Family counseling service gives back to community

On March 19th, Family Youth Foundations and Counseling Services hosted the "Spring Fling Parent Resource Day" from 3:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.

The fair, held at the Boys and Girls club of Shell Road in Hampton,Va., was free to all members of the public, particularly parents looking for resources that catered to needs and interests such as education, healthcare, tax aide and children's activities.

The fair consisted of over a dozen vendors who were set up to explain what services or information they had to offer to the Hampton Roads communities.

While parents walked around the venue to different vendors, children were entertained by a hula-hoop contest put on by Newport News Parks and Recreation, while some young boys were lined up on a stage getting free haircuts by a local barber.

Some who attended were not parents, but were also interested in what the fair could offer.
One young boy fed his curiosity of college by going around to vendors that represented universities like Norfolk State University and Troy University.

At the end, Leon Sankofa and Curtis Taliaferro, Jr., the community development manager of FYFCS, welcomed everyone to indulge in fresh fried fish and dessert.

(At right, parents and children participate in "Spring Fling Parent Resource Day.")

This fair, by far, was Unjaded!

Hiatus....

Okay, so I'm back from my hiatus with a lot of good news.

I have been working on a layout for the magazine that I would like to have online by September of this year. I'm so excited! Expect interviews from up and coming artists, young entrepreneurs, clothing lines and event announcements for the younger generation!

Meanwhile, I am working on a piece to recapture everything that I couldn't get out to you guys through the month of January...

Deuces... Be UNJADED!

December is AIDS Awareness Month

Your gifts aren't the only things that should be wrapped!
By JALIZA BRAXTON

Dec. 1 set off AIDs Awareness month across the world. AIDs or Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is the "final stage of HIV infection."

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, statistics showed that by 2008, " there were roughly 40,000 new HIV infections each year in the United States."

Anyone who is neglegent of their lifestyle is at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The CDC says, "for women of all races and ethnicities, the largest number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses during recent years was for women aged 15–39."

The CDC suggests that "Blacks at higher risk are those who are unaware of their partners risk factors."

Being aware of your partner's risk factors and your personal status can be done by getting tested at any government funded health department or clinic.

At these facilities you will find pamphlets on safe sex, prevention, birth control and ways to get tested.

To find out more about HIV/AIDs, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's website at www.cdc.gov.

Remember that December should not be the only month that you protect yourself, your partner and your future.
Give yourself the gift of PROTECTION!



So Unjaded!

I'm back!

Hey Unjaded Dreamers! I've been gone for a couple of weeks preparing for final exams. I'm finally finished and I must say that I didn't do bad at all. There are so many things that I want to discuss. Everything from the latest album releases, to my search for a second job in this horrific job market...

Until then, I will be on the prowl for new topics to bring to you and an internship that will hire me back (*fingers crossed)!

P.S., go check out my articles @ www.spartanecho.com

Wale's "Attention Deficit" making the hip-hop industry pay attention

Wale's Attention Deficit is raw poetry

Before I close this week out, I have to definetly say that Wale's Attention Deficit has been the soundtrack of my WEEK, and probably will be for a while.

I listened to it walking to class, in the car, while I did homework, did my hair and even in my sleep! Wale's album opened my ears and made me pay attention to his message.

My favorite tracks on the album are "Shades" featuring Chrisette Michele, "Let It Loose" featuring Pharrell and "Diary" featuring Marsha Ambrosius.

Wale came harder than most people thought he would. I've been there since "Natural High" was released.

I love how he is putting D.C.'s go-go culture on the map and infusing it with hip-hop.

He is definetly not a an artist to sleep on.

If you haven't got the Attention Deficit album yet, go get it. Tell your mom, sister, brother, bf, bff or whomever to make it an early Christmas present!





So Unjaded!

From NSU to JMU, two completely different environments, well sort of

Jules Braxton, my younger brother and co-founder of "Live Clean Stay Phresh," asked me to accompany he and his highschool graduation coach on a trip to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

I agreed to go and marked my calendar for the day that I would go the journey to help my 17 year old brother find a university to attend.

(Pictured Below: My younger brother Jules and Me)
Both NSU and JMU are state funded institutions, but it was obvious that JMU recieved an amount of funding much larger than NSU, a public HBCU.

The campus was beautiful. It was donned by clean, manicured lawns, and a back-drop of mountains and a cool breeze. I tried to compare JMU to NSU but I did not know where to begin.

The environment was intimidating at first, since I come from a school where I can get anywhere in about ten minutes, but our tour guide John hit us with a slogan; "Big school, small school feel."

We toured only the east side of the JMU campus in about twenty minutes where we came across one of several campus libraries that had five floors.

NSU just broke ground on a new library, which will still be the only library available on campus. This was a major difference between NSU and JMU.

My brother was also more than happy to hear that JMU had eighteen dining facilities on campus, which is over four times a many as NSU.

JMU also had one thing that NSU lacks; diversity. At the end of the tour we went to a student organization fair where several organizations put on productions.

A few members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. stepped for the diverse audience of visitors, and were followed by a Chinese organization that demonstrated a traditional lion dragon dance.

My brother loved everything about JMU including the appearance of their campus, state of the art facilities, and of course the food!

Aside from the cosmetic and diversity differences, I can say that JMU and NSU both know how to show school pride!

I had fun being surrounded by so many Unjaded Dreamers!



(Pictured above from l to r: Josh Jefferson and Jules Braxton)

A few cheap gift ideas

It's okay to be cheap, you've just got to know what you're doing!


On Sunday, I went to Target on assginment for a piece on gift ideas.
I kept in mind that we are in a recession and the budgets that most people are forced to live on. And out of my own habit, my eyes darted to the clearance items.

I had to stop myself. I almost got in the mode of shopping for myself, which would have just made me come out of Target without a list!

So I worked my way around, starting in the women's/junior's departments.

I spotted trendy items like plaid shirts, one piece shirt-dresses and bubble vests... So Unjaded!

In the women's/junior's department, I spotted this cute reversable bubble vest for just $15.00!

I checked a few more items out like long sleeve tees and cardigan sweaters that were not expensive at all.

Then I mosied on over to the pajamas and slipped into the shoe department to check out some slippers where I found some cute items!

In the shoe department, I found cute slippers for both girls and guys at decent prices.


The girls slippers were donned with a leopard printed pattern (animal print is a huge trend if you haven't noticed) and they were only

$5.99!

The guys slippers were a little more expensive than the girls but only because they have a leather uppersole. These were on sale for $24.99!

What goes better with a pair of leopard print slippers than a cute set of pajamas?

Two Piece Pajama Set @ $14.99  

Sorry guys, I didn't take the time to delve into the plaid pajamas that I saw in the men's department but I found two things that will have you looking and smelling good!


Long sleeve 2-Pocket Plaid Shirt @ $19.99 

Axe Giftpack @ just $8.99!

What CHEAP gift ideas do you have? Please leave your comments and suggestions!

Be an Unjaded Dreamer