Lisa Desatnik
Cincinnati Students Collecting Art Supplies for Nicaragua
Written by Good Things Going Around intern, Andrea Francisco, a senior at Indian Hill High School
Recently, at my school, Indian Hill High School, I heard of an art supply drive for an impoverished community in Managua, Nicaragua. There, in the Batahola Community Center, students of all ages are learning skills that relate to basic and international cooking, natural medicine, sewing, cashiering, visual arts, how to speak english, and many more areas. This amazing community center was started by Friar Angel Torrellas and Sister Margie Navarro in the early 2000s and has grown into a wonderful nonprofit for the Batahola community.
Last spring, Gerardo Arias, an art teacher and amazing artist from the Batahola Community Center, came to McNicholas High School to paint a beautiful mural at the school. Meanwhile, Kimberly Engle, who has a son at McNicholas High School, was asked to host Gerardo while he painted the mural. Inspired by Gerardo, Kimberly set out to help bring art supplies to his students by holding an art supply drive at Indian Hill High School, where she teaches spanish. In this way, she has helped these Nicaraguan students, empowering them to grow, learn, and thrive through art.
Kimberly says of Gerardo, “He is so nice…and very passionate about helping the kids. He is very passionate about them taking his class as a sort of inspiration or therapy for their situation.”
Sister Margie Navarro, who helped found the community center, noticed that even from an early age Gerardo possessed a unique artistic gift. She became his mentor and nurtured his gift, ultimately leading Gerardo to college where he studied art. Today, Gerardo teaches art at the Batahola Community Center and is dedicated to teaching his students. Gerardo hopes someday to raise enough money to buy a document projector, which would display him as he is drawing on a projector screen, thus enriching his art classes.
If you want to donate, stop by Indian Hill High School, McNicholas, or St. Ursula High School to drop off art supplies. Any kind of art supply is welcomed, but acrylic paint is the most needed. Also, you can visit the Friends of Batola website, which is a group that works toward empowering the people of Nicaragua:
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati Honors Youth
Please watch this video learn more about Robert McMurray, this year’s honoree.
Why I Want To Be Betty White When I Grow Up
My Top Reasons For Loving Betty White
Betty White loves life. Period. And at 92 years young, she has lived a lot of life.
She loves her job. 10. Her response to the question about when she will retire was:
“‘Why should I retire from something I love so much?’”
She has said about life that it is better to have a good attitude and ‘accentuate the positive.’
As an animal rights activist, she has donated time and millions of dollars to animal charities.
She is the oldest person to have hosted Saturday Night Live.
She loves to laugh and give others a reason to laugh too.
Cincinnati Students Learn Messages Of ReelAbilities
A little over a month ago I wrote about the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival organized by LADD, a nonprofit organization for whom I am now doing public relations, bringing world renowned photographer Rick Guidotti here to share his – and ReelAbilities’ – message that it is our differences that give individual’s their own unique beauty.
Through the ReelAbilities Education Outreach Team, Rick spoke with hundreds of area high schools. And already, something truly outstanding has occurred to spread impact. Milford High School Photography Teacher Janelle Schunk came up with an idea for a project pairing students with and without disabilities to create an 
exhibition called Different Lives Same Beauty.
Milford’s Photography I class worked with students in the school’s multiple disabilities unit to learn about each other’s differences AND similarities. In addition to create beautiful portraits, building relationships and friendships were also goals.
“I was nervous when I first met John, who is nonverbal. I wondered how I was going to make him smile. We learned he likes beads and were able to use beads to get him to smile and look at the camera,” student Leah Breuer shared in a blog post on the Milford Schools site. “Before I had never really talked to the kids in the MD unit, but after this project I know all of their names and I say hi in the hallways.”
What is really awesome about this is the lasting impact this project will have as a foundation for future good friends, neighbors, citizens, employers and employees.
Please click to see WLWT coverage.
