By: Lori Gilbert
STOCKTON — It’s a bit ironic that Gwendolyn Primous’ annual Dome of Hope gala event is a masquerade party.
The idea was to spice up the fundraising event, offer a change from any number of dinner/raffle/program affairs that so many people attend, she said
“I had a thought, instead of just coming, we should all have masks,” Primous said. “We all have masks in every identity, the work place, our home life. We have different faces. Even with social media we hide behind that to bare our true feelings or to gain courage. This will be something different.”
She admits she has yet to find her own mask for Friday’s sold-out dinner at Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, which time she’ll honor different people or organizations they represent for their work in the community.
Primous doesn’t wear a mask or need an anonymous identification on the internet.
The woman who started Dome of Hope in honor of her late mother, Etta M. Ford, isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.
“I could be depressed, but you have to move forward,” Primous said. “You can’t sit still. You have no excuses why you can’t make it, even in my culture. I’m fat. I’m black. I have a disability. I had a stroke. I had a heart attack. I had four members of my family die in five years. I grew up in Sierra Vista then moved to Community of All Nations. I lived in the projects all my life. I was homeless. I had my car repossessed. Life happens, but I still graduated with honors from University of the Pacific, got a job, and I’m employed. I still have a nonprofit organization. You have to get up off your behind and get to work.”
Primous admits her initial Dome of Hope plans were scattered. She wanted to help everybody.
Now she’s concentrated her efforts on education and she started a Dome of Hope club at Pacific, where she works.
She turned to her beloved mother for her inspiration. ETTA stands for Education, Technology, Trade, Arts, and those are the areas Dome of Hope addresses.
“Our mission is now transforming communities one life at a time by offering services through ETTA,” Primous said.
She and her club members have taught adults to read. They’ve donated gift baskets to families in need and residents of senior homes. Soon they’ll open a facility on Center Street where they hope they can offer more tutorials.
Primous believes “Help has no color. Hope has no boundaries,” she said.
She’s inspired to help, but she also is inspired by others help. Hence, she has her gala awards dinner. It’s not necessarily a money-making event. She gives tickets to people who otherwise never would attend such a function. One person didn’t know what “formal attire” even meant. But come Friday at Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, glitz, glamour and masks will be on display as Dome of Hope presents Etta M. Ford Golden Heart Awards to Angela Phillips, trustee for Stockton Unified School District; Jasmine Delafonso, of YouthCode; Halima Lucas, writer and director of the award-winning short film, “Amelia’s Closet;” Arthur Coleman, music director at Cesar Chavez High School; Mike Klocke, representing University of the Pacific’s Beyond Our Gates initiative; and Merlo Technological Institute and San Joaquin County Office of Education’s YouthBuild.
Presidential Choice Awards will be bestowed upon Benjamin Reddish, retired Stockton Unified School District counselor; Ralph White, community agent of change; and Orlando Jose, community media relations.