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  • About
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    • Thank you!
  • Become a Teenior | FAQs
  • In the News (Press)
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  • Gift Certificates
  • Free Classes!
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  • Founder's Blog
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  • NM Fostering Families

Founder's Blog

In Support of Our Black Community

6/1/2020

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This blog page has been inactive until today, specific to work events when I last wrote in 2018.  One day I will find the time to write regularly. For the past two years, I've lived through a hard life chapter and have not had the bandwidth to write, except what I share in our monthly newsletter.

Today I'm focused on something else.

Something I can’t get off my mind this week: the way people use the words "protestor" and "rioter" interchangeably.

I see friends sharing their frustration this way:

“I understand the protests and support them, but... [fill in the blank... rioting, looting, destroying property] is bullshit. They’re killing their own message!” 
​
No, they’re not. 

First, the vast majority of protesters are not rioting, and they are not violent. They are protesting for life. This is life and death.

Second, there have now been multiple examples of police and non-protestors initiating chaos in these marches – in my own experience, and in the evidence of others. Like a video I just saw: a car of white people handed out bricks to a group of black men... then were followed and called out by a lone, brave black woman. I have also seen police who are treating these protests with respect.

The opportunists of every race who are exploiting the movement by looting and inciting violence are, sadly, a part of every movement for change, and this one is no different. It's always tragic and of course none of us wants to see rioting.

But for the very small minority of protestors who ARE actively rioting after reaching their boiling point, can you even comprehend what kind of oppression leads to finally having enough and seeing rioting as your only option to be heard?

We’re seeing just a tiny glimpse of these realities on screen - the systemic horrors, the majority of peaceful protesters, the chaos, the pain of lifetimes of injustice. If you didn’t see the 8-minute torture of George Floyd, the literal hunting and killing of Ahmad Arbery, the dog walker in Central Park, or any other videos of the black experience from this year alone, please. don’t. look. away. 

So, yes, for some this may be an excuse to start fights or explore their inner anarchist, but don’t let them shift your focus. Remember that before this, quiet protests were still criticized by those who insisted on looking away, who turn the focus back to their own limited life experience, who complain about people not respecting the flag, not respecting the police, not being polite when they stand up for themselves.

For those who’ve been living these atrocities, this is an inevitable moment of action. The evidence of severe, murderous racism exists in every corner of the internet right now and across all cable news networks. Bitterness, silence, or concern about “what the world is coming to” suggests that we have no idea just how bad things have been, forever. For so, so many.

​It’s never been easier to speak out on their behalf.

This is their time.

- Trish Lopez




If you are unfamiliar with the names referenced above, see videos below:

George Floyd in Police Custody
NYC Dog Walker and African American Bird Watcher
Ahmaud Arbery Death
Remembering Breonna Taylor

Locally, standing in silent peaceful protest in support of black lives:

See ABQ Journal article
See KOAT news video
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2018: Teeniors - Our First Global Competition

11/27/2018

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And a Moment To Remember In San Francisco

Teeniors was one of 10 startups chosen from around the world for the Aging2.0 Global Pitch for Partners in San Francisco. I flew there this month to compete. 4 minutes. 6 judges from around the world. Big audience. Fantastic opportunity for our little train that could.

Unfortunately, we didn’t win. They picked the robot that talks to seniors instead. 😞

But Teeniors got honorable mention!

One of the judges came up afterward and said “Oh my goodness we LOVED you. We SOO loved you! You almost won! But in the end, robots are more scalable than humans.”

A line I won’t soon forget.

I was disappointed at first, as the winning startup got $5,000 plus an opportunity to pilot their program in Japan. But upon reflection, I truly realize that our value, our human connection, our impact is enormous. While the robots win this round, I'm still so grateful for the opportunity and the wonderful compliments to our work. Many audience members came up afterwards and said they wished we had won and that Teeniors existed in their city. 

It was exciting that we were invited to pitch at the big leagues. More people know about our work than ever before and I suspect that our work will continue to inspire others with cool ideas to try and execute them. To say 'screw the business world and the way they've always done things' (money first, people second). Teeniors has such a huge impact on our young coaches and our older clients, but compared to how quickly these other tech companies can scale, the amount of investment they have behind them, and the caliber and size of teams they're working with, we are a tiny, tiny, tiny little operation. We were invited because they know we make a HUGE impact. And the audience seriously felt it. The judges did too, and they were all cool - they were just thinking about speed/scale over people (quantity over quality). Which I have to expect when competing in things like this, I just also hope that we can turn someone's head away from that mindset.

Anyway, just a quick note and a big thank you to those of you who sent your support and wished us well! Our goal is to make Teeniors sustainable in whichever parts of the world it exists. We'll keep on truckin'...

- Trish
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Our First Partnership!

6/8/2018

2 Comments

 
(Published on Facebook, May 2018)
​
FRIENDS,

VERY cool stuff happening that’s been taking up a ton of my time, but that I’ve been unable to talk about until now...

FIRST - GREAT NEWS!
Comcast® reached out to 
Teeniors this spring and asked to partner with us in teaching digital literacy / online safety to seniors! Amazing win! 40+ workshops in ABQ and Santa Fe this year alone. All FREE to older adults! All PAID, meaningful jobs for teens and young adults! (Meaningful because, not only do our coaches build their resumes and learn unique life skills, they also develop amazing self confidence through this work and broaden their view of the world and different generations. There's also an enormous impact on the older adults we've worked with. The effects on both generations have been astounding.)

SECOND:
Through this grant, we’re partnering on our first Teeniors™ pilot program outside the state! After the ABQ press conference in May, we headed to Tucson where seven (7) new ‘teeniors’ helped almost 70 elders at our first workshop in Arizona’s largest YMCA. This test run will be small but impactful over the next year! And the new rookies LOVED the work, just like our ABQ team. Why? Because they immediately go from being completely underestimated (like many seniors) to the most valued people in the room. They're respected for their knowledge and appreciated for their help. (We also heard nothing but enormous gratitude from the adults in the room!)


THIRD:
Every attendee at our workshops received a FREE LAPTOP!! 
💻 Oprah style. AND we'll be raffling off more free laptops at upcoming events.

FOURTH:
Through this grant, we are also creating our first partnership with SANTA FE senior centers! We will host a free workshop there every month starting June 28th, and as such, are looking for new Teenior applicants from the Santa Fe area immediately. Our first public workshop there will take place at Mary Esther Gonzales senior center on June 28th. See our homepage for details!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
Comcast will now extend their “Internet Essentials” program ($9.95/month internet; no contract) to low income seniors in NM and AZ who attend the workshops! YES! (PLUS the wonderful folks at Adelante Development Center, Inc. will be helping seniors with classes in Las Cruces!)

It also needs to be said that Comcast was open to EVERY idea I've had throughout this process, and I'm so grateful for that. This tiny drop in the bucket for them is gonna turn into a huge ocean!


Triple win for these cities. Our youth, our elders, our community. The new funding has already allowed us to employ several more teens; help way more seniors than we could have otherwise, and it brings an investment to NM that we didn't have before.

Originally posted this on my Facebook page and wanted to share with you as well. Good things happening!

Press:
ABQ Journal 
KRQE News 13 video
Arizona Public Media (NPR)
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    Teeniors' Trish Lopez

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