of 20 minutes

Whether or not writing is your passion, JP Sears recommends it. Writing will make you feel more productive and clarify your thoughts. It will also ease anyemotions that may overwhelm you.Sears says that a few minutes of jotting down something, is worth it!

3. Meditate everyday!

It essential to dedicate a few minutes to being grounded and present. Searstells us that he used to meditate in the morning, but he found that an evening meditation feels a lot more natural. Meditation will allow you to tap into a different part of yourselfthats difficult to access in any other way.

4. Include Yoga and Fitness daily!

By incorporating Yoga and gym into your routine you will not only feel better in terms of health and fitness. But, you will also feel more relaxed. Yogareduces anxiety, stress and releases endorphins-triggering your happy hormones. Any form of exercise is crucial on a daily rate.

This comedian/life coach is transforming the way we think about wellness, health and spirituality. JP Sears may be unorthodox, but he is the go-to healer of the year. Sears says that theseare small changes. But when done regularly the results can be mind-blowing.

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JP Sears: Your Wellness Satire King - Longevity LIVE

2016 student tour group with Rev. Jesse Jackson at Operation PUSH in Chicago.

Legacy Keepers Inc.s model is an excellent example of putting into practice the idea that for youngsters to be serious about learning, instructors need to be serious about educating them. Its one thing to decry educational disparity, another to go about solving the problem, and the grassroots nonprofit is thoroughly exhaustive in its innovative, hands-on approach.

They start with the concept that learning isnt confined to the classroom and, in fact, is most effective when the student steps beyond academia to experience lessons in context in the real world at large. To this end, the institute devises comprehensive curricula and detailed programs of field study.

For instance, March 30 through April 6, partnering with Minneapolis Public Schools Social Justice Fellows Tour, Legacy Keepers Inc. (LKI) junior high and high school scholars will make 10 eastern stops, starting with Washington, D.C. The trip will end in Savannah, North Carolina and will include the African American Museum, Howard University archives, and Greensboro, where in 1960 four protesters held an historic sit-in at a segregated Woolworths Department Store.

The trip is preceded March 25 by a workshop at Augsburg College to get students ready for their journey. There are four tours along with the upcoming Social Justice & Civil Rights Leadership Tour, which examines past movements impact on life today. Youth get a first-hand understanding of the current political and social climate that helps prepare them to make their own contributions.

Included is a component devoted to the school-to-prison pipeline that claims far too many young lives, arming them with information to help them act on their own behalf to avoid such a fate. The Griot Cultural & Arts Historical Service Tour focuses on and honors the rich history of African American art and, importantly, its pervasive global impact.

The Invention & Innovation Achievement Tour encompasses science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Entrepreneur & Economic Empowerment Tour provides blueprints for establishing and sustaining enterprise to empower community. Also, there are LKI Summers programs: Harlem Renaissance Camp at Bethel University, Reginald F. Lewis Business Economic Empowerment Camp, and Mae C. Jemison Invention and Innovation Camp. In the past LKI has worked with Wise Charter School, delivering African studies to elementary classes.

Executive Director Tamera Arlene Irwin quite understandably finds this a labor of love and infinitely rewarding. Its wonderful to do the work were doing. It just gets more and more enriching to provide structure and create opportunity for young folk.

We want to give them solid information so that as theyre analyzing specific social issues they have more to work with, Irwin continues. Its so amazing how sharp they are, their passion.

To assess how concretely LKI confronts and counteracts the woeful state of Black youths education, consider materials Irwin provided MSR. The Legacy Keepers Sankofa Statement espouses to provide an opportunity for scholars to look back at past human rights movements and strategies to learn and pull forward methods, strategies, and inspiration to establish new movements (big and small) relevant to present day struggles for human rights and social justice.

Among salient points, scholars will understand the ideology of global White supremacy and why it continues to exist to this day; [develop] a deeper understanding of historical liberation movements (e.g. modern day Civil Rights Movements, slave revolts, etc.) and [examine] events of the MAAFA (Transatlantic Slave Trade) and the impact it has on todays world and our nation.

Irwin further states that students will devise their own plans to interrupt the ongoing cycle of social injustice. How they intend to change the condition or situation, theyll think critically and come up with approaches to interruption. We want to equip and give them the tools to do that effectively.

Irwin underscores that they will come to grips with the fact that an age-old system was put in place to disenfranchise them before they were born. The more they know, the better theyll understand this isnt by accident. Irwin adds, It isnt just about going to the tour stops. We want to supply knowledge that when applied will lead to personal empowerment for themselves and the community, individually and collectively.

