Give & Get Open Forum

What: work on educational art projects with kids, through New York Cares

Where: El Faro Beacon School, East Harlem

When: Saturdays, 11:30am-3:30pm

When you first get to the Beacon School, you’ll sign in and head downstairs to the basement cafeteria. Besides that one detail, I’m pretty sure what awaits you will be different every time you volunteer with the Creative Arts Workshop Saturday Art Works program. The project we had for the day I was volunteering was to make a giant-sized puppet of an iconic African-American, in honor of Black History Month. The volunteers spent the first 45 minutes or so sorting through scraps of fabric, markers, crayons, and putting together the wood bases that would serve as a skeleton of sorts for the puppet. We then got a brief introduction to the program and some guidelines on working with children (don’t go anywhere alone with a child, ask for help from a program staffer if a child is being difficult, etc.). While this was going on, about 30 kids filed in and waiting for the program to begin.

Averaging about 8 years old, the kids gathered in a circle to hear about the project for the day. We then broke into groups to read about 10 different historical figures from Black History. After this, each group had to pick one person to turn into a giant puppet; our group chose Frederick Douglass and got to work making the best-dressed puppet in the place, thanks an imaginative 7 year old with fashion sense beyond his years. At around 2:30, everyone gathered again in a circle to present their characters and put on a brief play using the knowledge they learned from the books we read earlier in the day.

According to their website, “CAW is a nonprofit organization that utilizes the visual and performing arts to teach life skills to children and teens while enriching communities.” Though I volunteered through New York Cares, you can volunteer directly with CAW, who offer the workshops three Saturdays out of every month in East Harlem and Washington Heights. The workshops use the arts to promote creativity through a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, montage, sculpture, dance, singing/rap, theater, music, reading, writing, gardening and any other practices that allow for creation and self-expression. They also have a number of other programs that serve the community and it’s children: Summer Art Works, After School Art Works, and the Giraffe Path, which is an annual arts project taking place this June. For more information about the Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, visit their website.

When the day started, I was slightly nervous about being able to mentor a child and display a certain level of intelligence. For some reason, I find the honesty of children extremely intimidating; the disapproval or ridicule of a 9 year old I’ve never met has almost the same affect on me as the disapproval of my own parents.  I know its probably an unwarranted, ridiculous fear, but one I have none the less. And I’ve got to be honest: Black History is not a topic I’m an expert on. How do I teach kids about something I know nothing about? The books we read to them had some popular names of course, whose history I’m well aware of, but I wasn’t going to pretend that I knew where Frederick Douglass was born. If there was a quiz at the beginning of the day I would have undoubtedly failed with flying colors. But i digress…. As with every other time I volunteer with kids, it only takes about 5 minutes for me to realize that they are there to learn and have fun, and anything you do can only help them achieve that. They’re not nearly as judgmental as adults, which is a nice departure from reality if only for a few hours. One of the great things about mentoring kids is that you can both pick up a book and learn along side each other. Some other things to know:

- Eat a big breakfast. You’ll be here for a while, and although you’re given the option of taking a juice-box and small snack,  6 mini pretzel sticks won’t cut it as a lunch for me personally, since I’m no longer 3 feet tall and 30 lbs.

- The projects vary, but there’s a good chance markers, glue and/or paint will be involved. You’ll also be sitting on the floor and moving around a lot. Dress appropriately.

- The Creative Arts Workshops students and volunteers have painted some pretty cool murals around Harlem in the past few years. After the project, take a stroll down 124th Street and see if you can find some; if you don’t  have time, check out the pictures I took above or head to the their online gallery.

- This project seems to attract a lot of artistic volunteers; including myself, the group of volunteers I worked with were all employed in graphic design. It’s not a surprising fact- the project is called Creative Arts Workshop. I’m just saying…this is a good activity for artsy-fartsy volunteers like myself.

- For those now wondering, Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland.

