Artists on Call
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As part of BuildaBridge's Artists on Call, Kari Reed (left) and Jill Osielski traveled to Santa Domingo on Monday
October 5 to begin a three month internship with Casa Joven. They have begun a jewelry
making venture with sex workers in the city as alternative employment.
Read More Here
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Mark your Calendars
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Training
- November 5th
All things BuildaBridge
Events
- November 12th
Quizzo Fundraiser at Bridget Foy's, 200 South Street, Philadelphia
Contact Charlotte Castle for more information.
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Learn More About BuildaBridge
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Greetings!
Launched on October 15, 2009, Painting a Brighter Future is BuildaBridge's
fall campaign to provide support for BuildaBridge's work with
children and families in Philadelphia and around the world. Total goal
$50,000. We NEED your HELP! Can you donate $10 to support BuildaBridge's work using the arts as a method to build social, academic, character and artistic skills? Read on for ways to get involved.
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| International Visitors |
A Moment with a Moroccan Songstress
 She has sung and remade many classic Arabic songs heard from Cairo to Baghdad; she has even written and recorded her own music and lyrics. She has performed in cities throughout Europe and North America; Paris and New York City included. So who is she? She is Ms. Soumeya Moumen; otherwise known as Soumeya Abdelaziz the singer, composer, author and youth psychologist. She came to Philadelphia from Morocco on a State Department leadership exchange program through the International Visitors Council of Philadelphia. |
More International Visitors
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BuildaBridge Links China and America In Exploring Volunteerism
President Barack Obama has made the cause of service a centerpiece of
his presidency. A defining legacy of his Administration may very well
be his call to America's youth to give national and even global
direction in service to others.
There can be no doubt about the effectiveness of international
volunteering and its potential to be an essential element of the U.S.
response to critical challenges at home and abroad.
The Amity Foundation, headquartered in Nanjing, China agrees: "The social capital represented by volunteering plays a key role in economic regeneration."With that firmly
in mind, BuildaBridge International, in collaboration with the Amity
Foundation and American Baptist Churches, USA has responded in a
measure of global cooperation by sponsoring the visit of a young social
worker, Zheng Ye, from the Amity Foundation
headquartered in Nanjing, China to the United States.
Read More
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Charlotte Castle Receives Eugene Bloomfield Peace and Justice Award
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| BuildaBridge staff member to receive award from Veterans for Peace
Philadelphia Area Chapter 31
Saturday, October 24th
6 pm refreshments; 7 pm dinner
Merz Hall at The Stevens Center of the
Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion
Entrance: 2111 Sansom Street
The $1000 Eugene Bloomfield Peace and Justice Award
will be awarded to Charlotte Castle, an extraordinary
22-year-old international activist with Build-a-Bridge
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Travel in Service Abroad
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A Diaspora of Hope
November 20-28, 2009
Guatemala, Kenya, and Egypt
 Three great opportunities for international arts service this November! Still time and space to join Diaspora of Hope
BuildaBridge International is calling all artists, teachers, and
students who care about kids and want to participate in a Diaspora of
Hope in one of 3 locations this November: Guatemala, Kenya,
and Egypt. Artists will work in teams with local volunteers to lead
children and youth arts camps on the theme of Arts for Hope. Ten
artists are needed to complete each team. Language skills a plus--but
not required (Arabic, Spanish, and Swahili)
KENYA November 19-28, 2009
In conjunction with the Inspiration Center, work with the children of
Mathare Valley in Nairobi. Mathare Valley is one of the toughest places
in Africa where children have experienced abuse, civil unrest, hunger,
disease, and extreme poverty. Use your art form to work alongside local
artists to teach approximately 20 children.
EGYPT November 19-28, 2009 (with possible side travel to Israel and Palestine)
This will be our first year working in conjunction with Arts for
Community, an arts organization in Cairo, Egypt. It is an exciting
opportunity to serve one of the most vulnerable populations in Egypt.
These children often survive by begging and stealing, have low literacy
rates, are exposed to daily abuse, and are ignored by society. Join us
by using your art form and time to bring about hope in the lives of
children who have experienced abuse, civil unrest, hunger, disease, and
extreme poverty.
GUATEMALA November 20-28, 2009
Join us for a week on a beach resort in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala to
work with children from La Limonada, one of the poorest neighborhoods
in Guatemala. In conjunction with the Center for Transforming Mission
in Guatemala, artists will travel by bus from Guatemala City to the
beach community of Puerto Barrios for a 5-day Hope inspired arts camp.
This is our fourth year of partnering with La Limonada.