You dont have to water it down. They understand. They get it. They just need to realize how they can make a difference in the trajectory, where were headed. I would like to see a lot more have the opportunity.

For more information on Legacy Keepers, Inc. visit their website at http://www.legacykeepersinc.org.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403.

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Education for change: Legacy Keepers keeps it real for students - MSR News Online

NEWBURYPORT The Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center will hold the fifth annual White Ribbon Breakfast on Tuesday at Ipswich Country Club to raise money for its Youth Empowerment Services at local schools.

This year commemorates the 27th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre in which a man separated men from women in an engineering class atLcole Polytechnique at the University of Montreal, then shot or stabbed and killed 14 women as he declared his hatred of feminists.

Theevent led to the formation of the international White Ribbon Campaign, and the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center sees the breakfast as a way of engaging men and boys in this international campaign to end violence against women and girls.

The funds that we receive from this breakfast have helped us to form a collaborative partnership between area school districts and the center and provide young people in our community with the comprehensive program interventions necessary to empower them to make healthy decisions that will positively impact their lives, said Suzanne Dubus, CEO of the center.

The program will feature presentations from Attorney General Maura Healey, who will discuss Game Change: the New England Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership, an innovative approach to violence prevention education; Jonathan Kalin, founder of Party with Consent; and two Amesbury High School students who will share their personal experiences on what they have learned and how this program has affected their school community, personal relationships and the community.

To break the cycle of violence before it affects the next generation, the crisis center offers an innovative Youth Empowerment Services program that uses evidence-based and nationally recognized approaches to educate and engage girls and boys in breaking the cycle of domestic violence, according to a press release.

Through three linked initiatives, the center empower girls, fosters healthy dating relationships, and engages boys and girls in violence prevention, with an emphasis on reaching students in upper elementary school through high school.

Last year, YES programming was provided to 2,906 students and faculty at eight schools across Essex County. The White Ribbon Breakfast gives the crisis center the opportunity to highlight the importance of prevention and the role that boys and men play, and also raises the money necessary to continue this work.

It is important for everyone of all ages to understand the proper response to a violent or potentially violent situation,said Dick Bazirgan, who chairs White Ribbon.The key is to understand that doing nothing is not an option, it just makes you part of the problem. This problem is not going away and looking away is not the answer.

Anyone who wants to support the program canattend or help sponsor the breakfast. A framed, autographed Tom Brady jersey will be auctioned at the breakfast. In addition, anyone who makes a donation at the breakfast will be entered into a drawing to win a set of four New England Patriots tickets that include a sideline pass.

Registration will begin Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. and the program will be from 8 to 9:15 a.m.

Ipswich Country Club is located at148 Country Club Way, Ipswich.

Tickets are $35 per person or $350 for a table.Reservations and sponsorship information are available online at http://www.jeannegeigercrisiscenter.org or you can contact Kelly Majewski 978-465-0999, ext. 14.

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Jeanne Geiger Center fundraiser set for Tuesday - The Daily News of Newburyport

Yolo Eco-Clean Cooperative will kick-off the opening of its residential and commercial cleaning services in Woodland with a Thursday event from 5 to 7 p.m. at the offices of Empower Yolo, 175 Walnut Avenue.

The new local business is a project of two local nonprofits, the California Center for Cooperative Development and Empower Yolo, who partnered in developing a worker co-op to create jobs and cooperative ownership opportunities for underserved residents in Yolo County, according to E. Kim Coontz, executive director of the California Center for Cooperative Development

Yolo Eco-Clean Cooperative (YECCpronounced yes) was formed using the build and recruit model of cooperative development. In this model, pre-development and early launch decisions are made by a steering committee and a temporary board composed of six community members from Yolo County.

Barbara Price, who resides in Woodland, is a member of the community board and volunteers her time and expertise through the development and launch process, stated Coontz. Barbara and the other five team of volunteers work with nonprofit staff to shepherd the business while initial member candidates go through the membership process.

Before submitting an application to work with the co-op, prospective members complete four workshops that focus on worker cooperatives: Co-ops 101, Governance and Decision-Making, Understanding Finances and Bylaws of Yolo Eco-Clean Cooperative. Classes are conducted in Spanish and English. Following an interview, individuals begin paid work as member candidates which includes ongoing training in green cleaning.

