gek face Global Explorers Kids News 

July/2012
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Сайн уу (Sain uu)!


Greetings! 
That is how to say "hello" in Mongolian!

 

It's been a while since our last newsletter, but we've been keeping busy! From helping the Queen of Angels Girl Scout Troops celebrate World Thinking Day to creating Flags of Peace at the Albany Park CeaseFire CommUnity Festival; from making corn husk dolls and Moroccan tiles at the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival, to providing workshops for the Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club at Coonley School, we've been bringing cultural programming to the community.  Read below to learn more about some of the things we have going on, and how you can get involved.

 

Happy Explorations!

Help Global Explorers Kids continue to provide free programs to low-income communities!

 
All About Kids Thanks to a grant from the Kluth Family Foundation, Global Explorers Kids (GEK) was able to offer free cultural programming to three schools serving children from low-income communities during the 2011/12 school year: All About Kids Learning Academy (a preschool in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on Chicago's South Side), North River Elementary School and Volta Elementary School, two CPS schools in Albany Park. These programs helped bring much needed arts and cultural programming to over 200 children.
 
Global Explorers Kids and the partnering schools hope to continue these programs in the 2012/13 school year, to further develop the students' education in the diversity of cultures and the use of the arts as a way to transmit culture.  For many of the children, this is their only opportunity for exposure to cultures outside their own. Other children are living in diverse neighborhoods but need to create bridges between the various cultures sharing their communities. 
 
With your help, we can continue to offer free programs to the children at these schools. We are continuing to seek potential grant partners, but $3,000 will ensure that these programs can start in the fall. Eight hundred dollars will bring weekly programming to All About Kids Learning Academy through the Winter break; $700 will bring two family workshops, serving 100 people each, to Volta Elementary School; and $1500 will bring a ten-week after school session to North River School. Every little bit helps: $150 will bring one 1-1/2 hr class to North River; $50 will bring one 1/2 - 45 min class to the preschoolers at All About Kids Learning Academy; $25 will help pay for supplies for a week. Even a donation of $10 will help bring us closer to our goal. Please consider making a donation to ensure these children will receive programming in the fall. Make a Donation
Summer Camp 2012 Registration Filling Up!

 

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 Let your children (ages 4-10) travel the world this summer with Global Explorers Kids! Each day, we will "visit" a different country or culture, creating art projects, telling stories, making flags, participating in movement activities, playing games, learning geography, and more.  This summer, we'll be "visiting" Mongolia, Samoa, Serbia, Jamaica, Iran, Germany, Sudan, Ecuador, Tibet, Nunavet, and more countries & cultures. For the first time, we are offering three weeks of camp, to allow more children the opportunity to "explore the world"!
 
Camp is offered July 30-August 17, 9 am - 11:30 am, at Luther Memorial Church, 2500 W Wilson Ave.   The cost is $130/week or $120 for each additional week. Email us at [email protected] for more information and to receive a registration form.

Friends and Fun at Global Carnival! Fundraiser

 
Carnival! On February 17, we celebrated Carnival, the Global Explorers Kids way! We were treated to a special performance of Brazilian music by Paulinho Garcia, Heitor Garcia, Geraldo de Oliveira, and Dede Sampaio with Samba dancing with Yaasha Abraham, as the King and Queen (and Prince and Princess) of Samba were crowned. Delicious international food was donated by local restaurants and individuals, including hummus and falafal from Dawalis Mediterranean Kitchen, pad thai from Rosded Thai Restaurant, jambalaya and boudin balls from Sandra Devura, feijoada and greens from Lourdes Garcia, and much more. Face painting, Carnival crafts, and pancake races were a hit with the kids, while the adults sampled hurricanes and caipirinha, perused silent auction items, and rocked out to music by Mumble the Peg. The event was our most successful fundraiser ever, raising nearly $3,000 for programming in the current year. Thank you to everyone who attended; our wonderful volunteers, musicians, and entertainers; and the local businesses who contributed food and prizes toward the event. We couldn't have done it without you! For a complete list of business donors, please visit our websiteCheck out our facebook page for more pictures from the event. 
Volunteer Appreciation Picnic

 

volunteer picnicOn June 14th, Global Explorers Kids volunteers and supporters gathered at the gardens at Waters School for an evening of food and friendship during the third annual GEK Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. Volunteers were treated to a feast of Moroccan chicken and freshly grilled cevapcici (Serbian sausages) while relaxing and reflecting on the successes of the past year, and enjoying the beautiful gardens at Waters School.  

 

Global Explorers Kids is grateful for the countless hours of assistance provided by volunteers. Our wonderful volunteer board members meet regularly to review the business of the organization and help plan for the future. Classroom and event volunteers help GEK instructors work with the children. Fundraiser volunteers help with set up/clean up, provide music and entertainment, man stations, and provide many other services. Volunteers help in so many ways. Thank you! We couldn't do what we do without you!

 

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Issue: 12
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In This Issue
Fall Programs Drive
Summer Camp
Fundraiser Report
Volunteer Picnic
Investing in Communities
HR 4 NONPROFITS
Announcing Our Partnership with Investing in Communities

We're excited to announce our partnership with Investing In Communities. Thanks to this partnership, supporters like you can now generate funding for Global Explorers Kids at no personal cost through real estate transactions!

 

Founded in 2008, Investing In Communities is a nonprofit web platform that connects individuals and businesses with socially responsible real estate professionals.

 

Here's how it works:

 

1. A nonprofit supporter needs real estate services.

 

2. The supporter uses www.iiconline.org to find a real estate professional or    invites a professional to participate.

 

3. The supporter and professional agree that at least 10% of the professional's commission from this transaction will be donated through IIC to the nonprofit of the supporter's choice.

 

4. The deal closes, the nonprofit gets funding, and it doesn't cost the supporter a dime!*

 

Investing In Communities' debut distribution was in May 2010. As of July 2011, IIC has enabled nonprofit supporters to generate over $100,000 for 32 nonprofits at no personal cost.

 

By giving your business to a socially responsible real estate professional, you can support Global Explorers Kids at no personal cost. To participate or for more information, please visit  www.iiconline.org.

HR 4 NON-PROFITS Service Days

  

Global Explorers Kids is grateful to HR 4 NON-PROFITS who assisted us during their volunteer service days in June. 

 

 HR 4 NON-PROFITS is a nonprofit consulting and HR partner that helps clients free up funds for programmatic or strategic initiatives by increasing productivity and decreasing maintenance budgets. They help clients with everything from board development and proposal writing to healthcare consulting and conflict resolution. 

 

HR 4 NON-PROFITS interns worked alongside Global Explorers Kids to research grant funding opportunities and lay the groundwork for the creation of curriculum guides to train new GEK teachers. 

 

Check out their blog  for an intern's report on the day! 

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� Global Explorers Kids, 2011
www.globalexplorerskids.org  . [email protected] 

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Join Our Family 
Would you like to get involved in Global Explorers Kids activities? We are seeking dedicated board members, teaching artists, donors, and volunteers to become part of our growing family. If you are interested in getting involved, please email us at [email protected].