Celebrate National Dollar Day

Happy National Dollar Day,  August  8

Observe the occasion by looking into the history:

On August 8, 1786, the Continental Congress established a monetary system for the United States, authorizing a new currency to be issued. And thus, the dollar bill was born!

While centuries old, the dollar bill hasn’t always looked the way it does today. Our first president has been there for 85 years; before 1929, dollar bills were issued as gold and silver certificates.

Bones, bucks, clams, greenbacks, singles, and smackers are some of the nicknames people use for the dollar. Whatever it’s called, it has changed in value through the years. In 1941, four people could get tickets to a movie for $1.  In the 1960s, three gallons of gas cost about $1.

In 2016, you could get a snack and grow a bigger tummy with a fast food “dollar menu” or dollar store candy or even, sometimes a Dairy Queen cone. But better yet, you can help Dollar Day grow into August as Dollar Month by donating it here and encouraging others to follow your leadership.

Your $1 can honor more local women and men, organizations and businesses, rebuilding the annual Sacramento Community Women of Color Day/Diversity Event which serves as the national base for our March 1st celebration. The August gift of a dollar will ensure 2017 is the 30th   March First commemorated at the end of Black History and the beginning of Women’s History Month.

Using your dollar to build an honoring, caring community and country will make all of us feel good all month, as we work to find new honorees and send out the word to other communities to follow our lead, with our support, recognizing more of those who give much but are often overlooked.

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Till now, commemorations have been in 25 states and 5 other countries. Every dollar given is a message across the country and around the world that all contributions--acts or donations--are valuable to givers and receivers. There are no little gifts. The differences made are all big.

While the dollar doesn’t purchase all it did in days past, there are still plenty of exciting dollar deals today, if you just keep your eyes and ears open! National Dollar Day is one of them.

Please post this National Dollar Day observance widely, including on social media, as a meaningful opportunity to show that when we all give a little, we all get a lot.

The 29th Annual Sacramento Community Women of Color Day/Diversity Event was the last to be held in Sacramento, despite that it was a remarkable history-making event, honoring 2 presidents of other countries--Chile and Uruguay, the Mexican Consul assigned in Sacramento for his work on behalf of women, and the Mayor of Compton,CA, along with local male and female activists and the help of CA State Representative Ken Cooley. This event also served as the launch date for the new, global, Internet website---http://www.womenworldculture which is encouraing social entrepreneurs, especially women and cultural groups, along with more attention to sustainability of our planet by grassroots/working class people. 

The Women WorldCulture Network Launch has been made possible by the decades of work by the International Association for Women of Color Day (IAWOCDay)  which is a division of Creative Concepts Systems (social entrepreneur). Suzanne Brooks, CEO of both the International Association for Women of Color Day (IAWOCDAY), which was established to promote the commemoration of Women of Color Day March 1st, annually and world wide, has served for 30 years without compensation. WomenWorldCulture has been launched after3 years of effort and again, Brooks serves as uncompensated CEO, supported in both organizations with an extensive network of volunteers throught the years and across the nation.

In 1988, Suzanne Brooks, then Affirmative Action Officer of Penn State University, began developing a group of practices and traditions to be used when Women of Color Day is commemorated. Ethnic dress, for example, is a characteristic tradition at Women of Color Day events, as are awards presented to "Outstanding Women of Color."

In 1991, as Director of the California State University Multi-Cultural Center, Brooks implemented the first Women of Color Day program in California at that university. She directed subsequent programs there until 1995. Thereafter, Brooks began the work of converting a national observance into an international one.  In 1998, she developed a special cultural ceremony for Women of Color Day, providing a unique worldwide tradition to be shared. In 1999, with funds from a New Work Award to her as a poet and support from a local restaurant, Brooks organized and implemented the first Sacramento Community Women of Color Day Program. In 2000, the program was moved to Sacramento public television station, KVIE-Channel 6. Programs for 2001, 2002 and 2003 were also held there. In 2004, the Sacramento Community Women of Color Day Program was held at the Cosumnes River College Recital Hall. Until 2014, the event was held in venues around the Greater Sacramento area to maximize local accessibility and participation. From 1991 to 2014, more than 250 women, men, organizations and businesses have been honored in Sacramento/Northern California. Concurrently, IAWOCDAY worked encouraging, promoting and supporting Women of Color Day/Diversity Events around the US and abroad, succeeding with commemorations occurring in 25 states and 5 other countries.

The International Association for Women of Color Day was established to promote the commemoration of Women of Color Day, March 1st, annually and world wide as a day in which the contributions of Women of Color—including Aboriginal, African/African Diaspora, Alaska Native, Asian, Caribbean, Chicana, Hawaiian, Latinas, Maori, Native American Indian, South Sea and Pacific Island, and Indigenous heritages throughout the world—are recognized and honored. Also honored are women and men and organizations of any group which are equally committed to cultural diversity without discrimination. Of course, one need not be a woman of color to have the spirit of women of color which includes a willingness to cooperate and collaborate, a love of culture and the desire to honor women of color for their contributions and achievements. 

Despite the decades of hard work and success, funds were simply not available to support the Annual Sacramento Community Women of Color Day Diversity Event. The 2014 event was only possible through donations by Brooks and other volunteers. Since many of those doing this work are themselves on limited incomes or among highly unemployed groups, a new plan and strategy for ongoing support of this event must be developed with ongoing passive income mechanisms. For these reasons, we are working together to utilize the Internet more effectively with social network strategies and new logo products. We also have videos from more than 25 years of Women of Color Day events which can be utilized to create a series of historical videos. Sales of the videos can generate income. They can also serve as models for women and cultural communities across the US and around the world to create their own documentation of the histories of women and culural groups. Creation of the initial videos in edited, DVD format requires professional help which must be paid for and advertised--the second reason for this Fundrazr. 

This Fundrazr will support

• Award plaques to outstanding women of color and to women, men, organizations supporting equality, diversity and justice
• Modest speaker expenses
• Event expenses include facilityr rental, event insurance, printing, and security
• IAWOCDay office expenses: website fees, phone, office supplies

Donors who contribute $100 or more will receive one of two recordings by Suzanne Brooks, The Jazz Generation Band. Donors contributing $500 or more will receive both recordings.

The success of this Fundrazr will enable another 3 decades of work on behalf of women and cultures, on the only day ever dedicated solely to this population. Thanks to all for your support.