Yesterday, along with some friends and coworkers, I participated in New York Cares Day. It was a huge success: $235,000 was raised for New York Cares year-long programs, and 117 schools in NYC were given revitalizing makeovers. 8,000 volunteers painted bookcases, murals, fences and walls, organized libraries and classrooms. Our team was assigned to PS 11 K, the Purvis J. Behan Elementary School in Brooklyn, and our job for the day was to paint as many bookcases and shelves as we could. Following a list of classrooms that were registered for the day, we took to the halls with red, blue, purple, yellow and green paints, brushes in hand. For each room, we had to take out anything that was in the bookcases, lay down some butcher paper to protect the floors, and then decide how we wanted to paint each one: stripes? handprints? I like to think we did a pretty good job. We and everyone else wanted to add as much color and fun as we could. At the end of the day, we returned to each classroom we had dismantled, put everything back the way we found it, and admired our handy work.

Other teams at PS 11 K were painting murals that had been drawn out on walls and doors. Some were painting fences outside a bright yellow. The library also got a much needed re-organization. On Monday morning, 600 children will arrive at PS 11 to find bright new colors in their classrooms and new murals to enjoy. More importantly, they will hopefully see that there were a lot of people who cared enough about them and their education, to come to their school and make it more vibrant and fun place to learn.

To those that came out for Team Give and Get NYC, thank you: Alison Art, Dustin Growick, James Posner, Jason Kahan, Jonathan Essa, Massimo Pennisi, Marshall Weaver, McKenzie Mahoney, Meghan Dockery, Michael Bamford, Paul Costa, and Sasha Growick. It meant a lot to me that I was able to share something I love to do with friends. We had a lot of laughs, and got a lot of paint in places it didn’t belong (don’t worry, we cleaned up).

I’ve posted some pictures from our day at PS 11 below (click to enlarge). If you’re interested in seeing what went on at other schools on New York Cares Day, check out their blog by clicking here.

After a few weeks vacation, I’m back in New York. I missed the September 20th volunteer project sign-up on New York Cares website, so I’m running low on ideas this week for volunteer opportunities; if there’s someplace you’d like to see me volunteer and write about, please comment below with your suggestions!

Meanwhile, I’m getting ready for New York Cares Day on October 17th. New York Cares will mobilize 8,000 volunteers and dispatch them throughout the 5 boroughs. According to their website, “The Department of Education lost $180 million from its budget last year, forcing schools to cut or postpone revitalization and upkeep projects.^1”

This day of service will help to make up for lost funding by enlisting the citizens of New York to paint, plant, and organize public schools across the city. In addition, this is a huge fundraising push for New York Cares; money raised will go towards supporting their year-round projects, many of which address the needs of public schools and their students. I’ve created a team for the day, Give and Get NYC, made up of friends and coworkers. We’ll be at an elementary school in Brooklyn from 9:30am – 3:30pm, helping to create a brighter and safer learning enviornment by doing a number of projects ranging from painting bookcases to planting bulbs in the school’s garden. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands dirty for the day and transforming the school for these kids. Fingers crossed for awesome weather and sun!

If you’d like to join me and my team on New York Cares Day, or sign up as an individual, there are still 8 days left before registration ends on the 9th. You can go to the New York Cares Day website and click ‘Join a Team’ on the left, and find Give and Get NYC in the list. Alternatively, you can sign up as an individual and be placed in an area that is in need of more volunteers; they are still 1,000 volunteers short of their 8,000 goal.  You will need to pay a $20 registration fee, which is used to offset the cost of supplies and materials for the day (i.e. paint, rollers, flowers, etc). If you’re unable to help out but still want to make a contribution, you can visit my team’s homepage and make a donation by clicking here.

