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Youth Voices in Seattle and Bellingham
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'Youth Voices' is the name we give to the many youth empowerment
projects conceived and carried out by our Americorps members in
Bellingham and Seattle, WA, and by our staff team in Victoria, BC.
Here are updates on just a few
of them!
Chief Sealth, Family Night
by Jamie-Rose Rothenberg
On the evening of March 4th,
the Seattle office Power of Hope team and several volunteers
facilitated a Family Night workshop for youth at Chief Sealth High
School in Seattle. Approximately 40 youth and 5 adults participated
in a range of Power of Hope activities throughout the one-hour
workshop. This fun and engaging workshop encouraged participants to
get to know one another better and take creative risks in a safe
environment. Throughout the evening, participants explored different
art forms, told personal stories, built new relationships, and
shared a lot of laughter. The Seattle office team hopes to continue
working with Chief Sealth students and faculty in the future.
Black
Achievers Program
by Kat
Vellos
On Saturday, March 22, Kat Vellow and Stephany Hazelrigg
returned to the Black Achievers Program at Meredith Mathews YMCA to
facilitate a program on creative self-expression and the power of
saying YES! While having a lot of fun in the process, the group got
to know each other better and connected via expressing themselves in
through visual art. It was a wonderful connection to our first
workshop with them in January, continuing to bring alive the
intentions of reflecting, connecting and expressing!
The Mural Project
by Jen Dickenson
As many of you may know, painting
a mural does not simply entail putting paint on a wall and hoping
something pretty comes out of it. A mural (at least the one we are
painting) is an expression of the community that paints it. The
mural we are painting at Bellingham High School aspires to be just
that.
Over the past few weeks, we have
been painting with the students as well as engaging them in
conversation. These conversations have been as varied as the
students themselves. Recently, we had a class-wide discussion on
race and tolerance. Through the community that was set up; the
students were able to freely, peacefully and consciously discuss
issues of race they see in their school.
As we explore the culture of the
school, we are continuously coming up with wonderful ideas for a
mural design. We are confident that we will be able to create a
design that incorporates all of the student’s ideas as well as the
discussions we have in class. Stay tuned for future installments of
the eNEWS to find out what the final design will be!
Seattle Girls School
By Jamie-Rose Rothenberg
Power of Hope just completed a
six-week creative arts program at Seattle Girls School. The goal of
this program was to empower young women as community leaders through
creative expression. A group of sixteen 7-8th grade girls
participated in a series of music, dance, visual arts, creative
writing, and theatre workshops. Seattle AmeriCorps Jamie-Rose
Rothenberg and Devon Little were the primary facilitators of this
program. Maureen Nelson, Estrella de Leon, and POH executive
director Michael Harris all served as guest artists during select
sessions. At the end of the program one young woman proclaimed, “I
learned to trust myself and step out of my comfort zone, as well as
letting my voice be heard.” Power of Hope will be returning to
Seattle Girls School to conduct a similar program next year.
Quotes from Seattle Girls
School students about the Power of Hope program:
“I learned that if I just be
myself and be outgoing like I am I will have a lot more fun.”
“When I feel down I can do one of
these Power of Hope activities to cheer myself up and express
myself”.
“I learned how to use art to express myself! I learned that when I
put aside my nerves I can get a lot done!”
“I learned how to work as a team
with others”
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