With her sunnypersonality, Pamela Arismendez, an assistant court analyst, is on an a mission to share as much valuable information as possible as many people she can, to help them enhance the quality of their lives.
She does this mainly through her involvement with The Afrikan Poetry Theatre’s cultural center in Queens, which began in 1984, when she was looking for a place for her daughters to learn dance. The Afrikan Poetry Theatre, Inc. a non-profit orgnization makes ,a variety of programs ranging from social and recreational to educational and cultural, available to the public.
Arismendez is member of The Sisters Collective, one of several groups under thje umbrella os the Sisters Collective who serve the community by volunteering their time.
The goal of the Sisters Collective is to inform and educate people on how to live a more healthy and wholesome life. They do so through various methods, such as by organizing health programs and wellness seminars conducted by professionals.
These include 10-minute reflexology sessions, massage therapy, yoga, workshops on alternative medicines, meditation and nutrition and even information from a midwife.
Arismendez helps to identify professionals and others to conduct the workshops and seminars. She gets the information out to the public by helping to prepare and distribute newsletters, flyers and e-mails. She also makes phone calls and sends out facebook postings. “I love to help people and I do everything I can to get information out to people so that they can become as healthy and as happy as possible. It is my passion,” said Arismandez. Executive Director of The Afrikan Poetry Theatre (APT), JohnWatusi-Branch said, “Pamela Arismendez is a member of the APT family and is committed to the building and development of the institution. She has been a volunteer for many years (her children practically grew up there) helping to organize many programs dealing with holistic health etc. She is a valuable asset to the APT and helps to keep it afloat. She is dependable and she also brings her cooking skills that reflect a Caribbean flavor, which everyone loves.
A vegetarian, Arismandez loves to cook and encourages everyone not necessarily to become vegetarians but to eat as healthily as possible, with a focus on avoiding common diseases, diabetes being an example, that plague many of the people in her own community.
Once per month the theatre has a jazz concert and she provides and prepares the food for the occasion.
The goal to inform and educate by Arismandez is not limited to her activities at the theatre, oh no, she takes it with her everywhere she goes. So passionate is she that she takes it to her place of work.
One example is during Women’s History Month, after noticing that a number of her co-workers were pregnant, Arismendez procured a video on various aspects of birthing, healthy eating and important nutrition facts for pregnant women. She arranged for the use of the boardroom, sent out e-mails and posted notices regarding the time and place of her presentation (which is usually during everyone’s lunch break.) The response is always positive to her information sharing, so much so, that if a certain amount time elapses and she is not “shedding” out information, in one way, shape or form, her coworkers will inquire as to what is next on her agenda.
A co-worker of Arismendez, Cheryl Walters said, I have worked with Pamela Arismendez since 1999 and she is a “good-hearted” person and an excellent friend. If I am having a bad day, she is the first person I go to. She is involved with many activities at the Afrikan Poetry Theatre, including cooking when required for various functions at the theatre. If the notice is last minute, she never says no. At work, she organizes and coordinates programs, workshops etc. that she believes will be helpful to the recipients, whether it is bringing in African designers for a fashion show during Black History Month or inviting a vegetarian to showcase the benefits of vegetarian foods.” Of course, being a vegetarian herself combined with her love of cooking, Arismendez, prepares and brings sample foods for the event.