Member candidates must work for the cooperative for six months before they are eligible for membership. Community volunteers will relinquish their role as temporary board member as worker members complete their candidacy.

The co-op has five member candidates who are excited to launch their business in Woodland. Nonprofit assistance, including a cooperative facilitator will continue through the first 18 months of the business to help the cooperative grow and offer membership benefits to more people.

The benefits of working at Yolo Eco-Clean Cooperative are multifaceted, Coontz explained. Wages are better than comparable jobs, and members share in the profits. But there are other benefits as well. Workers are engaged in deciding their work schedule, how work is organized and all aspects of decision-making. They have opportunities to try on new hats as they engage in business strategy, public relations, accounting, marketing and leadership. Co-op members experience economic and personal empowerment that can benefit their entire family.

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Members of the community are invited to attend YECCs grand opening.

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Green-cleaning business develops worker co-op - Daily Democrat

Montclair Centers Womens Empowerment Week: Workshops, Forum, Ladies Night Out, and More!

BY Georgette Gilmore | Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 10:00am | COMMENTS (0)

This years Womens Empowerment Week, presented by Schumacher Insurance and organized by the Montclair Center BID, has grown to include a Forum at The Wellmont, a schedule of talks by experts, and a Ladies Night Outto close the week. Throughout April 1 9, locations throughout Montclair Center will be collecting funds, clothing and personal hygiene products for the countys rape care center, SAVE of Essex, a program of Family Service League.

We have assembled some of the leading experts on empowerment, entrepreneurship, health and personal fulfillment to speak throughout Montclair Center, said Israel Cronk, Executive Director of the Montclair Center BID. It really speaks to our community that so many accomplished people want to volunteer their time to sharing their stories and helping others.

Here isthe2017 Womens Empowerment Week scheduleof events:

Womens Empowerment Forum at The Wellmont

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Montclair Center's Women's Empowerment Week: Workshops, Forum, Ladies Night Out, and More! - Baristanet

The Hindu

Modi sets 2022 as a milestone The Hindu His personal app, NaMo app, has been running this pledge since late afternoon, with subscribers being asked to dedicate five years to the cause of their choice, ranging from women's empowerment to fighting corruption, to promoting cashless transactions. What Modi Has Mastered That Others Haven't - As YetNDTV all 2,914 news articles »

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Modi sets 2022 as a milestone - The Hindu

A match at the Israeli catchball tournament in Kfar Saba, Feb. 21, 2017.

TEL AVIV (JTA)-Every week, thousands of women across Israel gather to play a sport almost no one outside the country has heard of.

For that matter, few Israelis knew about catchball, or "cadur-reshet" in Hebrew, a decade ago. But in recent years it has become the most popular sport amongadult women in the country,with nearly all the players over 30 years old.

"It's like a disease among middle-aged women here," said Naor Galili, the director-general of the Maccabi sports association in Israel. "We like it. We love it. We fully support it."

Now the Israel Catchball Association is trying to spread the feminist fever to women around the world. A major step will be catchball's appearance for the first time at the Maccabiah Games in Israel this summer. The hope is that the thousands of Jews who attend the multi-sport gamesfrom around the worldwill be inspired to ask: What is catchball?

Catchball is likevolleyball, but easier because catching and throwing replacesbumping, setting and spiking. Israelis adapted the sport from Newcomb ball, which was named for theLouisiana women's college where it was invented over a century ago. Today, Americans rarely play Newcomb ball outside of gym class.

Meanwhile, catchball leagues in Israel boastmore than 12,000 female members. That is twice as many adult women as belong to basketball, soccer, volleyball and tennis leagues combined, according to data from Israel's Culture and Sport Ministry.

Hila Yeshayahu, 41, plays for the Herzliya-based squad Good Heart and handles marketing and business development for the Catchball Association, to which the team belongs. She said women start playing catchball because it is fun and easy-and stick with it for the sense of community and personal empowerment.

"Catchball is a present women give themselves. It's a chance to do something healthy with other women and come back home with more strength and more passion," she said. "When I step out the door in my uniform, my kids aren't on my shoulder; my husband isn't on my shoulder. I'm 18 years old again. I'm Hila, and I can do anything."

Yeshayahu's twin sister also competes for a team in the association, and their 11-year-old daughters play together in a new girls' league.

