MESSAGE FROM THE TEAM: INTRODUCING OUR NEW LOOK!

      As we kickoff 2025, we are excited to introduce the new look of our organization. This rebrand is something that has been cultivating for some time, and it is with great pleasure that we get to share our launch with the community. We are grateful for the endless love and support over the course of planning, curating, and creating this new vision.

   Empower 8 (formerly known as the Stanislaus County Youth Empowerment Program) is dedicated to educating young people and adults about the eight dimensions of wellness, with a focus on emotional, mental, physical, and social well-being. As a result of our efforts, we hope that young people and adults can be informed and feel confident about the practical steps they can take to better their well-being. In turn, we strive to inspire young leaders to care about improving the well-being of their communities through advocacy and collaboration. It is important that our activities prioritize the creation of safe, inclusive spaces that celebrate culture, equity, and resilience.

      Empower 8’s activities are open to young people and adults of all backgrounds, and we are committed to making wellness education more accessible. Our activities include community fitness gatherings, arts and craft sessions, educational book clubs, social gatherings, gardening and nutrition workshops, digital media projects, and more!

Stay tuned as we continue to share snippets of what Empower 8 means to us, and the activities we hope to engage in over the year!

PREVIOUS EVENTS

OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

     SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: ALLURE FORMAL WEAR BOUTIQUE

By: Mariah Ring

     For the past five years, Sandra Ruiz has operated Allure Formal Wear Boutique in Modesto with a mission to make everyone that enters her shop feel and look beautiful. Sandra began learning about the fashion industry when she was a single mother, gearing up for her own daughters’ proms and quinceaneras. While learning about event planning and dress pricing, she realized that many shops were marking up dress prices significantly and that she could sell them at a much more affordable price point. Providing more economical options for shoppers, while not sacrificing on style or quality quickly became the vision for Allure Boutique.

     Although Allure Formal Wear Boutique is a business, it also serves a transformative space for anyone that comes through their doors. Sandra and her stylists provide customized experiences for clientele, whether they come in for a one-on-one private appointment or during walk-in hours. The stock of dresses is constantly rotating to accommodate changing trends and many dresses can be custom ordered for the perfect fit or color combination. Allure carries garments for any occasion including proms, quinceaneras, semi-formal weddings, graduations, as well as dresses for little ones and more modest options. The boutique focuses on inclusivity, boasting a size range of 000 to 7X, and tailoring dresses further if needed. If someone is not able to find a dress on their first visit, stylists will research options and order samples. All of this is done in an effort to ensure that every customer leaves happy and ready for their special occasion. 

     Allure is currently gearing up for their busiest season of the year, prom season! With high schools in Modesto and surrounding areas starting to promote their proms, Allure is setting up to continue empowering clientele and help those that may not be able to afford the dress of their dreams. In addition to trunk shows and sidewalk sales, the boutique also provides opportunities for students in need to win a prom dress. At fashion shows, fundraisers, and prom fairs, qualifying students are nominated for a raffle to win a prom dress of their choice, something they may not have the means to obtain otherwise. Going into the 2025 season, Sandra hopes to host more fashion shows and fundraisers to not only benefit students, but also nonprofits in the community. Her favorite part about owning and operating Allure is “helping people feel amazing and look beautiful,” which is evident by the stunning photos on the boutique’s social media accounts.

     Allure Formal Wear Boutique is ready for the 2025 prom season and is booking one-on-one appointments now. Though the boutique does not have an online shop, anyone can visit their brick-and-mortar location, 1400 K St. in downtown Modesto, during walk-in hours. Follow them on Instagram, @allureformalwear, for their newest styles and up to date hours!

ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT: HATCH WORKSHOP

By: Mariah Ring

     Founded in 2017 by a group of creatives, HATCH Workshop has since undergone massive changes and growth to better serve their community in Downtown Stockton. HATCH’s mission is to, “awaken and empower the craftsperson in everyone through open access to equipment, resources, and training.” They work toward this mission by providing affordable education and workspaces to students and artists in Stockton. With over 35,000 SqFt of industrial creative space for members to utilize, HATCH is able to offer a plethora of different stations to accommodate all creative needs.

     HATCH is unique as it is an Industrial Arts Center, meaning that the facility has been specialized to utilize higher voltage and provide better ventilation in order to accommodate various heavy machinery. Stations available for members include a bench with hand tools, heavy tools, print making, laser cutting, ceramics, a CNC cutter, music nook, and more. Resident artists are also housed inside the facility, giving them a chance to work in the studio for a set amount of time and gain experience to add to their curriculum vitae. Areas outside of the main building include a community garden where edible plants and succulents are grown in above-ground beds, a venue for events, and a large open area to work on big projects or rent space. Makers can sell their creations right from the workshop at their dedicated mini store-front and begin their journey of becoming a full time artists. HATCH uses their store front to showcase the variety of products that can be manufactured in Stockton, a city that has deep roots as city of industry.

