Service Learning in the Bronx:
Student Honors MLK Day with Poem

Rahni Davis is a student at Banana Kelly in the Bronx, where buildOn is transforming classrooms with service learning programs. During a Martin Luther King Day service event, students were encouraged to respond to Dr. King’s legacy creatively, and Rahni decided to write a poem. Below, she performs it to preserve Dr. King’s memory and remind us of the work that still needs to be done.

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In Uncategorized

buildOn Employee Alex Peay Wins Grant for Working
with Youth in Philly

Today, buildOn is very excited to recognize the achievement of one of our Philadelphia program coordinators, Alex Peay! Peay and his grassroots organization Rising Sons, whose mission is very close to buildOn’s heart, has just been awarded a grant through Philly’s Black Male Engagement project.

In 2007, Alex was an undergrad at Ursinus College with aspirations to attend law school, but witnessing a racial incident on campus changed all of that. According to the Rising Sons website, the group began “as a small discussion group within the Black and Latino male population” and “was created to address the lack of support and unity among underprivileged minorities at Ursinus College.”

The organization amassed many dedicated volunteers, and after graduation, Peay journeyed into the heart of Philadelphia to bring Rising Sons to innercity high schools. Today, they’re engaging black, male high school students with an array of programs like youth mentoring, community outreach, performing arts, and computer programming. They also facilitate outreach events such as feeding the homeless in Center City, Philadelphia, clothing and canned food drives, and a holiday extravaganza for young children residing in nearby impoverished neighborhoods.

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In Afterschool Youth Empowerment, buildOn In The News

Service Learning in the Bronx:
10th Grade Science Classes Empowered by
Teen Health Speaker

Earlier this year the Youth Engagement Zone at Banana Kelly had the great pleasure of bringing Estelle Raboni, Program Manager of Changing the Odds, and community health expert, to the 10th grade classes to speak and answer questions. As discussed previously in regards to our 10th grade health survey of the Bronx, this semester has been all about training the class to become independent learners and health advocates at Banana Kelly High, and with this speaker we hoped to personalize the findings made in the community health survey for our students. Asking questions, after all, is a necessary part of community and social growth, and we hoped to empower students to ask whatever questions they might have.

To prepare the students for Estelle’s visit we had them do a question formulation technique exercise which involved brainstorming as many questions as possible about the various health issues they are researching. They were then asked to choose the questions most appropriate to ask an expert. In addition, we went over the results of the surveys they administered in October. We wanted the students to dig deep within themselves and pull out genuine, thoughtful questions in response to their own environment and experience.

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In Afterschool Youth Empowerment, Youth Engagement Zone

Service Round-up: Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend

In San Francisco and Oakland, students dismantled recycled computers. Others worked at Land’s End Park, gardening and landscaping. Students also put on a “fun day” for refugee youth at a local shelter. Still others joined the 14th annual MLK celebration in the East Bay and contributed to an “I Have A Dream…” mural!

In Chicago, students made a mosaic portrait of Dr. King out of dominoes. They also made “origami cranes for peace”. Still others beautified a YMCA on Chicago’s west side – where MLK once lived – with the help of Mayor Rahm Emanuel!

In Detroit, students joined thousands in celebration at Union Station before volunteering with seniors in honor of Dr. King’s memory. Others participated in a “poverty simulation” to raise awareness for those living below the poverty line!

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In Afterschool Youth Empowerment, Community Service Days, buildOn In The News

buildOn in Haiti, Two Years After the Earthquake

On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake devastated the developing country of Haiti. Cities like Port-au-Prince were ravaged, with the seismic disturbance leveling many historic and commercial districts, but those living in poverty outside of the island’s metropolitan areas arguably suffered the most–what few possessions they had were destroyed along with their ramshackle homes, and they had little access to medical care or shelters.

buildOn has been constructing schools in Haiti since 2001, and we considered ourselves fortunate to be able to serve the country’s people during their time of need. We had a team working through the emergency who used many buildOn-made schools as shelters. The same team remains in Haiti today, building schools and bettering lives. Here are some reflections from the past year on our work in Haiti.

Haiti, One Year Later

When I asked my close friend and buildOn colleague, Clerge Garry, how he reflects on our time establishing a health clinic for earthquake victims near the epicenter in Carrefour he said, “I’ll remember the feeling that I had knowing that I was helping my country. As Haitians, we were proud to be able aide our countrymen. It was the most important thing that we’ve done in our lives, and it makes me believe that we as Haitians can work together to make our country a better place.”

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In International School Construction

Weekend Service Round-up for January 9th, 2011

Oakland – buildOn students prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give to those in need on the streets of Berkeley!

San Francisco – Teens make a delicious meal for the families of sick children at Ronald McDonald House!

Chicago – Students from Payton High School tutor adult immigrants studying for their citizenship exam!

Philadelphia – buildOn students help sort 11,000 pounds of food at Philabundance!

