Ride the Wave

Let's Stick 2gether Campaign, "Ride the Wave."

“Live Well” was the message at Thursday’s Mental Health Fair at Fairmount Park in Riverside.  Women Wonder Writers joined the Children’s zone on a beautiful sunny day, exhibiting its Authentic Self Artwork and inviting attendees to participate in their Let’s Get 2gether Sticky Note Art Campaign.  Children and adults were attracted to the sea of blue sticky notes, which were arranged into a big ocean wave.  A poem written by Women Wonder Writers set the tone:

Our minds are like the ocean,

Bringing unexpected weather,

And the calm before the storm.

Together we'll try & navigate

Like captains of the sean,

Surfers riding waves,

And fish avoiding predators.

Understanding our minds

Helps us save our 

sandcastles from the tide,

And prepare us for the storm.

Attendees were asked to write how they believed our minds are like the ocean.   “Our thoughts are like waves because our brain never stops going,” read one note.  “Ride the wave to get peace of mind” and quotes of encouragement filled other notes.  Children drew waves, palm trees and birds.  Other descriptive words, such as “wonderous, magical, beautiful and peaceful,” drew analogies between our minds and the ocean.  Attendees struggling with mental health hurdles were inspired to share their stories and write down words of wisdom. 

By the end of the day, a beautiful wave adorned a 24 by 36 inch board and the message was clear: Many of us struggle with mental health issues.  But understanding our minds will help us ride the waves.  Thank you Riverside County Department of Mental Health for sponsoring a wonderful day and helping us discover the wonder of our minds.

Fairmount Park Mental Health Day

Roadtrip Resilience

WWW Let's Stick 2gether Campaign, 5/7/13 Roadtrip Resilience

Women Wonder Writers (WWW) launched their first night of Roadtrip Resilience, a speaker series bringing stories of survivorship to at-risk youth.  This effort comes less than a month after WWW presented Dave Pelzer, the author of New York Times Bestseller A Child Called It, at Stop the Pain Teen Summit on April 20.

40 youth from Riverside County and graduates of The Write of Your Life, WWW's mentoring and writing program, filled a classroom of Yeager Hall at California Baptist University last night to meet guest speaker Professor Marilyn Moore.  The young scholars enjoyed cookies and lemonade, mingled and spent the early part of the evening writing messages on sticky notes which were added to WWW's sticky-note wall.

Resilience, which means the ability to "survive" and overcome hardship, was written in white chalk on black sticky notes spread across a vibrant sea of lime green sticky notes arranged into a plus and negative equation sign on the classroom whiteboard.  The art is part of WWW's Let's Stick 2gether Art Campaign, which sends powerful messages through sticky notes.  The attendees were asked to fill the notes with hardships they wanted to overcome and ideas how to. 

WWW Vice President Kacey Sutton
WWW Student Neireda

WWW Co-Founder Debra Postil kicked off the night asking the attendees to stand up if they were affected by hardships like bullying, abusive relationships, mental health hurdles, or peer pressure.  She explained the meaning behind the plus and negative signs made of sticky notes arranged by WWW Artists Judi Randolph and Joan McCullough.  "You can turn every negative into a positive," Executive Director Postil told the audience. 

WWW Vice President Kacey Sutton introduced Neireda, a WWW graduate who blew a whistle and read her personal poems of resilience.

Professor Moore then shared her harrowing story of child abuse that she suffered at the hands of her mother.  Growing up, Dr. Moore only knew the words: pain, blood, hunger, lonely, scared and "keep the secret," she stated.  "What label has been given to you?" she asked the young scholars, before inviting them to "now remove it."  She ended her presentation with a message of resilience: "Every time you survive something, you have resilience.  That which was a problem is my motivation.  That which was a negative is now a positive," she told a captivated audience.

5/7/13 Roadtrip Resilience

Professor Moore is an Associate Professor at the School of Behavior Sciences at California Baptist University, holding a master's degree in Sociology.  She has been married for over 40 years and has two grown children and lives in Orange County.  She created the CHOICES program, which is implemented at Operation SafeHouse Transitional Living Home and is on WWW's Advisory Board.  

WWW is a writing and mentorship program for at-risk youth in Riverside County.  Roadtrip Resilience is a WWW speaker series featuring survivors who have overcome struggles throughout their life, which will be hosted every other month in 2013.  The media, past and present WWW members and those interested in learning more about WWW are invited to attend each social.  Check out WomenWonderWriters.com for upcoming events.

Thank you Professor Moore for surviving and sharing your story at Roadtrip Resilience!

Professor Marilyn Moore

Summer Goals

Roosevelt Middle School, Compton, California

200 young women filled the halls of the Roosevelt Middle School in Compton on Saturday, flooding into the auditorium waiting for the kickoff of an all day Empowering Conference.  Following an introduction and DJ music, the young scholars broke out into workshop sessions.

WWW was ready in room 109 with it's Sticky Note Art Campaign.  In a goal setting workshop taught by WWW Co-Founder and Executive Director Debra Postil, she asked the young women to write down their summer goals on sticky notes along with words of motivation to get them there.  She also passed around a monthly calendar, asking them to pick a date on the calendar and write it there too.  The young scholars wrote fearlessly, filling notes with messages  ranging from "start reading James Patterson books" to "I will sing" and "play basketball."


"Reaching a goal starts by writing it down," Ms. Postil said.  By the end of the workshop, the young scholars filled a foam board with bright purple and orange sticky notes, arranging them into the words "I will."

Let's Stick 2gether, "I will." Compton, CA