March 19, 2025, marked a significant day for the residents of Tanner Terrace in Glendale, Arizona, as they came together to celebrate National Nutrition Month. The event, held from 2 PM to 3:30 PM, aimed to emphasize the importance of healthy eating among seniors and featured a special focus on enhancing their nutritional knowledge.

The gathering was organized by Diana Gregory Outreach Services, a non-profit dedicated to enriching lives through healthy eating. Over the years, this organization has worked tirelessly to provide access to fresh produce and nutritional education for low-income seniors, veterans, and vulnerable individuals in the community.

A Flavorful Presentation

The afternoon began with a lively presentation titled Food, Fun, and Fitness, led by certified nutritionist Debbie Polisky. The interactive session engaged residents in discussions about the benefits of balanced nutrition and simple ways to incorporate healthy foods into their diets. Attendees were eager to learn and ask questions, creating a vibrant atmosphere filled with enthusiasm for healthier living.

As a delightful conclusion to the presentation, each of the 100 seniors in attendance received a pre-packed bag of fresh produce from Fry’s Food Stores, complete with recipes and nutritional information. Watching the smiles on the seniors’ faces as they received these gifts was a heartwarming reminder of the impact of community support.

Generous Support from Fry’s Food Stores

At the outset of the event, Diana Gregory was presented with a generous check from Fry’s Food Stores. This contribution is vital for supporting Diana Gregory Outreach Services and its initiatives. Gregory proudly stated, “We have been serving the town for 16 years, and last year alone, we served over 30,000 seniors and veterans. This kind of support is critical to continue our mission.”

Pam Giannonatti, the Corporate Affairs Manager for Fry’s, emphasized their commitment to fighting food insecurity. With initiatives like “Zero Hunger, Zero Waste,” Fry’s aims to provide fresh food not only in their stores but also to those in need within the community. “Last year alone, we were able to provide over 16 million meals to hungry Arizonans,” Girardi remarked, highlighting the company’s dedication to wholesome nutrition and community welfare.

The Mission of Diana Gregory Outreach Services

Diana Gregory Outreach Services has a clear and impactful mission: to enrich lives through healthy eating. By addressing health disparities and championing holistic nutrition and fitness, the organization ensures that vulnerable populations have access to the resources they need to thrive. Their commitment is straightforward but profound: “We have a responsibility to ensure no veteran, senior, and their families in our community go to bed hungry.”

The culmination of the event was not just about handing out fresh produce; it symbolized a community rallying together to support its most vulnerable members. Flyers were distributed to the residents of Tanner Terrace, spreading awareness about future initiatives and encouraging participation in further programs designed to enhance healthy living.

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A Community Commitment

As I observed this event, it became clear that initiatives like these serve a dual purpose: they enrich the lives of seniors by providing them with crucial resources and foster a sense of community among participants. For many seniors, events like these also offer an opportunity to socialize and engage with their neighbors, enhancing their overall well-being.

As National Nutrition Month concludes, the event at Tanner Terrace stands as a shining example of how community partnerships—between organizations, businesses, and residents—can work in harmony to create a healthier future for all. By continuing to support initiatives that prioritize nutrition, we can make a lasting impact on our community’s health and wellness.

In the spirit of National Nutrition Month, let us carry forward the lessons learned and the connections made, ensuring that every member of our community has access to the nourishment they need to lead fulfilling lives.

Related link:

https://dianagregory.com

The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.

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In a remarkable display of unity and compassion, Blizzard Entertainment® and the gaming community of World of Warcraft® have come together to raise over $2 million for CureDuchenne, a nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Inspired by the poignant documentary “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” the initiative has touched hearts and changed lives, honoring the legacy of the late Mats Steen, a devoted player known as Ibelin.

Honoring Mats Steen’s Legacy

Mats Steen, a young man from Norway, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at a young age, a condition that steals muscle strength, leading to severe physical limitations and, tragically, premature death. Mats lost his life at just 25, but his journey didn’t end there; his story is one of connection, joy, and community. Through World of Warcraft, Mats discovered a vibrant world filled with friendships and adventures that transcended his physical challenges.

His family, upon his passing, uncovered the wealth of community and connection that the game provided him—a life filled with support and laughter that they had never fully appreciated. In remembrance of Mats, players worldwide adopted a limited-edition in-game pet, a fox named Reven, with all proceeds supporting the critical work of CureDuchenne.

