We’re very excited to announce that buildOn is partnering with entertainment icon Madonna and her nonprofit Raising Malawi to construct ten new primary schools in the country of Malawi! Their contribution will allow us to expand on our success in that African nation’s remote villages, where we’ve already built over 50 schools that are helping individuals take the first steps out of extreme poverty every day.

Read more about this partnership in the official press release.

buildOn’s global school construction program is founded upon a core methodology produced from years of research. Our methodology’s true power resides in the fact that buildOn classrooms are constructed in partnership with the very people who will be benefiting from them. buildOn provides the funding, engineering, materials, skilled labor and supervision. The village provides a gender balanced leadership team, thousands of hours of unskilled volunteer labor and a promise that girls will attend the school in equal numbers with boys. After the school is completed, Malawi’s Ministry of Education will provide the teachers and run the curriculum in the classroom.

Read more about our methodology.

Madonna feels passionately about her vow to help Malawi’s neediest children receive an education. “This remains a very big priority in my life and I am excited that with the help of buildOn we can maintain our ongoing commitment to move forward efficiently. We now will be able to serve twice as many children as we would have served with our old approach,” said Madonna. “I have learned a great deal over the last few years and feel confident that we can reach our goals to educate children in Malawi, especially young girls, in a much more practical way. Constructing smaller schools in partnership with buildOn has restored my faith that we can accomplish what we promised we would,” concluded Madonna.

Consistently ranked among the world’s 20 least developed countries on the UN’s Human Development Index, Malawi has long been challenged by economic stagnation and a lack of access to education. With support from Raising Malawi, we will leverage our 19 years of experience in Malawi to construct 10 new schools with the capacity to educate at least 1,000 children per year, half of whom are girls. Malawi has over a half a million children orphaned from the Aids epidemic. Raising Malawi has helped support many of these children for the last several years through various programs.

Read more about the obstacles Malawi faces on our blog, and how education can help.

“Because of Madonna and Raising Malawi’s support, we will be able to build schools for children that the rest of the world has left behind. Generations of children will have access to education and be empowered to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations,” said Jim Ziolkowski, our Founder and CEO.

About Raising Malawi: Raising Malawi was founded in 2006 to bring an end to the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi’s 1.4 million orphans and vulnerable children. Raising Malawi supports community-based organizations that provide these children and their caregivers with critical resources including food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, and psychosocial support.

With the snow that fell two weeks ago melted, our students were back in action across the nation with service projects. Here’s an update from some of our regions:

San Francisco: Bay Area youth spent Saturday learning about human trafficking through a partnership with Girls Inc. They ended the day by raising awareness for the issue by writing chalk messages on sidewalks!

Chicago: Students rose early to distribute food from a pantry to those in need.

Detroit: At Detroit’s 2nd annual service party, students made friendship bracelets and cards of encouragement for homeless teens. Other students prepared for their school-building trip to Haiti in two weeks. Still others made catnip toys for cats at the Michigan Humane Society.

Philadelphia: buildOn students, along with regional ministries, served dinner to over 200 homeless individuals.

South Connecticut: Students enjoyed an indoor service fair where they made issues posters to hang at their schools and worked on other projects!

Indoor Service Fair in Connecticut!

The year: 1963.
THERE, MR. KING WAS TO BE.
EXCUSE ME THE REVEREND AND THE DOCTOR,
YA KNOW.. REVERENDS ? THE MINISTER. Someone who is authorized by god to speak into or to reach out to others.
And Yes, all he wanted was racial equality.
And for his four children to see the daylight of his people’s sanity.
Because god didn’t make me black and you white so you could act inhumane to me.
Just so we could all praise his name together.
In any weather, for any reason, just to say – I thank you god, you are worthy.
And here we are today, standing in front of gods worthy eyes.
Making the worst impression, the most lies, the greatest iniquity.
Massive stupidity, towards the all high kingdom.
He sits there quietly, grasping how his people could be so disappointing, but finally digests it with a nod.
But back to Martin, yes. He fought.
Long, hard years. Walking… up and down roads and sidewalks into and out of schools.
How could we be such fools?
Not to comprehend such an intellect reason of why me and you are no different.
Sad to say Martins dream never came true.
I mourn inside to think that we had so much power, but this is still going on.
Dr. King had the power, ability, capacity, nevertheless.. a dream.
So can we make this dream come to reality?
The days are dwindling, the nights are darker than ever……..

but I have faith.
And on this day, I say I have a dream to make someone else’s dream come true.

- by Banana Kelly Freshman Rahni Davis

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.

Peay humbly reacted to the achievement over the phone. “It just shows that our hard work is paying off. We dedicate hours and hours to make sure our programs are running efficiently. It feels good to know it’s paying off. I mean, to think that 5 years ago I wanted to go to law school & had no knowledge of nonprofit work but came to Philly and started this…it’s incredible to get this kind of support. It’s going to allow us to make an even bigger impact.”

Congratulations to Alex and to Rising Sons, an organization that — like buildOn — recognizes that the key to changing the innercity lies in the potential of urban youth.

Follow Rising Sons on Twitter.

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.

Estelle Raboni Teaches Banana Kelly About Sexual Health

Estelle’s area of expertise is teen sexual health, and she began with a short presentation on this topic. Students then wrote down questions on index cards, and submitted them anonymously. Several lively, informative discussions ensued. The students were excited at the freedom to ask any question they wanted – no questions were wrong or “not allowed”. Many of the teens had never felt entitled to accurate health information previously, and we wanted to empower them to acquire accurate information and motivate them to spread that knowledge to others.

Estelle is a remarkable facilitator: direct and compassionate. We believe with this kind of frank discussion, students will be more likely to ask questions and seek information in the future. Watch a student reaction to the service learning class below!

Fun Day in Oakland with Refugee Children

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!

In Philadelphia, students volunteered at Jane Addams Shelter and celebrated Dr. King’s memory with kids in need!

MLK Day at Philly's Liberty Museum

In New York, our interns from the Bronx spent the day at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Other helped beautify other neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx to honor Dr. King’s memory.

MLK as Dominoes!

What did YOU do?

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.”

A Trip to a Haitian Bakery

“All of our school building trips involve cultural activities — visits to local midwifes, landmarks, and more that provide a deeper understanding of the way people in remote villages live. One of the cultural activities offered in Haiti was a trip to the local baker — a man who bakes bread twice a week using a huge concrete oven in the back of his home.”

buildOn’s Students Construct a School in Haiti

“This trip showed me the strength of our methodology. On our first workday, there were 250 people working alongside us to build the school! It was amazing to see all ages working on the school. We had the president of a women’s group 300 people strong walking across the river to collect sand and rocks. We had young men and old men swinging pick axes and both men and women digging. There was even a guy walking around with a bull horn motivating people to join in. At the end of the day, it was 250 VOLUNTEERING to build a school. TOGETHER we had completed 3 days of work on the first day!”

Haiti Student Scrapbook

“One night our host family said they were going to play Konpa music for us, and then took out 3 buckets and found some branches and started playing. There was a singer and 3 drummers making beats. We danced all night with our host family, making our host dad dance with our host mom. Our host sisters were cracking up.”

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

Service in San Francisco

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!

Service in Berkeley

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!

Willis Cash with YEZ Coordinator Haddi Waggeh

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.”

Cash’s first service project would prove transformative. We went to a local soup kitchen in the Bronx, and Cash helped us serve food. “I got a smile on my face doing it,” Cash later remarked. “I see that the food makes people happy, and that makes me happy. I like how I can give back to the community, to people who don’t have access to food.”

Cash only had to attend a single service project to avoid suspension, but he has attended every Banana Kelly Saturday service project since that incident. What started as a punishment has provided Cash with a validating activity that allow him to meaningfully interact with both his school and his community. And none of this would have happened had Cash been suspended. There is an astonishing amount of research that highlights the negative academic, social, and health effects of harsh school disciplinary practices, and the increased drop out rates of suspended and expelled students. We didn’t want Cash, or any other student for that matter, to go down that path. We hope that by providing an alternative, fewer students will be suspended at Banana Kelly High School.

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.

What was it like staying with a village family in Nepal?

Everything was different there. The food was different. I’m not a vegetarian, but when I was over there, we never touched meat. I missed it so much. But it was great because I got to communicate with the villagers, eat their food, and really get to know them. I kept thinking, “These people are too nice. They’re really too nice.” It was an incredible experience. A different culture, a different place, a different time.

Ram Dulari, Dalmar, and Dehendra

What was your experience like being featured in the video?

My dream is to become an actor. So when they asked me to be in the video I thought, “why not start there?” Luca, the guy who filmed me, had me do a lot of tough stuff on camera–moving sand and mixing cement. I didn’t know how to do those things at first. I learned so much over there. I felt much more at ease with myself in Nepal because you don’t have the same resources there that you have here in the states, but there’s less to worry about. Less stress.