Speaking about success in the classroom
What is inclusion and why is it important in the positive growth for all children? Sara Bitter, ReelAbilities Education Outreach Team
chair, was interviewed recently by Jason’s Connection about the impact of ReelAbilities’ work in area schools. Please click here to read her interview.
She shared how inspiration for working with ReelAbilities came from her son who has a disability. When he entered kindergarten, she gave a presentation to his class. I think the first thing the presentation did was, it helped the kids understand some of the challenges of his disability. More importantly though, it helped them to see (through real pictures) all of his many capabilities, she told Jason’s Connection.
“…we shouldn’t assume that because someone has a disability, he or she can’t have big achievements. Can’t have great life experiences. Or can’t get a job, have a family or have a successful life. Modifications and accommodations throughout a person’s education will help them be able to participate in almost every academic and extracurricular activity so they can grow into productive self-determined adults. It just takes an ability to think outside of the box and make this happen.
Please click here to learn more about the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival Outreach Program.
Price Hill’s MyCincinnati Orchestra Builds Kid’s Confidence
Written by: Good Things Going Around Intern, Andrea Francisco, a student at Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati
MyCincinnati Orchestra builds confidence in Cincinnati kids
Price Hill’s MyCincinnati Orchestra program helps students in grades K-12 express themselves while boosting their confidence in a supportive group. Founded in 2011 by Laura Jekel, it serves as a totally engaging (and completely free!) program for kids. However, students must commit to coming every day of the program, which runs from Monday through Friday from 4-6 P.M. This is because the more time put into practicing an instrument, the better they will get at playing and the more their confidence will grow. Furthermore, this instills a strong sense of dedication and effort into the developing minds of children, something that will help them throughout the rest of their lives. Through a transformative and immersive program of learning and teamwork, students enrolled in the MyCincinnati Orchestra program will learn a set of life-changing skills — something that is truly priceless.
Laura Jekel, who is also the director and teaches some days, has an amazing background in music, along with the rest of the teachers involved in MyCincinnati Orchestra. Laura has a bachelor degree of music from Indiana University at Bloomington and completed her master of music degree at Carnegie Mellon University and the Peabody Institute. Along with this, she lived in Ecuador, where she was a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil and cello professor at the music school Fronteras Musicales Abiertas in Cuenca. There is a much longer list of all the things she has accomplished — so much that it is hard to fit in this paragraph! In addition, Eddy Kwon, the assistant program director, is a Cincinnatus Presidential Full Scholar with a BM in Jazz Studies from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Also, He has been involved in many El-Sistema inspired programs in the US. To clarify, El-Sistema, Venezuela’s revolutionary youth orchestra program for social change, is the inspiration for MyCincinnati Orchestra. These are just two examples of the staff at MyCincinnati Orchestra, all of whom share an extensive background in music and dedicate their lives to bringing about social change through music.
Laura says that she has witnessed the benefit young minds garner through playing instrumental music. “I have noticed an increase in the children’s ability to focus. They are also gaining self-confidence. I believe music is empowering them to believe in themselves, and giving them a sense of identity. Learning an instrument also builds many life skills such as discipline, responsibility, and working towards long-term goals.” Learning how to play instruments requires a lot of discipline, dedication, and passion which translates to every aspect of a child’s life. This instrument learning program is especially vital to children who are not engaged in school and want to find something they love to do. Also, learning an instrument provides an outlet for children to express themselves, develop lifelong skills, and learn how to love learning. In fact, many studies show that music can help children better understand patterns when learning math. Not only this, but learning how to play an instrument can help kids with their physical coordination and emotional self-esteem. On top of this, group instrumental classes will help children find a welcoming group of friends to belong to, like a home away from home.
If you want to learn more about the positive effects of music lessons, particularly group music lessons, please click here to read an article that explains this more in-depth.
To learn more, please contact Laura at laura@pricehillwill.org or 513-251-3800 x 106