If you have questions or comments, please leave them here or email me: info@giveandgetnyc.com

What: weeding and garden maintenance

Where: Future Leaders Institute, Morningside Heights, with New York Cares

When: Thursday, 6-8pm

When you arrive at the address for Future Leaders Institute charter school, you’ll notice that the name above the entrance is Hans Christian Andersen Complex. Enter. You’ll meet your team leader there and head over to the gardens, where you can begin on a number of tasks. I was given some options: 1, pulling weeds in the rocks and flower bed; 2, chopping and pulling large, 5′-6′ tall weeds; or 3, discerning what is a weed and what is a not, and pulling the weed. I immediately eliminated the 3rd option, as I have no idea how to differentiate a weed from a plant. I’m pretty sure one of my house plants is actually a weed. The second option seemed like a fun challenge, but I wasn’t sure if I trusted myself with a weedwacker. So I chose the low-and-slow weeding option #1.

Though it was a small area, me and my fellow volunteers (I think there were about 7 of us in one garden) pulled those suckers for 2 hours straight and just barely finished. Even though it was hard work, it was oddly calming. There were a few pedestrians walking around, but other than that, it was a perfect, mind-numbing activity done in relative silence; I welcome things like this after a hectic day at work.  Another great thing with a project like this is that you can see the difference you’re making, literally. I posted some pictures below of the before and after; I never realized how ugly weeds are until this day. I used to love dandelions-I’m a changed woman.

At the end of 2 hours, we had made a huge dent in the work needed to get this garden looking 100% awesome and well-manicured. Luckily, it will continue to get better, since this wasn’t a one time activity; this was only the second session, & ‘Gardening at the Future Leaders Institute’ will continue to run through the school year. After the maintenance and weeding are done, the project will begin to include the students, teaching them how to garden and participate in hands-on activities. And they’re lucky-I was huffing the sweet smell of fresh rosemary and loving it. These kids have a source of fresh basil, thyme, tomatoes, and much more to look forward to.

I usually end my posts with ‘other things to know’, but I can’t take full credit for the helpful tidbits this time;  NY Cares team leader Nada gave a full description of what to wear, subway directions, even weather reports the day of the activity. So, besides my advice, which is that you should bring some bug spray, here are some other things Nada the team leader will tell you:

- Be on time! The project is only two hours long.
- Wear comfortable clothing that can get dirty.
- Relax, and be kind to your back [and knees]- be sure to get up and stretch from time to time.
- Ask if you have any questions.

Update 6-10-10: If you would like to make a donation to the RJS Foundation, you may do so by writing a check out to the Ralph J. Sansone Foundation and sending to 5816 13th Avenue, Brooklyn NY, 11219.

The RJS Foundation was formed 23 years ago in memory of Ralph Sansone, who died tragically in a plane crash at an early age. To honor his life, my aunt and uncle, Mary and Zack Sansone, decided to do something meaningful for the children of their community, who might follow the path of life that Ralph was on: he was a successful lawyer and labor arbitrator, husband and father, and community activist. They began to collect money and set up a $500 scholarship at Ralph’s alma mater, Bishop Ford High School. The Foundation grew with each passing year and since its inception, has given out over $200,000 in scholarship money. Five years ago, they began an endowment scholarship program which awards one student each year with a partial scholarship to Brooklyn Law School, where Ralph received his law degree.

So, long before I started volunteering in New York City, I began my involvement with the Ralph J. Sansone Foundation. This organization is one of a few (others include CIAO and C.U.R.E) that are the creation of my aunt, Mary Sansone, who is largely responsible for the exposure I’ve had throughout my life to the world of non-profit work and community service, and consequently, the passion I have for such things. (But that’s a post for another day.) What began as my attending honoree dinners and luncheons with my mom, has in recent years evolved into my playing a more integral part in these organizations.