On screen, you have a relationship with a Nepali boy named Dehendra. Was there a relationship offscreen?

Definitely! Off screen, he’s a funny kid. Every time I see him he’s got a smile on his face. And he’s got this incredible conviction…I taught him some words in English and he was using them pretty quickly. We played soccer together. He was so awesome, really helpful. I was glad he was in the video with me.

Has the school building trip influenced any of your daily life since you’ve returned?

I try to eat fewer fattening foods, like McDonald’s and crackers. I got tired of eating that stuff after eating nothing but vegetables in Nepal. I eat a lot of whole wheat and vegetables now.

You’re a senior–where do you want to go from here?

I’d like to be a bio-med engineer. My dream is to travel the world and discover different methods of treating the body from different cultures. I feel like I’d live longer and look younger longer if I lived in Nepal. Even the elderly women that helped us build the school had so much strength. They look younger than they are. There’s wisdom there.

Watch the video below and look out for Dalmar!

]]> http://buildonfromthefield.org/2011/12/29/behind-the-scenes-in-nepal-dalmar-nation/feed/ 0 http://buildonfromthefield.org/2011/12/28/they-buildon-luis-alonsos-story-part-ii-nothing-short-of-empowering/ http://buildonfromthefield.org/2011/12/28/they-buildon-luis-alonsos-story-part-ii-nothing-short-of-empowering/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:09:54 +0000 Joseph Jon Lanthier http://buildonfromthefield.org/?p=5975

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.”

Through buildOn, he had come full circle and was able to show others the generosity and respect that was given to him in some of his most difficult days. Through this act of service, and the many more he would complete with buildOn, Luis realized he had the power to make things better for others as well as himself.

Why do we believe urban youth like Luis can change the world? Because we see them do it every day.

Through buildOn’s afterschool program urban youth like Luis spend their afternoons, evenings and weekends serving others and learning they can make change in their world and in their own lives.

“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.”

Collins organized this service project with the Special Olympics

Programs like the above that combine activism and education are Collins’ metier. Once an anthropology major, she felt a passion for social change growing within her while studying abroad in Guatemala. “We had to go into ancient temples and learn about a lot of oppressive political things that had happened to maintain poverty among indigenous people there. I decided I didn’t just want to write about these issues: I wanted to help.” After graduation, Collins did a stint as an urban volunteer in Philadelphia with Americorps, tutoring in ethnically diverse high schools. This experience made her a natural fit for buildOn’s culture.

“buildOn is so inherently diverse,” Collins says. “I love working with such a diverse student body, they’re really accepting, and open. I love being able to witness those transformative moments they have. The first time I went to a men’s shelter with buildOn, I could see conversations clicking between students and the men they were serving food to. It was incredible.”

Crystal Poses with her Cat, Mao

Many of Collins’ favorite service projects, and the ones that she feels have made the most impact, are those that empower the students to create change within their environments, within themselves, and within each other. Branch adds that “the strongest feature of Crystal’s programs is their authentic student leadership. Crystal is always pushing students to take on responsibility. When you visit Crystal’s programs, the students are always in the front of the room learning how to command attention.”

“For the holidays this year,” Collins comments, “I asked buildOn members at my schools to write notes to their student officers, the heads of each high school program. The officers are really self-critical, despite the great work they do. One student who exhibited some problematic behavior through the year wrote about how if it weren’t for the officers, he wouldn’t understand the difference he can make with service.

“Being able to support students to empower each other is more important than me empowering them,” she says. “I almost cried when I read that.” The same student, after praising his officers, also thanked Collins. “Your energy at every meeting and event is what brings smiles to the kids in buildOn,” he said.

“The best thing about this job is that I’m just as stoked about it as the kids,” Collins proclaims. “I know the work I do is so much bigger than me. Not a lot of people can say that about their jobs. The best part is coming in at the start of the day and getting a really good idea for the kids. I’ll get butterflies in my stomach. I get really excited.”

Thanksgiving Service Chefs!

The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund is celebrating it’s 100th year and as part of their celebration they wanted to partner with NYC Service and engage high school youth in meaningful service. Together, they created a fantastic set of celebratory projects happening during the 2011 holiday season. Everything was set and all that was left was finding students to take part in the exciting service events. After having mixed results trying to recruit students from targeted high schools for service, someone thought of buildOn.

When originally approached, buildOn was asked to recruit students for three events, but within a couple of weeks that list had doubled. Around 50 buildOn students from schools in Manhattan & Brooklyn helped to put on six different events occurring in three different boroughs.

Students have prepared and served four holiday meals in partnership with the Children’s Aid Society & Masbia as well as to put on two holiday parties while working with Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens. They did this in addition to all the service and work that they normally do each week but with so much more enthusiasm and excitement.

Perhaps the best example of how amazing the students have been during these holiday celebrations took place on November 23rd, or the eve of Thanksgiving. A group of 14 students from Frederick Douglass Academy traveled to the Dunlevy Milbank Center to help prepare and serve a Thanksgiving meal to children taking part in an after school program as well as local community members. The buildOn students originally expected to only be at the event until six o’clock but upon arriving were asked if they could stay longer. Every single student said yes without hesitation. The students spent their time not only preparing and serving food but also helping to clean the center itself. As the dinners ended, the students were told they could return to their homes but again they said that they would stay until everything was completed.

Julia Morales from PACE HS Listens to Food-Serving Tips

During the cleanup, a couple of students noticed that a lot of food was leftover & asked what was going to be done with it. A staff member told them the food would simply be thrown away but that they were welcome to it if they wanted it. So, on their own, the students took several trays of unused food and began to visit shelters to see if any of them could make use of the food surplus. When their arms were tired from carrying the food, they were able to flag down a taxi and convince him to take them to a nearby shelter without charging them a fare. It took them three shelters to get rid of all of their trays of food but all they could think about was what they had accomplished and how much fun they’d been having.

The tireless energy of students like these has helped to make these NY Times Neediest Cases events a tremendous success. A huge thank you to the students from PACE High School, Frederick Douglass Academy, Manhattan Center for Science & Math, Stuyvesant High School, The International Arts & Business School & The Grand Street Campus who took part in these events for their continued dedication to service & buildOn. You are the true leaders of today.

Every single weekend, buildOn’s youth service students across the nation are out in their communities volunteering – working at soup kitchens and senior centers, tutoring disabled children, and completing dozens of other great activities. But this last weekend was particularly special. During the Saturday and Sunday before the US went on its 2011 winter vacation, we engaged hundreds of students in a wide variety of fun, empowering, and socially conscious service projects. Here’s what every corner of the buildOn nation was doing!

San Francisco: Teens in San Francisco volunteered at Golden Gate Park to help preserve their bison paddock. They even got to welcome a new baby bison to the park! Others volunteered with Compass Family Services, an organization helping out families in need.

Chicago: Some Chicago students were engaged at a local senior centers, cooking up an eggs and bacon breakfast before playing rounds of bingo! Others toured Chicago’s rehab and senior centers, singing carols to spread the holiday spirit.

Students in Philly sing Carols on the West Side

Detroit: In Dearborn Heights, MI, students volunteered with the local firefighters, preparing a chili lunch and enjoying a meet and greet. 22 other students delivered 800 holiday meals to seniors in need.

Philadephia: Students wrapped donated gifts at a Barnes and Noble in Center City, PA. Others made pancakes at Philly’s Ronald McDonald House. Still others wrote letters and sent books to prison inmates with the group Books Through Bars on Baltimore Ave. And still more went ice skating with kids from a local homeless shelter and sang carols door to door in a West Philly neighborhood!

New York: At St. Clements Food Pantry, students handed out food to community members in difficult situations. Others helped plant almost 2,000 daffodil buds in the Bronx!

Stamford: Students wrapped gifts for 2,750 children with St. Luke’s Lifeworks, conducted a holiday social at a local senior center, and served meals to over 300 at the Jackie Robinson Park of Fame Christmas Extravaganza!

Students in Stamford Wrap Donated Gifts for Children in Need!

buildOn Students Cheering at the Special Olympics

Students then took this challenge back to their schools where they all created their own unique campaigns to help Spread the Word to End the R-Word. Each school that participated came up with creative ways to engage their student body and inform them about why they should think before they use the word “retard(ed)”. Students made banners, posters, stickers and T-shirts advocating against the use of the r-word.

“At my school we dedicated a wall in the school entrance and covered it with posters showing statistics, such as the number of intellectually challenged people in the world,” commented Shamarlon Yates from the Science Leadership Academy. “In the middle of the wall we included a petition for students and faculty to sign where they’d pledge to stop using the R-word. We got a lot of people to sign!”

