Who I Am
My Name is Judy Casagrande
I was born in 1945, the little girl my parents had been waiting for the sixteen years since my brother David was born.
I grew up in an all white neighborhood in Pittsburgh, but was wise enough to create a lesson on Jackie Robinson for my student teaching project.
At 23, I was the only social worker in a state developmental center for 1200 males from the age 5 through 80 +.
An MSW from Penn, earned when I was 29, gave me the credentials to grow an actual Department of Social Work.
It was at the developmental center that I learned the power of commitment and community.
Men who had lived there most of their lives helped take care or the most handicapped. Many missed their families who had aged and could no longer visit. With wonderful volunteers, we started a program to reconnect families through luncheon or vacation visits.
In 1986, because I was eager for world peace, I attended a global meditation on December 31st. https://www.johnrandolphprice.com. It was through this experience that I found Patricia Cota-Robles and her work communicating “The Bigger Picture”. (See her Weekly Vlogs at eraofpeace.org.)
She describes “The Twelve 5th – Dimensional Crystalline Solar Aspects of Deity”. I have been using these twelve colors as a meditation practice – for example breathing them in and out to count repetitions of exercise, or sending them as a prayer to send light to the world.
Although I have been studying the principles of the Unity Church for years, in 2016 I found Unity of Houston (UnityHouston.org). One of their volunteer projects is to provide gift baskets to individuals and families who had been homeless but were moving into permanent homes. Lyn, my lovely spiritual friend, creates “love filled” decorative towels. They are one of the inspirations for our foundation.
Another inspiration to me is the power of individuals to make a big difference in the world.
See: Who We Are, The Change in Me, and Loving the World.