New York City – Students of the Bronx’s Banana Kelly High School interact with senior citizens at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home. They bowl, as well as play chess, Trouble, and checkers!

In Uncategorized

The YEZ at Banana Kelly: Service as An Alternative to Suspension

Welcome to the first Youth Engagement Zone blog post of the new year! We’re excited to be back at Banana Kelly High School in the Bronx for the spring semester, and I’d like to discuss in today’s entry some of the less traditional or obvious ways the YEZ model can allow us to have an impact on school culture and environment. Because we are in the school full time, and co-teaching service-learning classes, we are able to get to know students and connect with them on a variety of levels, including academic and more casual interactions.

I first met Willis Cash, a Banana Kelly student, on a service learning trip with the high school’s 9th grade class. After that, I began to recognize him around the school–hanging out with the YEZ at the student store on certain days, for example. I had a few casual conversations with him and made it clear that he was always free to interact with us in his free time. One day, I noticed that Willis was looking particularly upset, and I asked him what was wrong. He told me that he’d had an incident with another student and was going to be suspended as a result.

I knew that Cash (he sometimes goes by his last name) was a good kid and felt that suspension would do more harm that good, and would definitely not serve him. I talked to the school’s dean and devised a second option for Cash: He could be suspended, or do community service with us on Saturday. In other circumstances, this would be harder to advocate for, but since Willis had no prior incidents, the dean agreed.

“I took the community service,” Cash says now. “It turned about to be a great thing to do.”

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In Youth Engagement Zone

Behind the Scenes in Nepal: Dalmar Nation

buildOn’s newly released PSA can now be seen on Youtube with an introduction from TODAY show anchor Ann Curry! To tell the story of youth from the innercity joining forces with remote villagers worldwide, we took a camera crew on an incredible journey with us from one of the United States’ toughest neighborhoods in the Bronx all the way to Nepal. In that beautiful, mountainous country, high school students from NYC constructed buildOn’s 400th global school alongside local community members who had been waiting and hoping for a way to educate themselves and their children for their entire lives.

Dalmar Nation, from the Bronx, was on that trip, and is one of the stars of the new buildOn video. We talked to Dalmar to get an inside look at the experience of trekking halfway across the world with a production team to build a school!

How did you get involved in buildOn?

A friend of mine inspired me to go. She said that the program allowed you to help people in Brooklyn, and I thought it sounded cool. I like helping people. One of the first meetings I went to was a coastal cleanup–we went to Brighton Beach to clean. It was an awesome day of cleaning up, on the beach, with friends. And then I just started going to more projects and more projects, and it sounded like a fun program to join.

What were your first thoughts after being chosen to go on the school building trip to Nepal?

I didn’t know what to expect. I really didn’t. I’d never been out of the country before. And when we got there, there was no pavement on the road, there was mud everywhere. I was like, “wow”. And we were there to build a school. It was an exciting challenge.

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In 20th Anniversary, Afterschool Youth Empowerment, International School Construction

They buildOn: Luis Alonso’s Story Part II
“Nothing Short of Empowering”

Raised in the South Bronx and placed in foster care before he entered his inner-city high school, Luis was statistically more likely to end up in jail than graduate. But instead of succumbing to the challenges he faced, Luis took control of his own life by helping others through buildOn. We described the first part of his incredible high school experience here.

For a student like Luis who had once received many of his meals at food pantries and soup kitchens, the opportunity to serve others in the same situation was nothing short of empowering.

“I had prior experience with soup kitchens myself while living with my father,” Luis said, “but I never expected to be on the other side of the line – serving food to people who were once in my predicament. The sheer amount of people who came gave me insight into the real problem of poverty, and made me feel grateful. I will never forget my experience there.”

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In 20th Anniversary, Afterschool Youth Empowerment

buildOn Employee of the Month Crystal Collins Inspires Teens to Inspire Each Other

“Crystal is just awesome,” says buildOn’s Program Director in Philadelphia, Joanna Branch. “She has, on more than one occasion, come into my office excited about cheers she’s created about buildOn.” Branch’s smile widens. “She always performs them for me.”

Crystal Collins, a youth service program coordinator from Philly, is buildOn’s Employee of the Month. She was hired a year and a half ago as a part-time employee, and came on fully in the spring of 2011. Since then, she has made invaluable contributions to our growing Philly youth service programs, planning countless projects, inspiring countless students, and approaching countless tasks with infectious effervescence.

Branch, in fact, has trouble summing up Collins’ achievements concisely, but usually starts by describing the many service projects she’s orchestrated, including the “Abolish the R Word” challenge. “After spending a day volunteering at the Special Olympics, Collins’ students learned about how hurtful the ‘r’ word is, and were challenged to bring the message back to their schools. The student enthusiasm surrounding this initiative has been outstanding. Some made T-Shirts, some made videos, some made stickers…. Crystal’s vision was key to allowing the student voices to shine.”

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In Afterschool Youth Empowerment, International School Construction