I asked Yates why he feels the R-word should be abolished. “I didn’t know that 1/3 of the population is disabled,” he said. “The R-word is something that’s really grown…especially at schools. I think people say it without even thinking. I’ve said it before. And after reading the facts, I felt bad…I wanted to change the way people think. We should really think more before we speak.”

As we move into the holiday season, we’d like to pay tribute to some of the buildOn students who have truly proved the effectiveness of our programming. Luis Alonso is one of those students. He found the strength to endure very difficult personal trials by reaching out to his community through buildOn’s afterschool youth service program. Below, Luis tells the first part of his story in his own words.

My name is Luis Alonso and I spent the majority of my adolescence in the foster care system. I was placed in the system because of some very difficult family issues, and then my dad died before I reached high school. The odds were stacked against me. Growing up I had no convictions to follow, no ideal to pursue, no purpose in my life. I was a lost soul in the woods of darkness. Then my freshman year of high school, I found buildOn. That year I contributed over 150 hours of service to my community.

Then, my sophomore year, life became difficult. My relationship with my foster parent was deteriorating. She would refuse to give me money for transportation to and from community service events. She lied to me frequently. She sent me to a mental ward even though I had no mental illness, and she would never give me recognition for my accomplishments. Of course she would refuse to allow me to make a difference in the lives of other people.

My buildOn program coordinator was questioning why I no longer participated in service activities – for three straight months I did not attend a single project. But during that time, my perception of buildOn, community service, and myself changed drastically. Originally, I only participated in events to accumulate the hours I needed to graduate.

I did not fully understand the social impact I had on my community. I now realized that community service is something greater then I had ever imagined, and that buildOn’s goal of promoting volunteerism to children like me was nothing short of honorable, noble, and just. With this inspiration, my brother and I advocated to leave our foster home and be placed in a new one.

After moving to a new foster home, I was more committed to service than ever before. I became president of the buildOn program at my school and engaged in every service activity I could.

Check back next week for the second part of Luis Alonso’s story!

The store is now finishing its second semester of operation, and the response has been overwhelming. YEZ Program Coordinator Joahan Suarez has been managing this effort, and here’s his report on the last 4 months of the store’s life.

———

All Employees at the Store Have the Responsibility of Handling Profits

On Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s during the hours of 11:55am – 12:35pm, Banana Kelly’s room 313 is one of the coolest spots in school. As soon as students go on lunch break, they visit the YEZ store to buy under-200 calorie bags of chips, string cheese, fruit snacks, water, and 100% fruit juice, and the newly-added honey bun. While they eat these items, they make new friends, catch up with old ones, and sign up for community service projects.

Since its inception, the store has seen a lot of changes. Its popularity around the school is evident from the large amount of clients it receives during the day. And while it began as a project specifically for 9th and 10th grade boys, the store now has two female students who have already provided key ideas.

But the story of the store is perhaps best told by considering those who work there. Jerry Canela, for example, is one of our managers. He has been present every single day during store hours, and has been very good at providing ideas to increase clientele. His charming demeanor has brought in customers and employee applicants. Jerry has been literally the first person in the room helping me set up every day this year; he loves working at the store so much that he now comes to school every day.

The Student Store has Many Items for Banana Kelly's Student Body to Choose From

Rudy Paulino also started this year as a School Store Manager. Rudy has been a difficult student to engage; he has a lot going on at home, and is prone to outbursts and social disagreements. The week before Halloween, Rudy was unfortunately disrespectful to the store staff, and as a result he was forced to step down as manager until he could address his behavioral problems. At first he was reluctant to do so, but the incentive of working at the store proved effective. He discussed his issues with Stephanie and myself, which is a huge step for a student like him. Since then Rudy has been more focused in class, he has been behaving better with other students and teachers, and his presence in this room is generally more positive.

Yestiny and Jessica are 9th graders, the very first two female applicants ever to work in the store. When Yestiny first approached Stephanie and myself about a position, we explained to her that the school store was created for “hard-to-engage boys who don’t like to come to school”. “Well, I’m a ‘hard-to-engage girl who doesn’t like to come to school,’ ” she replied. Stephanie and I were so shocked by her answer that we decided to allow her to apply. She was accepted, and has enjoyed the experience of working at the store so much that she decided to invite her friend Jessica to the staff. They both have provided critical ideas for the school store, for example adding a third table for miscellaneous materials such as small bottles of lotions, hand sanitizers, hair ties, and gel pens. The store is looking to start the brand new year with a third table selling these goods to the student body.

We are proud to have made a difference in these students’ academic experience with Banana Kelly’s student store. We look forward to engaging even more students in 2012 – among our plans are a series of “financial literacy” workshops to supplement our employees’ work! Look out for the next student store update!

From a buildOn Celebration in San Francisco

It has been twenty years of building a movement for buildOn. Twenty years of weekends spent doing community service. Twenty years of summers spent in third-world countries helping build schools. That is what twenty years have been like for the students who were and are a part of buildOn. And in those twenty years, approximately 852,775 hours have been served; 64,546 have been educated globally; 427 schools have been built in 9 developing countries; and 1,611,707 lives have been touched.

buildOn, as described by its website, is not a charity but rather a movement. It is an afterschool activity that encourages its members to participate in community service, during the weekend. During the summer, a few students have been picked from schools that buildOn has become a part of, to go to third-world countries to help build schools.

In the San Francisco Bay Area alone, buildOn is a part of 16 schools. In the Bay Area, high school graduation rates are descending and buildOn is working to change that. The movement not only exposes them to service around their community, but also to the lack of education and schools in third world countries. This inspires them to do many things, including to stay in school.

Helping out the Homeless in SF

The community service takes place in the vicinity of the school. Members of may go help out the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, once a week. buildOn students also have the chance to interact with other buildOn members from schools beside their own. The activities they take part in are not only fun, but rewarding for both the community and themselves. Such activities include creek cleanups, PB&J sandwich projects, tree-planting, and even volunteering at science fairs. buildOn students gain service hours, friends, and skills.

I joined buildOn, this school year, as a means to involve myself in service in my community. My first project for buildOn was Oakland’s Back to School BBQ. It was an event put on to give away school supplies to children who could not afford it, with funducational booths on the side. Working in the art booth was an amazing experience. I was able to interact with kids and even make new friends. Being exposed to this kind of service made me want to do more.

The community services always vary. The next project I went to was a creek cleanup. It involved pulling weeds and other invasive species that took over a creek. I remember getting a splinter but enjoying it all the same. I have done many community services for buildOn since then and I have had a lot of fun doing each and every one. However, I had the most fun participating in the PB&J sandwich project in San Francisco. The goal was to pass out sandwiches to people in need. I met a variety of people and had a great deal of fun while passing out sandwiches.

From being a part of buildOn, I have learned that no matter how small your actions are towards your community, as long as they are supportive for the members of the community, they will benefit from it.

buildOn is a very important movement for its members and the people. The exposure they give is very significant in their lives. Look at the numbers above. Give a few more years, and the numbers will grow. More hours will be served. More children will be educated. More schools will be built in more developing countries, and more lives will be touched. How will you buildOn?

TODAY co-host Ann Curry has partnered with buildOn to raise awareness of the organization’s school building efforts in developing nations and to help construct a school in rural Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, through Twitter.

In a message to her followers Curry tweeted, “LOVE this: 6 dollars helps build schools all over the world AND helps young Americans rise to greatness: http://bit.ly/rG5aUw”

Twitter users can participate in a retweet contest to help Ann Curry spread the word about buildOn’s “Every Six Days” initiative. The Twitter user who receives the most retweets by December 15th will win a VIP behind the scenes tour of the TODAY Show and the opportunity to meet Ann Curry!

The campaign is raising awareness for buildOn’s ongoing international development efforts. There are over 1 billion people that cannot read or write around the globe. Every six days buildOn breaks ground on a new school that provides an impoverished community with access to education, helping reduce the rate of illiteracy in the world.

buildOn’s “Every Six Days” initiative asks followers to donate just $6 to help build a school in Nepal. This school in Nepal will provide access to education for more than 150 children each year. Donors who pledge $6 or more will receive exclusive email updates with photos directly from the construction site.

To learn more about the “Every Six Days” initiative and for contest details, please visit our site!

The site of buildOn's school in El Trabon

To date, we have sent more than 2,000 high school students from our U.S. programs to the developing countries where we work to help build schools. We know that this experience is transformational for both the buildOn students and the community members in the villages where we work.

But during this trip, there was one student who stood out. This became clear as I spoke to El Trabon community leader Don Antonio. “I was surprised at how hard the students worked,” Don Antonio said. “We were all surprised. They showed great courage and they inspired our community, our children, our parents, and our grandparents. But while we will remember all of the students who traveled from the U.S. to help us build our school, we will specifically remember Gina Bunche. When Gina fist arrived, we thought she was going to be so serious and difficult to get to know. It turned out that she was the opposite. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and she was always smiling and giving encouragement. We can never forget that.”