The Impact of the Fundraising Campaign

The response from the gaming community has been nothing short of extraordinary. The opportunity to adopt Reven provided players a chance to honor Mats’ legacy while contributing to a noble cause. The campaign not only garnered significant financial support—$2 million to date—but also raised awareness about Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition that affects around 300,000 individuals globally.

According to Debra Miller, Founder and CEO of CureDuchenne, this partnership has been a breakthrough. “Not only has it raised critical funds for research,” she said, “but it has also generated awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The World of Warcraft community has demonstrated that gaming can be a powerful force for good.”

A Community United

The success of this fundraising initiative emphasizes the strength of the community and the impact that gaming can have in addressing real-world issues. The World of Warcraft community rallied together, showcasing the power of connection and shared purpose. The campaign reached across borders and time zones, allowing players from diverse backgrounds to unite in support of a common cause.

Holly Longdale, Executive Producer of World of Warcraft, expressed gratitude for the community’s generosity. “Your kindness helps enable the incredible work of CureDuchenne and honors the deeply impactful life of Mats Steen. We invite everyone to continue supporting CureDuchenne and to carry on Ibelin’s legacy with compassion and joy.”

The Future of Duchenne Research

The funds raised are critical for advancing research efforts aimed at finding treatments and improving care for those living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. CureDuchenne is committed to accelerating research initiatives and to supporting families affected by this progressive disease. Their work includes funding early-stage scientific research, enhancing patient care, and providing educational resources to families.

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CureDuchenne’s mission is clear: to bring treatments to everyone affected by this relentless disease, regardless of their financial status or geographical location. As the organization continues its vital work, the funding from the Blizzard partnership will play a crucial role in driving groundbreaking research forward.

The collaboration between Blizzard Entertainment and the World of Warcraft community serves as a shining example of how gaming can transcend entertainment to become a force for social good. The $2 million raised for CureDuchenne is more than a financial contribution; it symbolizes a tribute to personal legacy and a community united by purpose.

As we remember Mats Steen and cherish the friendships forged in virtual worlds, let us continue to advocate for those living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Together, we can harness the power of community and gaming to drive change, support vital research, and ultimately, help find a cure. If this campaign inspires you, consider supporting CureDuchenne or participating in similar initiatives within the gaming community to make a difference. For more information on how to contribute, visit CureDuchenne.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft acquired (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

SOURCE CureDuchenne

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Min Joo Lee, Indiana University

South Korea finds itself embroiled in an all-out gender war – and it keeps getting worse.

The animosity between Korean men and women has reached a point where some women are outright refusing to date, marry and have kids with men – a phenomenon known as the 4B movement.

As a Korean feminist scholar living in the U.S., I’ve followed this gender war from afar as I conducted research on contemporary Korean gender politics.

However, I also became embroiled in it myself after my research on Korean masculinity was published by CNN.

The article described foreign women who traveled to Korea after becoming enamored of the idea of dating Korean men from watching Korean television dramas. I pointed out that since the tourists’ fantasies were based on fictional characters, some of them ended up disappointed with the Korean men they dated in real life.

The article was about racial politics and the masculine ideals. But some Korean readers thought that I was simply criticizing Korean men for not being romantic and handsome enough. One enraged Korean man commented that I was an “ugly feminist.”

But this was tame in comparison to what women living in South Korea have endured in recent years.

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Extreme misogyny and a feminist backlash

Over the past couple of decades, there have been flash points in this gender war.

In 2010, Ilbe, a right-wing website that traffics in misogyny, started attracting users who peppered the forums with vulgar posts about women.

Then in 2015, an online extremist feminist group named Megalia arose. Its goal was to fight back by demeaning Korean men in ways that mirrored the rhetoric on sites like Ilbe.

A year later, a man who had professed his hatred of women murdered a random woman in a public bathroom near a Seoul subway station. He was eventually sentenced to decades in prison, but the lines were quickly drawn. On one side were feminists, who saw misogyny as the underlying motive. On the other side were men who claimed that it was merely the isolated actions of a mentally ill man. The two groups violently clashed during competing protests at the site of the murder.

A backdrop of digital sex crimes

However, none of these events have elicited as much public controversy as the steep rise in digital sex crimes. These are newer forms of sexual violence facilitated by technology: revenge porn; upskirting, which refers to surreptitiously snapping photos under women’s skirts in public; and the use of hidden cameras to film women having sex or undressing.

