CWIC will continue to build synergies with feminist initiatives on, and off, the UCR campus. Because of new energy and interest in various kinds of feminist research and organizing across campus, CWIC offers itself as a “space” within which some of these initiatives can get support and visibility. Mutually beneficial collaborations offer a vision and practice that is more than the sum of its parts. We welcome individual and collaborative efforts and initiatives in ways that do not claim ownership of any of these efforts. Rather CWIC offers itself as an “umbrella” under which such initiatives might find shelter and support. Please do contact any member of the CWIC Advisory Board if you would like to use this umbrella!

As CWIC’s background should make clear, synergies, that have emerged from various collaborations, have been its life blood. Examples include:

• ACORN Health Insurance and TANF Collaborative Project. (January through August 2003) Ellen Reese (Sociology) and Amy Schurr (of ACORN, Los Angeles) worked on a survey of members of ACORN’s Child Care Providers for Action (CCPA) about their need for health insurance. CCPA is a multi-racial organization of child care providers in LA, led primarily by African-American and Latinas. This survey documents the extent to which child care providers in the LA area lack health insurance and effects of this on their families. Another project studies the impacts of 60 month-time limits for receiving Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF). ACORN staff, with Ellen Reese, will use CWIC funds to document stories of the impact of time limits on their members. Students from Ellen Reese’s class assisted in putting this material together. Findings from this research will be pooled with similar work being done by other anti-poverty groups in the LA area into a larger report which will be used to pressure state and county officials to improve welfare-to-work programs.

• Womyn of Color Conference. (April 2003) Undergraduate students involved with CWIC were organizers of the UC system-wide Womyn of Color conference. Because “womyn of color” organizing and presence is crucially important for our university environment, the CWIC Board unanimously voted to offer maximum support for the conference. A (unpublished) text of the this conference was also produced under the auspices of CWIC. Lead organizers of this conference were Vianey Ramirez, Gabby Ocon and Sunny Cho.

• Riverside Area Welfare Advocacy Network. (February 2002-September 2003). In conjunction with the LA County ACORN project, CWIC Board members Ellen Reese and Acela Ojeda “seeded” a welfare/advocacy/activist project in Riverside. Acela Ojeda put together a booklet for welfare recipients, and the homeless, in Riverside. The booklet is a substantial document which is modeled after the Los Angeles Coalition Against Homelessness “People’s Guide.” The booklet was distributed in the area. Ellen and Acela continued to search for more substantial funding to create a welfare activist and advocacy center in Riverside.

• Gender/Poverty and Globalization Residency. Ford/Cloning Grant. (2002-2005). Emory Elliott (Director), Laura Lozon (Assistant Director) and Piya Chatterjee co-administered a Ford Foundation grant on Cloning Cultures through the Center for Ideas and Society. The grant was based on the theoretical paradigm proposed by Professors Philomena Essed (UCI and University of Amsterdam) and David Theo Goldberg ( UCI, UCHRI Director). One vibrant component of this exploration was around gender, poverty and globalization and CWIC’s commitment to these issues was of particular interest to the Program Officer as well as to the other co-p.i’s of the grant, Professors Elliott, Essed and Goldberg.         A CIS residency system offered sustained material support to a faculty cluster comprised of faculty who have been involved with CWIC in some capacity: Amalia Cabezas; Piya Chatterjee; Manali Desai; Tracy Fisher; Ellen Reese; and Marguerite Waller. Two edited volumes and a special issue has been the outcome of this work. Many thanks to Georgia Elliott for all her assistance in expediting the development of this proposal.

• Solidarity Work. (2006) In May 2006, surplus from the Ford/Cloning grant enabled the organization of an anti-racist and internationalist women’s human rights retreat called “Solidarity Work.” Administrative support was given by the CIS and we are grateful to the Director, Emory Elliott and Georgia Elliott (VP, R&G) for their support. The organizing team included-Piya Chatterjee (CWIC); Sheila Givens (Sociology/GS)Laura Lozon (CIS); Tina Stavropolous (English,/GS); and Sucharita Sinha (Economics/GS).