Gina and a Community Member from El Trabon

When I returned to the United States from my trip to Nicaragua, I called Gina to let her know that she had succeeded as a grassroots ambassador for buildOn and for youth in the United States. While Gina was touched to hear about the impact she made, she was quick to point out that experience and her interaction with the community members of El Trabon made a great impact on her belief system.

“In El Trabon, I was impressed by how much the people were able to accomplish with so little, and I was touched by the genuine hospitality of the community”, Gina told me. “My experience during those two weeks will be something that I have with me for the rest of my life. It gave me perspective, inspiration, and motivation that I will remember forever.”

buildOn’s school building trips overseas have powerful and lasting outcomes, and they are the galvanizing link between buildOn’s U.S. and International Programs. But most importantly, they help us define what we know to be true: That there is a common bond between people like Gina Bunche from the Bronx and Don Antionio from El Trabon, Nicaragua. They are both very intelligent, and they are both capable of making positive change in the world. They just need the opportunity to make that change–and that is why we do what we do at buildOn.

—-

POSTSCRIPT FROM BUILDON’S NICARAGUA PROGRAM DIRECTOR

“I had the opportunity last month to attend the inauguration of the school at El Trabon. Following the inauguration, the buildOn team was invited to have dinner with some of the community leaders. During the dinner and celebration, I was snapping photos of some of the community members when Don Antonio, his wife, and one of their baby girls showed up. We took a couple of pictures, and without even knowing me, they asked, ‘Are you sending these pictures to Gina?’ When some other people heard that name that all began asking if I knew Gina and got really excited. I think this was a great testament to the fact that once buildOn students leave the communities, they are not quickly forgotten.” – Bryan Goldfinger

Stella & Dot previously has donated to buildOn through the sale of their 2011 Mother’s Day bracelets. A group of stylists from Stella & Dot traveled to Nicaragua to help construct a buildOn school later in the year.

“At Stella & Dot, we believe the holidays are about expressing your gratitude and spreading joy by giving to others. We are thrilled to partner with buildOn and our Independent Stylists to donate over 10,000 gifts to girls that might not otherwise be getting one this holiday” said Jessica Herrin, Stella & Dot CEO and Founder.

“buildOn is so excited to receive this generous donation from Stella & Dot this holiday season,” said Abby Hurst, buildOn’s Vice President of U.S. Programs. “Urban teens in buildOn programs volunteer with the same young children week after week through activities like coaching at local recreation centers, or tutoring in neighborhood homeless shelters. Stella and Dot is giving buildOn students the opportunity to celebrate these young children by giving them a beautiful gift.”

To participate in this holiday giving promotion, please visit: www.stelladot.com/content/spreadthelove.

The program will last through Wednesday, December 21, 2011.

Over the last 20 years, buildOn’s mission has inspired the support and passion of many individuals whose enthusiasm has, in turn, rallied the aid of others. But Geoffrey Norman is a special case. “Once you come into contact with buildOn, you get infected with it,” he told me over the phone. “And there’s no known cure!” What he didn’t mention then, but what became clear throughout our conversation, is how quickly one can spread the contagion. A former asset management executive at General Electric who witnessed one of the first presentations that our founder and CEO Jim Ziolkowski gave to the leadership team at GE, Norman inspired his entire family to join the buildOn team.

Norman described his initial meeting with Ziolkowski fondly. “In the early 1990s, probably around ‘93, Jim was invited to present his story to GE Asset Management’s leadership team. He was such a young guy, and spun an incredible story about building schools in places like Nepal. I was intrigued by the story, and impressed by Jim’s passion and charisma. I went up to him afterward and asked if I could help. I still am.”

Norman’s initial relationship with buildOn was as a sort of traffic cop within GE. He arranged meetings between Ziolkowski, COO Marc Friedman, GE leaders, and potential donors, and helped to organize events as well. “But somewhere along the line,” he said, “I became more like a mentor. I counselled Jim early on that despite the great things that were happening, he needed to prepare for growth with a strong team and money to be put away for a rainy day.”

Norman eventually filled a slot on our board of advisors, from which he continues to provide incalculable assistance. As our U.S. afterschool programs were taking off, Norman’s wife Christina also became involved, starting a buildOn program at the high school in which she taught. “My sister and I saw our parents getting involved with buildOn around 15 years ago, I think, when I was 22,” said Norman’s daughter, Catarina Schwab. “I grew up in a very European family. I heard from my parents that living in England and Sweden, the government takes care of things through social services. Neither of them grew up with an organization like buildOn. But my grandparents gave back in other ways–volunteering during WWII, etc. Social good is in our blood.”

The support of Norman, his wife, and his two daughters–Schwab and Camilla Field, both of whom nurtured buildOn’s fundraising presence in the San Francisco Bay Area–has been important to buildOn’s growth. Norman remembers when buildOn events were raising “maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars,” and how he hoped to break that mold. “In 2000 John Myers, also from GE, and I planned a breakfast in New York rather than a dinner in Connecticut. Breakfast was cheaper, and we thought the location would attract a difference audience.” Norman also used a surprise announcement for that year’s honoree to make buildOn’s impact relevant to his corporate audience, amplifying the drama achieved by Ziolkowski when discussing the needs and successes of inner-city high school students and overseas villagers. “Myers, who was the honoree that year, didn’t know was that a school was being dedicated to him in Haiti. He took the stage with his wife and they had their arms around each other when the announcement was made. It was an emotional moment, absolutely astounding, and when it was all over, we’d raised $1.3 million.”

Geoffrey Norman, Catarina Schwab, Camilla Field, and Christina Norman

This emphasis on family is a crucial element of buildOn’s culture, and it’s also part of what inspired Norman’s wife and children to get involved. “It was fun as a family activity,” said Schwab. “Something we could all bond around. When my English grandparents passed away, the buildOn leaders dedicated a school to them…that meant a lot because we all knew that if my grandparents had had a buildOn in their neighborhood, they would have been involved, too.”

Schwab’s participation also grew through the years — the more she heard, the more she wanted to help. “We all went to the Connecticut dinners and I started helping my sister Camilla host the dinners out in the Bay Area as well. Camilla had already been working for buildOn in the Bay Area, drafting applictions for fund grants throughout the country. I remember the first Bay Area dinner I helped with very well. The student speaker was Haben Girma, and she blew me away–the fact that a student who was visually and hearing impaired could do so much for her community, and even go overseas to build a school, just floored me.”

She adds, “We did the Bay Area dinner for a year without a VP. After I was asked to join the regional board, I offered to help the search for candidates and, a few weeks in, I realized that I was interested in the job. So I interviewed for it, and got it! Three years later, we’re so much more than just a dinner on the west coast, and I was really proud to be part of expanding the presence out here. We really understand how programming and development go hand in hand at buildOn.”

Schwab also made the decision last year to embark on a school building trip to Nicaragua, an experience she describes as “life-changing,” and one that cemented the global importance of buildOn’s work for her. “When I said goodbye to my host family at the end of the trip,” she noted, “the mother said that until the school was built they hadn’t felt like part of the world. But now they were going to start writing their history.” She added, “While we were talking, she was holding her baby, and the baby started going to the bathroom down her arm. She continued our conversation without removing her gaze from me and it occurred to me how distracted we are in this culture, always on our cellphones, checking email etc. That memory will always be with me.”

The Extended Norman Family

Both Schwab and Norman hope to make even more memories with buildOn–indeed, the future is much on their minds. Norman continues to provide counsel to our CEO and COO, and Schwab is raising a collection of soon-to-be buildOn supporters. “My son is 5,” Schwab said proudly, “and he tells me he’s going to go and build a school in Nicaragua. He’s seen my photos. That’s the next big step for us: To have a family trip to build a school. I’d love for my immediate family to be able to do that. It’s been such a big part of our lives.”

We’re proud to announce that buildOn has partnered with the new social gaming company SoJo Studios to bring you a Facebook app that lets you complete international outreach from your PC. WeTopia, as it’s called, elevates the fun of game play with friends and family into the joy of helping children around the world.

So how does it work? First, you sign up from Facebook here. Then each player gets to build their own WeTopia world, a children’s utopian village. This includes building houses, shops, and buildings, decorating with flowers, trees, fountains, and pets, and increasing population. By inviting Facebook friends to be “neighbors,” players can venture in to other players’ worlds.

Players reach new levels through different opportunities in the game where they accrue “Goodwill,” “Experience,” “Energy” or “Joy,” that unlock new goods, structures, and decorations that can be used in the game. A charitable aspect underlines the entire game; players have the opportunity to choose what projects Sojo and partners will support.

buildOn will have several different charitable projects available in WeTopia, where you can contribute to a new school for young children in Haiti or help support an afterschool program for struggling teens in innercity Detroit. As you get further along you’ll get updates directly from construction sites and afterschool service project locations — with pictures, video, and text showing the difference your dollars are making on children’s lives!