In 2018, there were 2,289 reported cases of digital sex crimes; in 2021, the number snowballed to 10,353.

In 2019, there were two major incidents that involved digital sex crimes.

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In one, a number of male K-pop stars were indicted for filming and circulating videos of women in group chatrooms without their consent.

A few months later, Koreans were shocked to learn about what became known as the “Nth Room Incident,” during which hundreds of perpetrators – mostly men – committed digital sex crimes on dozens of women and minors.

They tended to target poorer women – sex workers, or women who wanted to make a few bucks by sharing anonymous nude photos of themselves. The perpetrators either hacked into their social media accounts or approached these women and offered them money, but asked for their personal information so they could transmit the funds. Once they obtained this information, they blackmailed the women by threatening to reveal their sex work and their nudes to their friends and family.

Since sex work and posting nude images of yourself online are illegal in Korea, the women, fearing arrest or being ostracized by friends and family, complied with the perpetrators’ demands to send even more compromising images of themselves. The men would then swap these images in chatrooms.

And yet a 2019 survey conducted by the Korean government found that large swaths of the population blamed women for these sex crimes: 52% said that they believed sexual violence occurs because women wear revealing clothes, while 37% thought if women experienced sexual assault while drunk, they are partly to blame for their victimization.

In other words, a significant percentage of the Korean population believes that female sexuality is the problem – not the sexual violence.

Government policy lays the groundwork

Digital sex crimes are too widespread to lay the blame at the feet of a handful of bad actors.

To me, part of the problem stems from the long history of “gendered citizenship.”

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Korean feminist scholar Seungsook Moon has written about the ways in which the government created one track for men and another for women as the country sought to modernize in the second half of the 20th century:

“Men were mobilized for mandatory military service and then, as conscripts, utilized as workers and researchers in the industrializing economy. Women were consigned to lesser factory jobs, and their roles as members of the modern nation were defined largely in terms of biological reproduction and household management.”

Although these policies are no longer officially carried out, the underlying attitudes about gender roles remain embedded in Korean life and culture. Women who veer from being mothers and housewives expose themselves to public and private backlash.

The government has created gender quotas in certain industries to try to unravel this system of gendered citizenship.

For instance, some government jobs have minimum gender quotas for new hires, and the government encourages the private sector to implement similar policies. In historically male-dominant industries, such as construction, there are quotas for female hires, while in historically female-dominant industries, such as education, there are male quotas.

In some ways, this has only made things worse. Each gender feels as if the other is receiving special treatment due to these affirmative action policies. Resentment festers.

‘The generation that has given up’

Today, the sense of competition between young men and women is exacerbated by the soaring cost of living and rampant unemployment.

Called the “N-Po Generation,” which roughly translates as “the generation that has given up,” many young South Koreans don’t think they can achieve certain milestones that previous generations took for granted: marriage, having kids, finding a job, owning a home and even friendships.

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Although all genders find themselves discouraged, the act of “giving up” has caused more problems for women. Men see women who forgo marriage and having kids as selfish. And when they then try to compete against men for jobs, some men become incensed.

Many of the men who have become radicalized commit digital sex crimes to take revenge on women who, in their view, have abandoned their duties.

Ultimately, the competitive dynamic created by the Korean government’s embrace of gendered citizenship has stoked the virulent gender war between Korean men and women, with digital sex crimes used as ammunition.

The 4B movement, whereby Korean women forego heterosexual dating, marriage, and childbirth, represents a radical escalation of the gender war by seeking to create an online and offline world devoid of men. Rather than engaging in altercations, these women are refusing to interact with men, period.

Digital sex crimes are a global problem

To be sure, digital sex crimes are not unique to Korea.

When I teach my college class on digital sex crimes in the U.S., I’m surprised by how many of my students admit that they’ve been victims of digital sex crimes, or knew of it happening at their high schools. And at the National Women’s Studies Association’s annual conference in 2022, I watched feminist activists and scholars from all over the world present their findings about digital sex crimes back home.

Since each country has its own cultural context for the rise in digital sex crimes, there isn’t a single solution to solve the problems. But in South Korea, continuing to unravel the system of gendered citizenship could be part of the solution.

Min Joo Lee, Postdoctoral Fellow, Indiana University

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This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.