Greetings!
 "He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.
~ J.A. Shedd"As the temperatures begin to drop in Boston, things are continuing to heat up over at United South End Settlements (USES). In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to take a moment to thank all my hard-working and dedicated staff. The South End and Lower Roxbury community benefits directly from the time and energy staff devote to each child, adult, and senior.
I am thankful that day after day parents bring their children to our preschool and day after day adults and seniors attend classes or otherwise stop by our building to socialize. They are all living proof that the work we do is worthwhile and it is because of the staff of USES that our participants return day after day. Seeing and knowing this, I find it true that Thanksgiving comes from the heart.
Please enjoy the following inspiring stories from our programs. Stay up-to-date with USES by connecting with us via the buttons on the right, or visiting our facilities and saying hello.
Wishing you the best this Thanksgiving,  Kevin Lee Hepner
President & CEO
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Arts & Culture
Children's Art Centre (CAC)
On Friday, Novem ber 16, 2012, USES launched a direct mail appeal targeting the Friends of the CAC. This group of donors associated with the Children's Art Centre are concerned with continuing to provide youth with quality art education programs. Over 400 Friends belong to this group who support the many initiatives of the CAC. One such initiative, Teen Art in the South End, is a free weekly art workshop for 12 to 15 year old youth and the program exposes teenagers to art galleries, artist studios, and opportunities for learning new techniques and working with local professional artists. The CAC, in a partnership with Thrive-in-5, has also begun to partner with local building housing developments to offer free, on-site arts in early learning classes to residents. This way, the resources that the CAC programs provide, such as empowering parents and young children to engage and develop school-readiness skills through the arts, are available to low-income families. Even though the appeal was sent out last Friday, already we have started receiving gifts and we look forward to expanding the CAC's impact on youth and families through the generosity of the Friends of the Children's Art Centre. Thank you! Stay up-to-date with the CAC by reading their blog. Community Colors 2012 Art Exhibition
The Community Colors Art Exhibit, now in its fifth year, will hold its opening reception on Thursday, December 6 at the Harriet Tubman Gallery at 6:00 pm. This event is open and free to the public and light refreshments will be served. The exhibit will feature at least forty pieces of artwork from local artists throughout the South End/Lower Roxbury neighborhood, and will run through January 9, 2013.
What is so unique about this exhibition is the opportunity for the South End and Lower Roxbury community to display work alongside professional artists, colleagues and participants of all ages. An 8.5 X 11" drawing of president Barack Obama hangs with the description "Crayon on Paper" while glass fused figures entitled "Hip Hop Swag" are delicately positioned beside. Long-time community resident and artist JoAnn Rothschild has been volunteering with USES' Early Childhood Education afternoon arts enrichment classes. She reflects on her experiences: "[Teaching painting] At Pine Street Inn I saw a lot of people for whom a lot of damage had been done. So coming [to the Children's Art Centre], I wanted to remind myself of how growing takes place and to see if I could encourage it. It's surprising to me every day." Four year olds sat around Rothschild captivated by her abstract application of colors, line and shape as they identified repetition and movement of each element. Using tempera paint, each preschooler had the opportunity to use expressive mark making on their own canvas, imitating the harmony and balanced composition of their exemplar. These works hang side by side in the Community Colors exhibit as an allegory for artistic expression that defies age and reflects solely on raw emotion and aesthetic. Innovative works by interdisciplinary artist Miranda Aisling incorporates hand knitted yarn as a surface, which is then gessoed and painted with oils to create brilliantly abstract pieces that cross boundaries of female - male dominated roles. When Aisling is not "throwing down" paint as she describes the process, she is inspiring others through gestural storytelling and playing guitar, known not only known for her multi-media techniques, but also multi-talents. Please, be our guest and visit the Harriet Tubman Gallery to view these works and more that interweave our diverse community and variety of mediums such as needlepoint, oil on canvas, watercolor, photographs, collage, encaustics, monoprints among others!
Stay up-to-date with all USES Arts & Culture activies by reading their blog (new!).