Join the revolution on Facebook with WeTopia! See you there!

Runners/fundraisers, here’s your chance to make a difference while participating in the oldest marathon race in the United States! Join buildOn’s Boston Marathon team and make a difference in the lives of youth home and abroad! The Boston Chapter of the non-profit organization buildOn is looking for 8 individuals to join our Boston Marathon Team!

With the opportunity to run in the world’s most premier race comes the opportunity expand buildOn’s impact on a local and global level. buildOn’s Boston Marathon team will help globally by raising money to sponsor the construction of community schools in buildOn project countries. In addition, we are making a local impact through sponsoring inner-city high school students from the US to participate in the life changing experience of traveling abroad to assist with the construction of a buildOn school. Our team will help to unlock the potential of under-resourced communities around the globe.

Already have a bib? No problem! Runners who already have bibs are also invited to join our cause!

Learn more here!

Please direct applications and any questions to kristina.s.boston.buildon@gmail.com

Thanks to our legions of supporters, our 2011 buildOn Dinner on November 17th was a huge success, raising $2.3 million – a buildOn event record!

The evening honoring Keith Sherin, Vice-Chairman & CFO of GE, and his wife Janet was attended by 840 supporters from across the country and raised 10% more than the previous event record set at last year’s Dinner.

Savannah Guthrie, of The TODAY Show, hosted the evening’s program, which featured two alumni of buildOn’s afterschool programs. Both Luis Alonso, a recent Bronx buildOn alumnus, and Haben Girma, a 2006 alumnus and current Harvard Law student, shared how buildOn has impacted their lives. You can read both Luis’s and Haben’s stories on our blog.

Honorees Janet and Keith Sherin, and buildOn dinner Emcee Savannah Guthrie of The TODAY Show

buildOn CEO & Founder Jim Ziolkowski spoke passionately about our work over the last year in the Bronx and in Nepal, where we built our 400th school worldwide. He was joined onstage by an emotional group of students who paid tribute to his efforts over the last two decades.

Global Partners for the event included American Airlines, British Airways, CLSA, Deutsche Bank Securities, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, GE, and GE Foundation.

Thank you to all of the sponsors and attendees who helped us celebrate 20 years of building a movement!

Check out photos of attendees, students, and speakers on our Flickr account!

Earlier in November, buildOn students in Oakland and San Francisco attended a writing workshop to explore how community service has affected them personally. The students were broken up into groups (of their own choosing) and worked on poetry, Essay/Story writing against the prompt: “Why do I do community service or why did I join buildOn?”, or art and life maps. Here’s some of what the students produced on this inspiring day!

When I was introduced to buildOn at my high school, the door of opportunity slammed open. This was an opportunity to legitimately do something for others. This was an opportunity of being a part of making a difference in this world of imbalance and inequality. I wanted to be that person I imagined that possessed the good and love of humanity in their souls.

Karren Moore

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Georgia Reid's Life Map

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I Am/ We Are
I am pain & bliss.
I am a Rabbits and a piano.
I am Cambodian with a click of desires.
I am the sound of another who can see me on fire.
I am the one who run through a red forest.
I am too, the one that can hear crying.
I am feeling small right now but someday I’ll open a chest.
I am rhythm that floats in mid air gasping to be visible.
We are the keys and the combinations.
We see sadness and tears chopping out side our community.
We believe that there’s a fire out there that needs to be lit.
We dream to find more knowledge and wisdom within our heart beat.
We fight for more smiles day by day until we could no longer bite.
We change over time as we accept what we see.
We are find and trying.
We are buildOn!

LimHeng Sung

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Growing up in the San Francisco Mission district, I was exposed to drugs, violence, and gangs. After a while I learned to live within it. When I was in 8th grade I moved to Richmond City, which really changed my point of view. I saw how these things really affect other people. Then I asked myself: Why is it normal to see a homeless person on the street? Why don’t people believe that is a problem? Is it a lack of education in the community?

I believe every person beyond the less fortunate deserves a new start. To be able to re-live and be able to feel or do what was missing. All we need is hope and we can change just about anything. There is no need to be shy. Speak loud and free to be heard and change what you believe is wrong. From crime to education problems, even out of the country and poverty around the world. There is no limit to your beliefs. Together we can shape the future however we would like it to be.

Jonathan Aleman

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Alex Faynleyb's Life Map

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I am an inked eraser with lead
I am the blank concrete slate
I am a city in the west
I am the bridge near the golden gates
I am the cultural trail mix
I am part of a system
I am anonymous
I am or am I?
We are Builders with paper and rebels with pens
Who see the silent revolution
We believe in the world around us
We dream the idealistic reality
We fight the invisible shroud covering the abandoned children of the capitalistic society
We change the ends of the means
We are E Pluribus Unum: out of many, one
We are buildOn!

Terence Yang

On November 8, the interns participated in a reflection and lunch. Here’s what four of them had to say in response to questions!

The YEZ's interns discuss challenges and triumphs

What are three things you have learned at your internship?

Anthony: Kids aren’t as bad as you think. They don’t judge and if you’re actually there to help people will be happy to see you.
Yanique: I’ve learned that is it important to help our community members. I’ve also learned that Marcos Crespo is contributing to the community in many different ways. And I’ve learned to act professionally.
Keylen: Three things I have learned at my internship are that teachers have a lot of work when teaching the kids, they need a lot of patience, and they have to get accustomed to the personality of
each child.
Lianabel: The three things I’ve learned at my internship are that teachers have a lot of work besides teaching in class. Kindergarteners cry a lot. Hard work pays off.

What has been the biggest challenge at your internship?

Anthony: Reading in front of a group of four year olds.
Yanique: The biggest challenge is not being bilingual. I think that if I was bilingual I would be able to help more Latinos.
Keylen: The biggest challenge is to find an activity that the kids enjoy and can learn something important from. Because they all like to do different things.
Lianabel: My biggest challenge is fire drills because they are crazy. My other biggest challenge has been having to translate the kids homework into Spanish so the parents can understand.

Has anything surprised you? If so, what?

Anthony: How quickly the kids bond to you.
Keylen: Something that has surprised me is that the children at La Peninsula Head Start are very smart in a unique way. Although they each have their own difficulties, they seem to know a lot about what surrounds them.
Lianabel: What surprised me is that being a teacher isn’t such a bad thing.

The YEZ's 2011 Interns

How would you prepare a peer for this internship? What would you tell him/her?

Anthony: I would just warn them that the kids are all at different stages and to be patient with each child.
Yanique: I would prepare a peer for this internship by informing him/her about the community. I would tell him/her some of the problems in our community and how we could help to solve these problems.
Keylen: I would tell them to be understanding with each kid, and interact with the kids and teachers as much as they can.
Lianabel: I would tell him/her to always go in with a positive attitude, because you’ll always have fun no matter what you’re doing or what class you’re placed in.

Last week, Western International High School’s buildOn program held the first TasteFest of the 2011-2012 school year. At the highly anticipated TasteFest, lines of students and teachers prepare home-cooked meals in an effort to raise money for buildOn’s Global School Construction Program.

Twenty students from buildOn brought food, served fellow classmates and teachers and had a great time during this annual event. Food overflowed: Burritos, Liberian dishes, American fried chicken, mac n’ cheese, peppered steak and rice, potato salad, nachos and salsa, meatballs and mashed potatoes. If that isn’t enough the desserts were abundant and delicious: cupcakes, sweet potato pie, vanilla cake, flan, crepes, cookies and pound cake.

The event fed over 100 people while raising money for the buildOn Global School Construction Program. Western students lead the best TasteFest in the history of buildOn at Western!

Western International High School's full buffet

On Wednesday, October 26, about 85 people gathered at the Palace Ballroom in Seattle for a night of dinner, drinks, a silent auction and an appeal. Auction highlights included David Letterman tickets, a San Diego Getaway, a 4-hour interior design consultation, British Airways Club Class Tickets, and selection of Haitian crafts.

The evening was organized by Seattle Chapter Director and buildOn board member Randi Hedin to raise funds for schools in Haiti. The guests were treated to a Haitian-inspired dinner, while Skyler Badenoch, Director of Development on the east coast, recounted his first-hand experiences of living through the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Skyler and the buildOn staff were among the first to respond in the aftermath. He shared some of his journal entries, which were paired photos he had taken there. He witnessed unimaginable suffering and hardship, but also first-hand experiences of Haitians who stepped up and inspired him with their heroism and courage. “More than anything,” he says, “I’ll remember the tireless effort of the buildOn Haiti staff to provide care to those who passed through our lives.”