     Several different classes and events are hosted at HATCH throughout the year to expose attendees to various crafts. Community members can sign up for classes in ceramics, welding, digital fabrication, fiber arts, wood working, print making, and so much more. For those that want to explore their creative side without the constraints of a class, workshop memberships are available and allow members to access the space and tools for personal projects. Community events are also offered, such as open-mics, concerts, pop-up markets, haunted houses, forums, and collaborations with other organizations. HATCH operates with a decentralized power model so that they can serve as a platform for other organizers, uplifting the entire community instead of just one organization.

     When speaking with co-founder and current Executive Director, Elazar Abraham, he expressed that HATCH was established in Stockton because it felt like a place where real connections could be made with the community. His goals for HATCH include having the property purchased by community members to keep it in local hands, to sustain a baseline quality of the space and events, and to create a lasting impact. Creating a space for the community to have unmediated access to creative equipment has always been a dream for Elazar and he has made it a reality for the people of Stockton. 

    To see a calendar of events or learn more about HATCH memberships, visit their Instagram, @hatch.worksop, or visit their website linked below.

CREATIVE NATIVE Q & A: ERIKA ROSENDALE

Q: What is your name and hometown?

A: Erika ‘Teal’ Rosendale from Watsonville, California in Santa Cruz County. 

Q: How were you first introduced to art? 

A: I started drawing as soon as I could and never stopped. I was inspired by the early Magic Cards and comic books, quite some time before computers, driven to learn how to create that magic with my hands. 

Q: What is your favorite medium to work with and why?

A: My favorite medium now is aerosol, as it is one of the most versatile and delightfully challenging tools for large scale art. I have gone through phases from good ol’ ballpoint pen depicting characters and portraits of classmates all over my notebooks, to discovering oil paint towards the end of high school, which I pursued in college at Boston University’s College of Fine Art. 

Q: Is creating art your full time career? If not, is that your goal? 

A: I have been a full-time muralist for the last three years, after over ten years of juggling my art practice with a variety of different gigs, eventually realizing that if I were to succeed, all my focus was required. I now travel as an independent contractor, with goals to create a team and pursue more art education to inspire the next generation of artists. 

Q:  Where do you find inspiration? Are there artists that inspire you? 

A: I mostly find inspiration in the natural world, focusing on light and movement. Originally, I was very inspired by the inner workings of the human mind and dynamic figurative art. My studies centered around the Old Masters of the Renaissance and Romantic periods, following teaching myself to draw from comics, developing a super-hero complex to save the world from the unsustainable narrative we have found ourselves in. I truly believe creative collaboration will help us evolve as a global society, for the benefit of all species. 

Q:  Are there unique challenges that present themselves when working on a large scale?

A: The challenges of large-scale work are what I live for. Somewhere along the way in my practice I found my dedication to working big. It takes me far longer to finish a small piece in the studio than it does a large wall. I like to use my whole body, and that is where I must concentrate my attention, to keep myself balanced and strong.

Q:  Do you have advice for youth that are interested in pursuing a career in the arts but may be anxious to start?

A: My advice for the youth wanting to pursue the arts: believe believe believe, and when you have doubts, believe in yourself harder. Have the resiliency of a cockroach. Try different mediums, do things you have no idea about, learn to fail all the time. Failure does not mean anything other than growth if you learn from it and try again. I would also offer that you cannot learn without failure. We must be comfortable not being good at something at first. Do what feels good even if the product is not perfect. It is not really about the product anyway, it is about the process of creating. 

Q: What do you believe is the most prominent or most recurring theme in your art? What does this theme mean to you? 

A: The most prominent theme in my art is movement. Everything in life is about movement. Trouble starts when there is stagnation, and I find art that delves into the fourth dimension to be much more engaging and relatable.

Q: Where can people go to view or purchase your art?

A: I have public works all over Santa Cruz County, the Central Coast, the Central Valley, and a couple in Bellingham, Washington. If you make it to the big cities in Colombia I also have a few there. So far I have only one mural in Europe but that will change soon. My website is http://erikarosendale.com and my Instagram is @erika.rosendale where you can find more of my work, both public and private. Soon I will have a shop attached to my website for studio work, which I am just getting back into this winter after a long mural tour during this last year. 

Q: Do you have any community events or collaborations coming up that you would like to promote? 

A: Every year I work with the Santa Cruz Burners on staff for our UnSCruz Regional Burn at the San Benito County Fairgrounds, which happens the first weekend of May. It is one of the largest and most well attended regionals. I also do set design and scenic art for the theater department at Mount Madonna School in Watsonville, doing four shows over the course of the year; three in winter with a range of age groups, and one big production at the end of the school year in June. In the spring I will be doing my third annual mural project on El Vaquero Winery in Corralitos, California, with the Rotary Club of Freedom. I will be part of Wide Open Walls in Sacramento during May, hopefully followed by my second tour to Europe to paint for Cheltenham Paint Festival in the UK and maybe more. Midsummer I do a stage build and live mural art for Northern Nights Music Festival at the county line of Mendocino and Humboldt, then in August I will be part of “Off the Streets” Exhibition at Pajaro Valley Arts, also in Watsonville.

COMMUNITY EVENTS & RESOURCES