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Out-of-School Time Programs
After School Program
In partnership with the USES Parent Council and the Children's Art Centre, the After School Program hosted another successful Fall Festival fundraiser and party on Friday, November 2. There was food, face painting, haunted house tours, and raffle prizes. The week after they held an impromptu food sale with the leftover food brought by the Parent Council. All proceeds from both the Fall Festival and food sale went to support all youth programs at USES. Camp Hale
After a successful 112th summer camp season, Camp Hale is proud to announce that it featured an inaugural summer session for girls! A total of 35 girls attended a session at Camp Hale for the first time, and we look forward to that number increasing  next summer!
Last month we launched our annual fall Friends of Camp Hale appeal with the hope of increasing support for the camp and its services. Already we are happy to report that we have received over $30,000 in donations from generous donors! Thank you all so much!
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Featured Event - Radius Ensemble Concert
On Thursday, November 8 the Harriet Tubman House was graced with a beautiful concert courtesy of Radius Ensemble. This event was open to the public and we were delighted to see many community members in attendance.
A chamber music ensemble of winds, strings, and piano, Radius performs music from the classical period to the modern era, from beloved masterpieces to undiscovered gems.
Founded in 1999 by oboist and impresario Jennifer Montbach, Radius's season includes a four-concert series at the Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where the group was named Ensemble in Residence in 2011. Radius has appeared in many concert series throughout New England, including the Rockport Chamber Music Festival and New York's Music in Chelsea. Radius has commissioned and premiered numerous works by Boston-area composers and has won several Meet the Composer grants from the National Endowment for the Arts/New England Foundation for the Arts. Committed to community outreach, Radius presents a free Saturday morning family concert in Harvard Square, and distributes free tickets to disadvantaged children and their parents or mentors through local community service agencies. Learn more at http://radiusensemble.org.
Radius Ensemble received a generous grant from the Free for All Concert Fund to present a series of three free concerts along the #1 Bus Route. The Harvard-Dudley bus runs mostly along Massachusetts Avenue, from Harvard University in Cambridge, past MIT, over the Harvard Bridge into Boston, past Symphony Hall and the Boston Medical Center and through the South End, ending at Dudley Square in Roxbury. Carrying people from all walks of life, "the number one" is one of the most traveled and diverse bus routes in Boston and Cambridge.
"It is with partnerships like this that we are really able to serve a wider-range of residents in the South End and Lower Roxbury community" said USES Director of Arts & Culture, Chelsea Revelle. "Often times resources are limited which excludes lower-income populations from the great benefit of arts and cultural experiences."
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Brewers Helping Neighbors 2013:
Tickets On-Sale Now!
 Don't forget! Brewers Helping Neighbors 2013 is happening on Tuesday, February 7, 2013 from 6:30 - 9:30 pm. We can now confirm a record TEN breweries:
Baxter Brewing Company
Berkshire Brewing Company
Blue Hills Brewery
Clown Shoes Beer
Cody Brewing Company
Harpoon Brewery
Jack's Abby Brewing
Mayflower Brewing Company
Notch Brewing Company
Samuel Adams
Emcee
WBZ-TV Meteorologist - Joe Joyce
Food by
Clery's Boston
Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen
Not Your Average Joe's
Sponsored by
Stuff Magazine
El Mundo
Bay State Banner
Brew Master
Anonymous
Mt. Washington Bank
Settlement Stout
Cabot Risk Strategies
Columbus Ale
Camp Hale Alumni Association
Carl Long
Raphael & Raphael
South End Pilsner
O'Connor & Drew
Live Music by
Henri Smith New Orleans Friends and Flavours
With Special Guests
John Holl & April Darcy - authors of Massachusetts Breweries
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STAY CONNECTED
 
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SAVE THE DATE
Thursday, December 6
Community Colors Art Exhibition Reception
Harriet Tubman Gallery
566 Columbus Avenue
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Theresa-India Young Art Reception & Silent Auction
Harriet Tubman Gallery
566 Columbus Avenue
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Brewers Helping Neighbors 2013*
Harriet Tubman House
566 Columbus Avenue
6:30 - 9:30 pm
* Tickets on sale now at www.uses.org/bhn
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Violence Transformed Reception
Harriet Tubman Gallery
6:00 - 8:00 pm
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Classes
USES offers a wide array of community classes for children, adults, and senior citizens. To see and to register for classes that are happening soon, please visit us online at www.uses.org or call (617) 536-8610 for more information. |
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