Skyler went on to talk about how great the need for education in Haiti is, with 50% of the population illiterate. buildOn has taken strides and has completed 12 schools in Haiti since the earthquake and will complete another 4 by the end of the year. It is with groups like the Seattle chapter, that buildOn is able to continue the efforts in Haiti and build another 2 schools with nearly $73,000 the dinner raised!

Seattle Chapter Director and buildOn Board Member Randi Hedin with COO Marc Friedman with supporters on either side

buildOn COO Marc Friedman with supporters Katie Frink and Mayten Gross

buildOn CEO and Founder Jim Ziolkowski with Randi Hedin and Marc Friedman

Guests were enthusiastic and there was such a great energy in the room. People were engaged by the stories told by Jim and Skyler, and were happy to be out supporting buildOn.

Erica rides a camel in the desert of Qatar

Born and raised under the same roof in Connecticut my entire life, I never pictured myself living in any other country, ever.

buildOn changed my view of what my life could be. At the age of 15 (nine years ago), I got a taste of Nicaragua that left a lasting impression on me. Traveling to Palo Verde, a tiny village of 200 Spanish-speaking, salsa dance-loving, family-oriented, schoolhouse-needing villagers showed me that my actions could make a difference. I mixed my first batch of cement, dug my first latrine, sucked on my first sugarcane stalk, ate my first bean and met the first group of people that directly benefited from my service. buildOn gave me a chance to better understand the win-win situation that is achieved by empowering American students to then help empower communities worldwide.

My path after buildOn has been similarly inspiring. I moved to Education City, in the tiny Muslim country Qatar, to finish my art degree. Living in a Middle-Eastern culture was eye-opening, but traveling with another buildOn-like student group (Reach Out to Asia) to a Cambodian Orphanage reignited my Nicaraguan-inspired spark for international community service.

That’s it! I was on a mission with three-goals in mind:

1 EXPERIENCE THE WORLD
2 BE USEFUL
3 POWERFULLY CREATE THE FUTURE OF MY CHOICE

After graduation, I waited tables just long enough to fund my next adventure: volunteering in extremely-rural Thailand. I earned my TEFL-certification online, then hopped on a plane. Teaching English, living, cooking, eating, singing, dancing and learning from my host family was such a productive way to become instantly enveloped by the Thai community!

Erica with Vincentien Boys Swimming

Choosing to continue to live abroad, but being cautious of my dwindling bank account, I accepted a year-long job teaching English to South Korean elementary school students.

As a fun-loving, adventurous, outgoing, responsible traveler who tries to always say “yes” to every new experience offered (except for the ones that involve me digesting the raw meat and blood delicacy that my Thai host grandfather tried to serve me on several occasions).

Always on the go, I love to do, do, do in order to experience everything a country has to offer. I am the person that you run into wherever you go because I am, well, everywhere!

I have perfected my body language, grunting- and charade-capabilities to get my point across to non-English speakers. I love to learn about the world, and first- hand experience is my favorite way to do that. In the past 3 years, I have gone to 15 countries, lived in 4, studied in 1, worked in 2, volunteered in 5 and loved every minute of it all.

Currently, my buildOn spirit has led me to live and volunteer in the Caribbean at Richmond Vale Academy (a community service leader training program). Soon I will fulfill my dream of beating a drum whilst standing on the rich soil of Africa. With determination, flexibility, creative problem solving skills and a can-do attitude, you too can make your dreams of traveling the world a reality.

I cannot thank buildOn enough for introducing me to the wonders of volunteer-travel and showing me that I can make a difference.

In Bank of America’s words, they are “committed to the communities in which we live and work, and believe that we are able to succeed and prosper when our communities do. As such, we understand the important role we play in community development – not only working as an employer, lender, and investor, but also as a philanthropist, a sponsor, and a community partner. The Neighborhood Excellence Initiative was designed to recognize and reward individuals and groups that are making a difference in their communities.”

• Students post drawings and poems on the wall

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• A buildOn teen reads to a younger student

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• Students write and draw

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• Basketball

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• Face-painting

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• Students check their heart rate after exercising

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• A Wall of Stories

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buildOn student Dariela Colon was particularly touched by the event, as it was held at her old elementary school. “It’s incredible to interact with the kids because it doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was that age,” she said, noting that she’d connected with several PS 47 students who have the same teachers that she was did. “And we never had anything put on for us like this when I was here. So I know how much it means to them. Every little bit like this counts.”

This year, Banana Kelly’s Youth Engagement Zone is transforming science classes with service learning. During my last update, I talked about how our work with 10th grade students would be scaffolding upon 9th grade activities from last year. Our goal, once again, is to provide the teens with an opportunity to complete their own neighborhood investigation, data gathering, and research. During the first session, we discussed the differences between healthy neighborhoods and unhealthy ones, and then we developed a survey we could take to the streets. We wanted to discover what Bronx residents think of their community in terms of health.

We went out in small groups this week to a variety of locations: Subway stations, grocery stores, laundromats, and in front of Banana Kelly itself. The students interviewed whoever would stop and answer the following questions:

1) Do you think the Bronx is a good place to live?
2) Do you think the Bronx is healthy?
3) Does your community have a local farmers market and/or healthy food choices?
4) If yes, how often do you shop there?
5) What are the most common health problems among your family and friends?
6) How often do you eat fast food?
7) Do you smoke?
8 ) Do you recycle regularly?
9) Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?
10) Would you be willing to go out and help the community for a day?

The students collected and entered over 200 survey results themselves. YEZ Program Coordinator Haddi Waggeh noted this approach. “What’s great about this,” she said, “is that instead of us coming to students with a plan, they are determining the flow of the project and what direction it will take. Even the process of entering data was enlightening for the students as they saw the results coming in.”

A student holds a copy of the survey administered to over 200 people

So far, most survey respondents say they think the Bronx is a good place to live, but that it is not healthy. The top health problems are asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Interestingly, most citizens are aware of local farmers markets and produce stores, but shop at them infrequently.

“Some neighborhoods have farmers’ markets,” commented student Christina Merced. “But some just have unhealthy food, like fast food. Overall, the Bronx is in the middle of healthy and unhealthy.”

Another student, Sabrina Dalmau, discussed the experience of administering the survey. “It was fun because we got out the classroom and we walked around Prospect Avenue,” she said. “We met some cool people and we met some weird people. Looks can be deceiving, because one lady didn’t look drunk, but she was drunk.”

“I was nervous at first,” mentioned Merced. “But then I built up confidence in myself in asking people what they think about the Bronx. I got negative and positive responses. But then again that’s their opinion. It was a good experience, because I wanted to get outside my shy comfort zone.”

Another student talks to a Bronx citizen about health

Taking to the Streets in Philly

150 buildOn students from California marched around Dolores Park wearing buildOn 20th Anniversary shirts, holding signs, and shouting “When I say ‘build’ you say ‘On’! Community members soon got the hang of it and when students shouted, “build!” members of the community shouted “On!” Afterward, students made human sculptures representing the path from oppression to empowerment, and handed out sandwiches to the needy in the Misson. The day finished with a buildOn birthday cake.

buildOn students marched down to the Millennium Park “bean” (giant silver bean-like sculpture) in Chicago holding signs with inspirational words like “I believe we can change the world.” Students then engaged with Chicagoans by asking them to design a fabric square for a three different quilts. People were asked “how can we serve our community?, “why is education important?”, and “what makes our community great?” as a guide for their designs. The finished quilts will then be presented as a gift to the Mayor’s office.

A student in Detroit

155 buildOn students gathered at a Detroit high school to raise awareness about buildOn and inspire the community to make change through service. At 1:10 pm they froze while holding up signs with messages reading, “I believe we can change the community,” “I believe in rebuilding and diversity,” etc. The two-minute freeze created quite a buzz in Detroit’s Eastern Market. After the freeze, the buildOn members asked the community what they believed in and recorded their thoughts and displayed them around the market.

In Philadelphia the day started with a clean-up in a very littered area, and then continued with a march down the famous South Street. Some students chanted and wore face paint to draw attention to their efforts, while others passed out business cards asking people to “buildOn” to their communities and held signs explaining what they “believe” about service.

Helping out the Homeless in San Francisco

A collection of students in Harlem, New York, started with PSA skits in Marcus Garvey Park, then marched down 125th street chanting until they came to a small public area across the street from Harlem’s culturally significant Studio Museum. They passed out business cards, held signs, and performed several chants before crowds of shoppers passing through before lunchtime. A moment of silence was held for the individuals we work with in extreme poverty overseas.

115 students met at a downtown library in Connecticut and broke up into groups. Each group organized a chant or “flash mob experience” that in some way expressed their feelings about service and about buildOn. At 10:45am, everyone performed their routines for the public and handed out business cards asking citizens how they would “buildOn”. Afterward, the students stood with “Honk for buildOn” signs on a busy street corner and spoke to several curious motorists about the buildOn message.

