Lisa Desatnik
I CAN – The Official Song Of The 2012 World Choir Games
Just love this song. Nine-time Grammy winning gospel star Kirk Franklin penned the theme song for the 2012 World Choir Games, to be in Cincinnati this July…and it is a beautiful song with a beautiful message. Kirk will perform it with a mass choir at the July 4 Opening Ceremony.
In a statement, Kirk said, the song is “an expression of peace, hope and unity. We can all make this world a better place, whether through singing or working together in other ways. It’s an important message for the World Choir Games and beyond.”
The 2012 World Choir Games, the biggest international choral competition in the world, will be July 4-14 in Cincinnati, the first time the event has been in the United States.
How Woodfill Elementary School Students Are Helping Others
Great for them!
How thoughtful for these third grade students at Woodfill Elementary School to realize the loneliness of long term hospitalized children who can not have their family at their side. With the help of their teachers, and a little research, they found Josh Cares, a non-profit organization that offers loving support to seriously ill kids when a parent or family member cannot be there. Josh Cares funds professionally trained Child Life Fellows who provide consistent comfort, care and companionship for a child whose family would be by their sides if they could. The Woodfill students created a skit in which they role-played the responsibilities of the Child Life Fellow in the life of a child patient and charged admission to see it. They also held a bake sale.
All in all, their project raised $579.05. And not only that, it taught these creative third graders an important life lesson…about caring and responsibility. I like those kinds of lessons.
I also want to mention this service learning project was made possible by Children, Inc.
YMCA Seeking Nominations Of Professionals Who Give Back
The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati is looking for professionals who share its vision of nurturing the potential of young people, and promoting healthy living and social responsibility. Selected and sponsored by their companies to represent them, YMCA Achievers who will be honored at the 2012 Salute to YMCA Black & Latino Achievers Gala will also commit to volunteering a year to inspire students toward paths of success. Nomination sponsorships are being accepted through June 1, 2012.
The 2012 Salute to YMCA Black & Latino Achievers Gala will be held November 16, 2011 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Sharonville Convention Center. For nomination, sponsorship or gala information, the public should call Toni Miles, YMCA Black & Latino Achievers executive director, at 513-362-YMCA (9622) or email her at tmiles@cincinnatiymca.org; or visit the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati website.
One of the largest regional programs of its kind, the YMCA Black & Latino Achievers Program motivates students of color to further their education and goals with help from successful, professional role models. Since its beginning, the Program has served over 6,000 teens, awarded over $250,000 in scholarships, assisted youth with over $4 million dollars in awarded scholarships and engaged more than 4,500 adult volunteers through a network of corporate and community partners.
Cincinnati Teachers Embark On Global Fellowships
What a great opportunity for these eight Cincinnati teachers to pursue learning with some very unique and creative ideas. I saw this on the Strive Together website. The Fund for Teachers recently awarded them $39,000 in grants to embark on global fellowships throughout the summer. Strive partners with the Fund for Teachers to administer the grants locally.
Here are three examples of what they’ll be doing:
• Carla Lamb (Clark Montesso
ri High School) who will explore art adorning walls/public spaces in Seattle, Berlin and Prague to witness how intended barriers now connect communities and to teach students that street art can be purposeful, embody strong aesthetics and unite diverse populations;
• Robert Hollifield (Gilbert A. Dater High School) who will navigate through seven national parks, three private nature reserves, three active volcanoes, and one costal ecosystem in Costa Rica to introduce students to biodiversity outside their urban Ohio environment and ignite a passion to engage in local activities promoting environmental awareness and protection; and,
• Anne-Catherine Foster (Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies) who will participate in an intensive Spanish language immersion program in Boquete, Panama, to better comprehend how ESL students’ life experiences inform their success in acquisition of the English language and culture.
(Note: image is of artwork by Carla Lamb titled Raven Evermore. It is displayed on Michigoose’s Gander at Quilts and Life blog.)
Tender Mercies Needs Books To Enrich Lives Of Homeless
Do you have any extra books to share? If you donate them to Tender Mercies for their new library, you’ll be enriching the lives of Cincinnati’s homeless…not only by giving residents something to read and talk about, but also by giving them an opportunity to be productive because the library is run by people who live there.
Tender Mercies provides housing and supportive services for people who are homeless and who have a mental and/emotional disability. For the 150 people who call it, they offer an environment conducive to recovery – where an individual’s strengths are celebrated daily and barriers to success are addressed in a strengths-based, solution-focused manner. They partner with residents to help them achieve maximum self-sufficiency according to their ability. The residents run a Snack Shack to provide the needed personal items and food and its newly opened Library that has books, CD’s, video’s and games.
If you’d like to learn more about Tender Mercies or make a donation, visit www.tendermerciesinc.org or call them at (513) 721-8666. They’re located at 15 West 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202.