Another scholarship program they have is the annual Art Show, which started six years ago. For the past two years I have had the pleasure of being one of four judges for this contest. It is open to high school students across the boroughs; the winners are given monetary awards (first place gets $500, second place $250, third place $150, and four honorable mentions get $50). Also, the art department of first place winner receives $250. The level of work submitted is always impressive, and sometimes downright unbelievable. If these kids didn’t come back to get their work, I would gladly take their paintings and hang them in my own apartment.  I posted some pictures below so you can see the level of work the kids of New York City are capable of. All of the judges, including myself, are employed in the field of graphic design or art education. Deciding who wins is not easy, and heated discussions were had regarding the quality, composition, and technique of the entries. Their work will be on display for the next month or so at the CIAO office in Borough Park, Brooklyn. For more information on when and where you can see these paintings and many others, email me : info@giveandgetnyc.com

Click pictures to enlarge

What: Revitalize parks, gardens, playgrounds, community centers, and schools

Where: Bronx River Park, through New York Cares

When: Saturday, 830am-2pm

Hands On New York Day is one of New York Cares biggest days of the year. They mobilized about 5,000 volunteers, in partnership with the MillionTrees initiative, and sent them out to about 75 parks and gardens throughout the 5 boroughs. Some people planted trees, others re-painted fences or picked up trash; volunteers were doing whatever was necessary to fit the needs of the park/garden/school to revitalize and beautify the site.

I volunteered to be a registration leader and ambassador; the first job required that I register volunteers as they arrived at the site, give them a t-shirt, collect a registration fee if necessary, and have them sign a waiver. The ambassador’s (also me), were then supposed to collect all of the registration materials, money and any extra t-shirts, and bring them back to the New York Cares office on W. 29th Street. Though I’m sure that  it wasn’t the case at most of the sites, ours had some major issues that caused a late start. The directions that were sent out to most of the volunteers (including me, who was supposed to be at the site early) were wrong, so people had to get back on the subway and go two more stops to the correct meeting spot. It was really confusing; to add to this, I took the wrong train to begin with, so I was already running late. But that’s my own fault for being directionally challenged.

All of that aside, the Bronx River Alliance did a great job getting people registered and into t-shirts before we got there, and throughout the day were extremely helpful and knowledgeable about their park. It was a great day to  be outside and planting trees. This is an annual event, so you’ll have to wait until next year to try this activity out, but there are tons of opportunities during the warmer months to get outside and volunteer. Check out the organizations on my resource page to find something for you; these type of events/activities are great for groups, as you can all work together digging and planting and just having a good time.

What: painting/touching up canvas and wall murals

Where: PS 171, through New York Cares

When: Saturday, 10am-3pm

This project happens monthly, and was pretty straightforward. The hardest part was finding the school itself, so stick to the directions you’re given and you’ll be fine. About 10-15 volunteers gather in the cafeteria and are then split into two groups: one group ventured off into the hallways to touchup previously painted murals, getting rid of graffiti and scratches. I was in the other group, made up of those who felt they had slightly- higher-than-average painting abilities. We were each given a large canvas that had a pencil sketch of a popular book cover- done via projector by a girl who I assumed is a regular volunteer- to start/finish painting. Some people returned to finish their work from the month prior, and the team leader ensured that those people got their murals back. The rest of us newbie’s had to finish someone else’s work, which is harder than doing it from scratch, or start our own mural (it’s likely you won’t finish one in a day).

This is a good project for artists (former and current) that want to lend their skills to a school in need of some pizzazz, or really, anyone who doesn’t mind spending the day painting in a relaxed environment. This is NOT the place to go paint that masterpiece you’re been putting off since high school art class, or if you’re a perfectionist. You’ll be using worn out brushes and a rotating supply of old latex-based paint from a can. I’m not saying you won’t be able to paint something amazing, because some of the canvas murals were pretty sweet. I’m just saying it won’t be easy. Other things to know:

- You can talk to other volunteers but for the most part, everyone keeps their head down and paints. So feel free to bring your iPod and headphones.

- Even if you think your work is horrible, the elementary-age children you’re painting for will be impressed and think it’s awesome. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

- This activity is an obvious lure for artists; if that’s you, you’ll get to meet like-minded people who not only enjoy painting, but volunteering as well.

- Bonus: Not relaxing enough? This school is within walking distance of the Central Park Conservatory Garden. In my opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the city that often goes unnoticed. It’s accessible, it’s free, and it’s a great way to end a day of painting and art.