It was an exciting day for buildOn marking a true milestone in the organization’s growth, and our students could feel the excitement in the air. “It was an empowering day,” said one young man. “I feel like we gathered and actually made a difference in this community, and even if we didn’t make a huge difference today, I think we set up the foundation.”

Celebrating 20 Years of buildOn in Harlem

“Everyone was surprised that a bunch of teenagers were in the street chanting for buildOn, for community service, for something that doesn’t just benefit us,” commented another student. “It was an amazing time here at buildOn, and it’s amazing how all the teenagers just get together and do our thing and try to help the community.”

Last Saturday, buildOn students in Philadelphia participated in a very special project – a neighborhood clean-up around the home of buildOn program member Jamie Blackny, who lives in Kensington. Blackny asked buildOn’s director in Philly, Joanna Branch, to organize the clean-up in her neighborhood. Branch was happy to arrange the activity to directly impact one of her students.Our programs stress how easy it is to make a difference with a little bit of effort, and in this instance one of the lives being touched was part of the buildOn family!

To complete the cleanup we partnered with Neighbors In Action, a local community outreach group, who brought all the maintenance tools. Ray Gant, who leads NIA, commented on the project. “It really brings a sense of hope,” he said. “People in these areas not only live among a lot of trash but a lot of crime, too. This showed that we can live in a cleaner neighborhood if we want, and that we’re not alone in that hope. And it gives the kids a sense of pride and leadership, too.”

Before and After the Cleanup in Kensington

Over 100 buildOn volunteers helped clean Blackny’s block, including Blackny’s mom, sister, and dog, Princess London. We ended up cleaning not just Blackny’s block but also 5 additional blocks, including clearing 4 overgrown vacant lots. We removed 4 or 5 mattresses, old tires, and mountains of litter. Many of Blackny’s neighbors came out to say thanks, and also lend a hand. “A lot of neighbors brought out their brooms and shovels when they thanked us,” Gant observed. “That’s the kind of reaction we want to get.” Another resident brought out 6 2-liter bottles of soda as a token of gratitude.

Jamie and her Mom

“I think this showed that some people actually DO care what our neighborhood looks like,” Blackny said. “We got thank-yous from passerbys who may have wanted to do something like this but didn’t have the power. I didn’t think people in my neighborhood would appreciate it. It was overwhelming that so many people were thanking me.”

Blackny also considered the lasting impact of the clean-up. “A lot of people are more aware now of what they were throwing on the ground. There’s not as much trash around. People seem to be cleaning up after themselves.”

We’re very excited to present a whole new online look for buildOn!

This week we are pleased to launch an updated buildOn.org, with the passion that fuels our organization’s work coded into every page. The new site features several navigation enhancements and updated information on our work that will lead users through the social and emotional impact of buildOn’s afterschool and school construction programs.

Some of our favorite new features include:

• -A new Who We Are page that outlines our philosophy and vision for the next 20 years
• -We buildOn, a social fundraising tool where you can start your own online campaign to support buildOn afterschool programs or build a school internationally
• -Updated program pages for buildOn’s Afterschool Program as well as our Global School Construction Program
• -A revamped Get Involved section where you can choose one of the many ways to join the movement

The new buildOn.org will share our mission, our passion and our impact with supporters all over the globe, and we’re thrilled to share it with you.

buildOn Alum Rebecca Garfinkel

Last summer, I was selected through buildOn to become an intern for Recycle Detroit, a non-profit based in downtown Detroit. I was on the Wayne State University campus for buildOn’s required professional development workshops along with nine or ten other interns assigned to different organizations. Each of the interns were young women from inner-city Detroit; being white and from an affluent suburb near the city, I already felt like an outsider.

This feeling intensified when, during lunch one day, the girls started complaining about their schools. One of the first friends I had made, Odessa, told me that her English teacher had once called her an idiot for pronouncing a word incorrectly. Her twin, Vanessa, added that in the last few weeks of her school year, the students had staged a protest by walking out of the building during school hours. The protest had been shut down by the police, and students were threatened with jailtime if they did not return to class. The reason for the protest: None of the restrooms in the school were stocked with toilet paper, so the administration locked the doors of every single one.

Each girl had a story to tell of the injustices committed by her school administration. They turned to me and asked: “What’s wrong with your school?” I stopped short and, incapable of thinking of anything to complain about, bowed my head in disgrace. It was not for anything I had done, but rather, what had not been done to me. I had never been told by a teacher that I was stupid; never had to share a desk with a friend because there weren’t enough in the classroom; never been afraid to walk to school in the morning because of the disappointment or danger expected with each new day. Should I not feel lucky to have had such opportunity in my education? Perhaps, but at that moment, all I felt was shame.

At my high school, to achieve an IB Diploma, each student must compose a research essay on a topic of their choice. Galvanized by the aforementioned discussion, I chose to write my paper on the Detroit Public School (DPS) system: its decline, current struggles, and how it can improve. I was sure to use testimonies from the young women I spoke with in order to communicate the complete injustice that DPS are inflicting on their students. I even created a Facebook Group to raise awareness of the poor conditions in Detroit schools. In short, I felt I had to do something, and this is what I did.

While at the University of Michigan, I plan to apply to the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy during my years as an undergraduate. An education in public policy will provide me with the necessary tools to create real change in the city of Detroit, especially through reform of the public school system. Although my efforts to change the system have been largely grassroots-themed, I know that with a sound foundation in the principles of domestic public policy, I will be well on my way to ensuring that students like Odessa and Vanessa are not cheated out of the education they deserve.

-Rebecca Garfinkel, attended Michigan International Academy, now attending the University of Michigan.

buildOn Alum from CA, Alan Lin

I grew up with severe asthma as a child. I was imprisoned in my home, connected to a machine that allowed me to breathe. This confinement left me with no social interactions with my peers to harvest essential life-experiences for my growth as a person. For the majority of my rueful childhood, I would end each day of school by going home and play videogames until my mind would rot.

My parents were born and raised in Burma (Myanmar), so they did not know how to help me out of this depression I developed. They did not understand what I was going through and they did not seem to care too much, because they were too focused on my older brother’s growth and education. It is the traditional Burmese custom of putting all the effort into raising the perfect, eldest son. I am the second eldest son. I only got the leftovers, along with the asthma. My view of the world spiraled downward and in turn, I isolated myself from all my peers, not having any dreams or aspirations.

During my sophomore year in high school, I attended a meeting for buildOn. I had found out about this program from a flier on that was lying on my desk during homeroom. I thought I might as well attend the meeting, since I had nothing better to do. This single event would be a revitalizing breeze in my self-loathing life. During the meeting I met Jimmy Chen, a senior from my high school with a marvelous and radiating personality, who walked right over, introduced himself and shook my hand. He asked me a few general questions; who I was, how had I found out about the club, and how my day was. The most amazing thing I liked about him was that in the next meeting, he remembered my name. He acknowledged my existence. Jimmy is remarkable, not only for his ability to run a highly successful club, but his confidence and strong affirmation as a leader. He is my role-model, the pinnacle of my dreams; he is who I want to be.

In buildOn, I learned to become a leader and gained really powerful public speaking skills. The biggest experience I gained in the conversing arts was when I canvassed crowded public streets for donations. I was canvassing at San Francisco’s Powell Station on a bright and sunny afternoon. I already had trouble simply talking to my peers, so requesting money from strangers was a herculean difficulty. I had to force myself to push out all negative thoughts and focus only on the goal and, like Jimmy, have a strong affirmation for the cause. Luckily, there was an abundance of foot-traffic that day, so I was able to practice continually with many people until it became verbatim in my mind. At the end of the day I counted the money and found I raised $600 dollars for schools in Malawi. I became overwhelmed with a warm glow of accomplishment.

My experiences with buildOn greatly shaped my dreams and aspirations. Not only did I gain social and life skills, but I met my life-long role-model. As far as “shaping my dreams and aspirations,” buildOn opened my heart to do good for the local and global community. To be completely honest, my dream is to save the world. I have dreams of becoming a doctor, of saving lives. I have dreams of becoming a pharmaceutical researcher, of developing cheaper medicine for those who cannot afford it. I have dreams of becoming an ecologist, of saving the planet. My aspiration is to do positive things for our global community.

One of the greatest and proudest talents that I have developed throughout high school is my charisma. Before, I was unable to talk anyone because of my asthma. However, after long hours of discipline and courageous practice, I am now able to engage with everyone. buildOn gave me experience in speaking to crowds, grasping their attention and motivation.

