Sisters in Arms

Maria Ziesche (Photo Courtesy of HelloGiggles.com).

Each week, we take the opportunity to highlight inspiring women who are doing meaningful work for their communities. We’re proud of the “Women Working to Good” series because it gives us the chance to spotlight women whose stories might not otherwise be told; ordinary Americans who are taking it upon themselves to help us win the future. President Obama describes these individuals as “quiet heroes.” In this week's edition of Women Working to Do Good we meet Maria Ziesche, photographer and videographer, who filmed a recent trip to Colombia while working to advance social justice in support young children. The author, Maria's older sister, talks about the experience of working for a cause near and dear to her heart alongside her sister:

I had been to Colombia two previous times with an organization called Children Beyond Our Borders and was psyched that Maria was joining me on my third trip last summer. On the trip we worked to empower children affected by armed conflict and social injustice.  Despite her limited Spanish Maria developed some of the strongest bonds between volunteer and child that I have ever see. A lot of it had to do with her naturally caring personality and adorable smile, but she was also able to relate to the children through photography.  They were constantly clinging to her to see their own faces on the LCD screen of her camera.  

William Shakespeare once wrote in Hamlet, “A ministering angel shall my sister be.” He could have taken the words right out of Maria’s sister’s mouth. Read the full story at HelloGiggles.com, and be sure to check out the video below. 

For the Win: Erasing Hunger at Home

Jorge Betanzos (Photo courtesy of Points of Light).

For the Win is a guest blog series featuring the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Each week we highlight a new young person and learn about their inspiring work through their own words. 

Jorge Betanzos is a summer intern at generationOn, the youth service enterprise of Points of Light and a rising senior at Columbia Engineering studying chemical engineering. His interests include education and pre-Columbian history.

Before last summer, I never imagined that hunger issues could exist in New York City. Had you asked me to define issues tied to food and hunger, my mind would quickly think of global issues such as food scarcity and availability; problems that could only exist in a third world country and not in a metropolis. Working with the Mary Mitchell Center in the South Bronx opened my eyes to the food issues that affect so many and seem to be unheard of.

Moving Forward Together

Reform and Reconstructionist Leaders meet with White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew, July 19, 2012. (Photo by the White House Office of Public Engagement)

Last week, I was fortunate to be a part of a meeting Jack Lew held with members of the Reform and Reconstructionist clergy and lay leaders to discuss issues and work collectively to find solutions to issues on the domestic and foreign policy agenda.  Following the speech the President gave to the Union for Reform Judaism in December, the group engaged in a conversation on topics from the security for the State of Israel to civil rights to what the Affordable Care Act is doing for the American people.