Read More
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Volunteer Events
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BuildaBridge Team Serves Philadelphia on October 17th!
On Saturday, October 17th, a team of eighteen represented
BuildaBridge at Philadelphia Cares Day. It was Philadelphia Cares Day
fifteenth annual day of service to show Philadelphia Public Schools
much Philadelphians care! Volunteer teams and individuals painted
classrooms and fences, planted flowers, and picked up trash on
playgrounds.
BuildaBridge was represented by a diverse group of volunteers
including many of the BuildaBridge personnel serving Discovery-our
program that offers after-school and evening arts-integrated education
programs to children and youth living in emergency homeless shelters
and transitional homes in Philadelphia.
If you are interested on joining BuildaBridge to volunteer, please email Charlotte Castle at volunteer@buildabridge.org or by phone at (215) 842-0428 x15
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Thank you September Volunteers!
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City Year and Sacred Heart Country Day School Help Transform BuildaBridge
During
the month of September, BuildaBridge welcomed volunteers for three
service day projects. All three teams focused their efforts on the
carriage house and the landscaping projects, and their hard work and
efforts show!
On September 11, City Year set the bar high as a team of fifteen
volunteers cleaned out the interior of the carriage house. Amidst the
down pour, City Year formed a production line to successfully and
efficiently move 1,000 moulds from the carriage to the basement;
BuildaBridge was visited by Channel 6 local news; and the carriage
house is now empty and renovation can begin!
On September 18-after a consultation visit by my mother, Hart James, a
landscape designer from Lexington, Kentucky-a second team of City Year
volunteers came to further the progress of the landscaping in the front
and side lawn of the BuildaBridge house.
Read More
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BuildaBridge Community Programs
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Artology Attracts Junior Leaders
 Artology believes in training young leaders who can carry on the
BuildaBridge mission and be Artologists, studying the world with mind,
body, and soul as an integrated experience. This year was the first
year we had two different age groups. Our first session was for 6-8th
grades and the second for 4-5th grades. This enabled us to add the new
position of "Student Leaders" for those 6-8th grade students who showed
exemplary behavior, initiative, and maturity. These chosen students
return for the second younger session to help assist teachers and group
leaders with the 4-5 graders.This year we chose 7 students to return. Yahmir was one of them and perhaps you can see why! In his own words:
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More about Community Programs
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Discovery 2009-2010 Begins!
The Discovery program is in full swing. After school arts programming began on October 5, 2009 at seven partner sites: Jane Addams,
Woodstock Family Center, Project Rainbow, Traveler's Aid, People's
Emergency Center, St. Barnabas Mission & Women Against Abuse. This
years Discovery classes include, visual arts, dance, African drumming,
and culinary art. Teaching artist worked extensively to create a
dynamic classroom experience for the youth. Some of the class projects
include portraiture, Ghanaian drumming, Chinese cooking,
African-inspired dance and sewing. Community currently employs 7
teaching artists and 19 volunteer classroom assistants. This program
averages 84 student contact hours per month and engages approximately
105 students per month.
Read More
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From Kenya to the Finish Line
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A story from International Program Coordinator Rebekah Wilcox
 Last Month, I ran a Half-Marathon. I have never run anything in my
life. I haven't even done a 5K. I ran the race to raise money for the
International Programs of BuildaBridge. In the process of training, I
inspired two other runners to raise support for BuildaBridge as well. I
began my training in January and it has been a long journey. At 31, I
am in the best shape of my life, I lost 35lbs., and the feeling of
reaching a goal is the best part.
But, the bigger story is BuildaBridge. I wanted to be a runner for
years, but I never got off the couch. Then, in November, I went to
Kenya as a volunteer with BuildaBridge. I met children who have left an
imprint on my life. All of them had experienced trauma in the rawest
forms. They are surrounded by extreme poverty, crime, death, disease,
and hopelessness. However, like most children, they are resilient! They
show up for class with smiles on their faces. They do their work with
diligence and determination. They do not give up. Through art, they are
able to express their inner most thoughts and feelings, describe their
history, and articulate the hope they have for their future. Often,
without words, the beauty and pain of their lives are told through
their art forms. In my life, I have never seen anything as graceful and
beautiful as the art that came from the children of Mathare Valley.
Read More
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Thank you for taking the time to read about all the exciting things going on at BuildaBridge. We are very hopeful about raising $50,000 for the Painting the Brighter Future Campaign. We can get 5000 people to donate $10. Please donate $10 now.
Sincerely,
Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt
BuildaBridge International
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