On a Tuesday evening, Yeshayahu and her team faced off against A.S. Moment at a high school gym in Ramat Hasharon, not far from Herzliya in central Israel. The crowd consisted of a few husbands and sons on the sideline. But the atmosphere was competitive, with a referee, scorekeepers and players wearing numbered uniforms. When A.S. Moment won two sets to none, Good Heart players slumped onto the court, and several tearfully threw their knee pads toward the bench. (The first two sets are scored up to 25 points, while a third set in the best-of-3 match would go to 15. The victor must win a set by at least two points.)

Good Heart coach Liron Shachnai, 34, a marketing and sales manager by day, said most of her playershave little experience losing. Competitive sports in Israel are male-dominated, she said, so women do not have the opportunity to learn sportsmanship growing up.

"You have women who are over 40 going home crying, saying [the opposing players] think they're better than us," she said.

Still, by the next practice Thursday evening, the players werelooking toward the future. It helped that this weekend, they will competein the Catchball Games in the southern resort town of Eilat. The tournament is catchball's biggest event and a highlight of the year for many players.

"You should see all the photos they're posting on Facebook. They can barely wait," Yeshayahu said.

In its sixth year, the Catchball Games are expected to draw more than 1,500 women from all of Israel's leagues, and even a few teams from abroad. Leavingtheir husbands and children at home, women willdon pink Israel Catchball Association T-shirts for four days of competition and socializing. Local schools will host hundredsof matches, and the top two teams will face off for the championship. Off-court festivities will include a parade, Eilat's first night road race and a standup comedy show.

Alexandra Kalev, a sociology professor at Tel Aviv University, says the success of catchball in Israel can be seen as a challenge to the roles women have traditionally played in the country's sport and culture. Women's sports in Israel are underfunded and little covered in the media, and women are expected to work and handle most household responsibilities.

"Catchball can empower women, especially at a stage in life when they are weakened," Kalev said. "They are discriminated against in the labor market, overwhelmed by home chores and child rearing and experiencing the changes that age brings on all of us. These leagues really come at the right time of their lives and allow them to be empowered. The message is: We are strong."

The rise of catchball in Israel began in 2005, when OfraAmbramovich started Mamanet, a league for mothers in the central city of Kfar Saba, where she lives. She learned the sport fromHaim Borovski, an Israeli gym teacher from Argentina. Thanks to Ambramovich's entrepreneurship, dozens of municipalities have since started their own Mamanet leagues.In her mind, catchball is primarily a mom-powered social movement.

"Catchball gives motherssomething for themselves, a reason to be healthy and part of the community," Ambramovich said. "And the mother is the agent of the family, so she's the perfect role model. When the motherdoes well, everyone benefits."

In 2009, the Israel Catchball Association branched off from Mamanet in an effort to make the sport more competitive. The associationwelcomed non-mothers and allowed women to form their own teams rather than requiring them toparticipate through their children's schools-though they maintained Mamanet's age minimum of 30. Today,the association offers leagues at four skill levels.

The Israel Catchball Association claims 5,000 players, and Mamanetclaims 12,500. Both groups claim superiority and dispute each other's numbers, but everyone agrees the totalnumber of women playing is more than 12,000.

It is also clear the sport is growing rapidly, and even reaching into Israel's most traditional communities. Many Orthodox Jewish women play catchball in headscarves and skirts. And there is a mostly Druze team in Daliyan al-Carmel in northern Israel. When Anaia Halabi, a 35-year-old school counselor, started the team seven years ago,it was a radical idea.

"For women to leave their husbands and their children toplay was a big change for the village," she said. "It is not considered suitable for women to be outside the home at night. Not all the husbands approve."

But over time, Halabi said, the husbands have grown more accepting, and the local municipality began paying for a van to transport the team to games outside the village. At the same time, theteam has arranged not to play late night games, anda three-club local league has been formed to allow women to compete without leaving the village.

With the sport firmly established in Israel, the Israel Catchball Association has started looking overseas. Part of the motivation is that to qualify as an official sport and receive funding from the Israeli government, catchball must be played competitively in at least 52 countries. So far, the only leagues the association knows of outside Israel are in Mexico and the United States. But they are encouraging the sportin more than half a dozen other countries, mostly through Israeli expats.

Gal Reshef, a 35-year-old Israeli lawyer, founded acatchball group in Boston in 2015 and last year expanded it into the U.S.A. Catchball Association in partnership with theIsrael Catchball Association. She said the vast majority of thenearly 100 womenin the BostonetCatchball Association, as well as in the handful of other teams across the country, are Israelis. But Reshef is confident catchball will, um, catch on with American women, too.

