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Dear Friends, |
July 17, 2013 |
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On June 25th, we celebrated a very exciting event --
our Builders of the New World Performance and Graduation!
The children had been hard at work all semester, and at
this event they were able to present their stories and
artwork to an audience of family, friends, and leaders
from the community.
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Under instruction from Mr. Scott to imagine the future of
their communities, and with the support of their BNW volunteer
mentors, the children produced a remarkable collection of
powerful creative work. The benefits were obvious as
these young people displayed the self-confidence they had
gained in the BNW program by standing proudly before an
audience to read their stories and describe their art,
putting into practice the creative techniques that they
learned in order to share their insights and new vision
for our future.
Our theme for this semester was building a diverse education;
Mr.Scott taught the children not only to envision the future,
but also the tangible steps they must take to achieve it; they
learned about structure and discipline, and the necessity of
having an intention in all that they do. And at our Performance
and Graduation we saw these principles at work; the children
showed a profound awareness of how their plans for a diverse
education will help them to accomplish their goals.
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The children's dreams for the future...
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It was a privilege to witness the children stand on the stage at this event and share what they had to say. Here are a few of the remarkable ideas the children put forth: ideas for curing illness, for reducing crime, for improving education, for breaking down barriers of language and culture, and for bringing their light and hope into the world. Taniyah Pratt, age 10 dreams of designing her own fashion line... 'I think when you draw, you should do it from your heart. I draw from what I see and feel to express my feelings. I want people to believe in my creation and imagination. I want people to respect my art and enjoy wearing my clothes anywhere they want.' Zaire Jones, age 11, envisions a future as a teacher and agent for positive change... 'The way I’m going to accomplish my goal is to get a Diverse Education. I will study global warming. I will study science, chemicals, elements and dense matter. I will also study people from history who have worked for peace, like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Thurman, and Nelson Mandela.
I will help teach others that we can change our lives and make the
world happy instead of fighting. Together, we can impact and
change the world.'
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Ja-Red Leacraft, age 11, envisions a diverse future as an FBI agent, wrestler and rapper... 'I want to be a role model to inspire other people. As an FBI agent, I will be kind and supportive, and I will serve our country. I want to help the elderly and protect the weak.
Being a wrestler will help me develop confidence,
bravery and courage, which are important for me to follow
my other dreams. If I am a wrestler, people do not have to
be afraid of anything because I will protect them.
As a rapper, I will communicate with the world, to
inspire people by my songs. I will inspire little children
to achieve their dreams, as long as they put their minds
to it. They should never give up their dreams. In addition,
I want to inspire kids about helping the homeless by giving
them food and money, helping them raise a charity and
become a volunteer.'
Shamel King, age 9 dreams of a future of healing through food and laughter... 'I will help sick people with special medicines that I will put in my food and desserts. I will have comedy shows to make people laugh because I believe laughter is healthy for the soul. I will have a pool with my medicines that absorb into their bodies.' |
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Here at the Actors Theatre Workshop we have been privileged to witness firsthand what can happen when the potential of these brilliant young people is recognized, supported, and nurtured. The children came to us with great passion and a powerful thirst for knowledge; and because of the discipline and unique structure of the Builders of the New World program, they’ve been able to absorb what they’ve learned, channel their passion, and put forth their ideas into the world. They are a powerful testament to hope, and we have no doubt of the great things they’ll go on to accomplish. We would like to thank everyone who made this program possible, including our staff; our wonderful team of volunteer mentors, who came from leading corporations and have a wide range of backgrounds; Brian from Empire Cut Flowers, who donated bouquets every week to help create a more welcoming environment; and the chaperones from the Regent Family Living Center, who worked closely with us to make sure that the children arrived safely for each program session. We'd also like to extend a very special thanks to all of the local restaurants who generously donated delicious, nutritious meals that we served to the children family-style at each program session. Because we appreciate the support of our restaurant partners so deeply, we will be sending you a special edition of our newsletter devoted exclusively to them. Expect this soon! |
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Looking forward...
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Work is already underway for our next session of BNW, which we plan to make even bigger by incorporating additional housing facilities from the five boroughs. At our Performance and Graduation we saw the tremendous things that the brilliant young people from the Regent Family Living Center can bring about; next spring, we hope to expand the program to its previous size and accomplish this work with children from three different facilities. But we need your support to make this happen! Consider donating your time and talents as a volunteer for this life-changing program. For more information, please visit our website, or contact us at (212) 947-1386 or outreach@actorstheatreworkshop.com. Or consider making a financial contribution: click here to donate online, or here for a printable donation form. |
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In addition, we’re excited to announce the launch of our Builders of
the New World Crowd Funding Campaign. We hope to raise funds to help meet
the wide range of expenses that we incur in order to deliver the program,
including t-shirts for the children’s final performance, art and writing
supplies, video equipment to document the program, and rent expense to keep the
doors of our lovely theatre facility wide open in welcome for our after-school sessions.
Please stay tuned for more details so you can help make this campaign a success.
The Actors Theatre Workshop is a nonprofit company that relies on
the continued support of our friends and fellow community members;
none of the work we do would be possible without your generosity.
Please contribute because you, too, have a stake in this work,
and you, too, are a part of our vision for building a brighter future.
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Sincerely, Your friends at The Actors Theatre Workshop |
Join Us!!
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