"I think in the States, the situation is the same as in Israel. If you're a middle-aged woman who didn't have the chance to play sports growing up, there are very few options," she said. "The great thing is anyone can play catchball, and it creates an amazing uplifting community."

At least one Bostonet team is slated to participate in the catchball exhibition tournament at the Maccabiah Games in July. Thirty-six Israeli teams will be there, along with a couplefrom London and Berlin. Reshef predicted that by the time the next games roll around in four years, teams from around the world will be playing catchball in the real tournament-and after that, maybe the Olympics.

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Women's sport you've never heard of is taking Israel by storm - Heritage Florida Jewish News

VIDEOS: STEVIE NICKSStevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde at FedExForum | 0:34

Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde stopped at FedExForum on Wednesday. Check out commercialappeal.com for photo gallery and full review. Wochit

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Stevie Nicks shared her memories of Prince after she made a surprise appearance at Broadway show, 'School of Rock: The Musical.' (April 27) AP

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Stevie Nicks talks about recording her album "24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault" in Nashville. Juli Thanki / The Tennessean

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Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde at FedExForum

Stevie Nicks remembers Prince at surprise show

Stevie Nicks teaches 'Music 101' at Bridgestone

Two of rock music's iconic women, Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde, perform a song together during a concert at the FedExForum on Wednesday night. Hynde and her band The Pretenders opened for Nicks' solo performance on International Women's Day.(Photo: Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

It was a fitting close to International Womens Dayas two of rocks iconic female figures, Stevie Nicks and the Chrissie Hynde, took the stage of FedExForum on Wednesday. Appearing with her solo band, Fleetwood Mac star Nicks was the ostensible headliner, but it was Hynde and her group The Pretenderswho stole the show,with both women presenting district and distinctly different visions of musical and personal empowerment.

Resuming her work with the Pretenders last summer after a four-year break, Hynde and the band which includes founding drummer Martin Chambersand new-era additions James Walbourne on guitar, Nick Wilkinson on bass and Eric Heywood on pedal steel sounded sharp and inspired during a 15-song set that covered the expected hits as well as material from the bands recent album, Alone.

Hynde was in classically cantankerous form early on, rightfully berating a couple of audience members down front who were popping off cell phone camera flashes in her face. After apologizing on their behalf Hynde settled down and found both the aggression and nuance of songs like My City Was Gone and Stop Your Sobbing.

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Thirty-five years after the implosion of the original Pretenders lineup following the death of guitarist James Honeyman Scott and the firing and subsequent death of bassist Pete Farndon Hynde and Chambers have somehow managed to keep the group acompelling force, with the new members, particularly flash guitarist Walbourne, providing a fresh spark.

One of rocks most stylish singers, Hynde also showed a depth of emotional range on the spare ballad Ill Stand by You, while one of her rare solo songs, Down the Wrong Way, seemed to take on new life in the Pretenders context.

Ohio native Hynde took the opportunity to rave about Memphis, having visited several local haunts Graceland, Shangri-La Records and Imagine VeganCaf on a day off before the concert. She noted that she skipped a return to the local jail, where she stayed during the Pretenders' first tour on disorderly conduct charges after kicking out the windows of a police car. They didnt want me back, she quipped.

After a brief break, Nicks and her big band which included longtime guitarist/musical director Waddy Wachtel on guitaremerged, sounding strong, if somewhat measured during their 18-song performance.

Nicks presented the set as part storytellers session, part deep dive into her catalog. Vocally, she was in fine form, but the somewhat awkward pacing songs broken up by Nicks long narrative interludes meant that musical momentum was hard to sustain.

Still, Nicks tremendous personal charm part girl next door, part witchy woman, part mother figure was hard to resist, and the crowd of devotees were held rapt by her, expressingtheir devotion vocally and visually, with many dressing in homage to her (sartorially speaking, the audience at a Nicks concert could double for a renaissance fair crowd).

The liveliest moment of Nicks' set came during an early version of the Tom Petty-penned Stop Dragging My Heart Around as Hynde emerged from the wings and the women, along with Wachtel, presented the song as a three-way romantic drama.

Ultimately, amid all the stories and banter, Nicks managed to cover all the expected ground, delivering strong versions of her solo hits (Stand Back,Edge of Seventeen) and closing with a flourish of Fleetwood Mac favorites (Rhiannon,Gold Dust Woman,Landslide) that were impossible to resist.

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Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde in fine form on double bill - The Commercial Appeal