In buildOn, I give weekly presentations with my fellow officers to our members. I teach them about local and global issues that plague our society with the fundamental principles concerning issues of the lack of education. If a child attends at least primary school, that child will earn twice as much than if he or she had not attended primary school. If a girl attends primary school, her chance of contracting HIV/AIDS decreases by fifty percent. This is a small introduction of an activity called, Stand in Solidarity, in which I shout these alarming statistics into wandering crowds of people and ask, “Who will stand in solidarity with those without access to education?” Inspired by my speech, the people stand up to represent our conviction to spread education. It is a very powerful and soul-moving activity.

-Alan Lin, attended California Balboa High School, now attending UC Davis

On Tuesday, September 28th, buildOn students Ron Daldine and Rayia Gaddy participated in NBC’s Education Nation panel, “Voices of a Generation”. The panel was moderated by buildOn supporter and honorary board member Ann Curry. Click on the picture above to play a video of the discussion, which focused on the student experience in American high schools, and how certain persisting issues might be addressed.

The entire Education Nation summit was an amazing event where leaders from all over the country spoke about the dire issues facing education in America today, but as we all know, the most important voices in this conversation are those of students. We applaud NBC’s decision to let the students themselves speak about their relationships with teachers and their career aspirations, and we thank them for inviting buildOn to participate.

Also, read about Ron and Rayia’s experience at this year’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

buildOn’s Youth Engagement Zone is back in session for the new academic year! We’re very excited to continue integrating service learning into Banana Kelly’s classrooms, and upcoming projects will build upon the experiences students had in the winter and spring. Last year’s 9th grade science classes took field trips to Kensico Dam and the Bronx River to study the locations and, eventually, in the case of the latter, go canoeing!

This fall, we’re scaffolding upon those efforts with the same group of youth, who are now 10th graders; science classes will focus on health issues affecting Bronx neighborhoods, and what can be done about them. To achieve this, I’ll be teaching service learning lab classes once a month along with science teacher Emily Chakwin, who’s also been on a school building trip with buildOn and serves as one of our YEZ advisers.

Our goal is to provide the students with an opportunity to complete their own neighborhood investigation, data gathering, and research. In our first session, we had the classes brainstorm the difference between healthy communities and unhealthy ones–among the problems identified were dietary issues, asthma, and drug addiction. We furthermore expanded the definition of “healthy community” to denote an environment that is free from violence. By treating health as a holistic concept and ensuring that the students have ownership over their own outreach projects, we hope that these science classes will produce a group of peer educators and community activists that can inform and assist those around them.

A students organizes healthy things and unhealthy things in her community

“What we want to instill in the kids is the sense that they can do something in their communities to make them a little more healthy,” my collaborator Emily Chakwin adds. “I find as a science teacher that it’s difficult to make academic information stick because we have so many misconceptions about the way the body and the scientific world works. But if the students can have some real-world context in which to apply what they’re learning in the classroom I think it will help, especially if they’re passing on what they learn to other people.”

At the end of our first session, we developed a health survey with the students that they will administer in their communities this October to determine what health issues are most pressing. The students are nervous about engaging with strangers about what could be private topics, but we’re hoping that the experience will promote openness and frank discussion that curbs the spread of misinformation.

Notes on how to foster healthiness in one's neighborhood

We’re also looking forward to building on what the students discover on their own in the form of guest lectures and field trips to various clinics and health-related organizations in the Bronx. Eventually we might even set up a student health advisory board to provide a space for peer counseling. We see this as a chance to engage youth in service learning activities that have an immediate impact, and we’ll be blogging about the outcomes through the year. Look for our update next month!

Read about the Chapters Roadshow and the first stop in Pittsburgh !

Stop #2: Washington, D.C.

Chapters Director Tom Silverman visits an iconic site in Washington, DC

With all the newspaper and blog headlines focusing on the corrupt and partisan culture of our nation’s capitol, it was relieving to visit Washington D.C. and experience the goodness of people in that city. I had many meaningful and inspiring conversations with folks in various D.C. Universities and throughout the wider community. But while D.C. is truly internationally minded, global endeavors often lack a service component. Our Regional and University Chapters in D.C. are looking to change this by introducing buildOn to their city!

I started my trip to D.C. by paying a visit to the newly erected Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial with buildOn’s Development Director on the East Coast, Skyler Badenoch. I often think of buildOn as a continuation of Dr. King’s vision of service and global brotherhood. As the full moon lit the memorial that autumn night, I reflected on what an opportunity we have to continue that vision. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to serve through buildOn and to meet so many amazing people who share the belief that we have the power to positively change the world forever.

Our D.C. Regional Chapter is aiming to spread this message throughout the city! Led by Jailan Adly, this group is determined to keep Dr. King’s dream alive through service and education!

In addition to our D.C. Regional Chapter, there are two buildOn University Chapters in our nation’s capitol. It was an honor to meet with our Chapter leaders from American and Howard Universities. The Howard Chapter is led by two buildOn Alumni from Philadelphia, Nykia Sizemore and Natasha Graves. While they didn’t know each other back at home, they have found family in one another and their shared buildOn experience. Together they are engaging the community at the historical Howard University to help others in the D.C. area and provide educational opportunities to children and adults across the globe through buildOn’s school construction program.

buildOn’s American University Chapter is also led by two buildOn alumni: Monica Floyd (Oakland CA) and Shikha Gurung (Philadelphia PA). Monica and I served many hours together in the Bay Area and Shikha and I met during a school building trip to Mali in 2009. Meeting these women in D.C. was an inspiring experience for me. Both of them are very strong leaders and I look forward to seeing buildOn thrive at American University.

After great adventures in Pittsburgh and D.C., I’m now headed to Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts to visit our Chapters there. I’ll keep you all posted as to the progress we make and the stories we create!

“I could never talk,” said buildOn student Harona Osbourne. “I don’t usually talk to people. I don’t socialize. But through buildOn I’ve met so many friends…they’re the first friends I’ve had, really, since moving to America from Jamaica.”

buildOn Students Volunteer as Mentors to Young Children

Osbourne is one of hundreds of teens encouraged to confidently seize social opportunites through buildOn youth service. buildOn students are often introduced to like-minded individuals they wouldn’t have otherwise met through the afterschool programs. Working in their own urban environments on structured volunteer projects with their peers contributes to a sense of local community.

“The friends that you make while doing service you tend to talk to everyday at school,” Osbourne adds. “You just approach them when you see them in the hall. For a shy person like me that’s a big deal; that I can just be myself and have people come up to me, or feel like going up to people after we first meet.”

Before buildOn, Osbourne lived abroad with her parents and was a self-described introvert with few opportunities to reach out. “I did some service in Jamaica but it wasn’t the same,” she notes. “There was no group to help you find opportunities, you had to sort of find them yourself. It was very disorganized and not a lot got done.”

Osbourne was attracted to buildOn’s afterschool program at Stamford High immediately; aside from offering service hours to graduate, it provided the chance to do good that she had been looking for. She signed up after seeing a recruitment poster and couldn’t stop volunteering after completing a few youth service projects. “I’ve done a lot of service,” she comments. “Volunteering at soup kitchens and organizing walkathons. My program coordinator really pulled me out there, got me to socialize and be myself. It’s been tremendous.”

Student volunteers help construct flower beds.

buildOn’s afterschool program is just one of the methods of outreach provided by the organization. Students like Osbourne are also offered chances to participate in international school builds, where they work side-by-side with villagers to construct schools in developing nations. These trips not only create strong bonds between the high school students that travel overseas together, but also between the students and the residents of remote communities in countries like Nepal, Nicaragua, and Malawi.

Osbourne’s enthusiasm for the afterschool program has grown so much that she is now president of the program at Stamford High, a position she feels she has taken on with new-found charisma. In planning for the school year she’s interacted with a number of incoming freshmen and has been pleased to find them excited about doing youth service with buildOn. “buildOn gets you out in the community,” she says. “They push you, and get to meet so many wonderful people if you really go there and talk and socialize. You’d be amazed at how much you gain.”

High school student Luis Alonso has never had it easy. In foster care for most of his adolescence, he’s considered buildOn his family and support group since joining as a freshman. At a recent event, he shared his inspiring story with our attendees, and we’ve reprinted it below.

Did you know that only 13% of youth placed in foster care actually make it to college?

My name is Luis Alonso and I spent the majority of my adolescence in the foster care system. I was placed in the system because some very difficult family issues, and then my dad died before I reached high school. The odds were stacked against me. Growing up I had no convictions to follow, no ideal to pursue, no purpose in my life. I was a lost soul in the woods of darkness. Then my freshman year at the Bronx Center for Science and Math High School, I found buildOn.

At my high school we needed to earn community service hours to graduate high school and I heard that buildOn could help you get those service hours. So, I went to my first buildOn meeting and I did my first service activity the following Saturday. That year I contributed over 70 hours of service to my community.

Then, my sophomore year, life became difficult. My relationship with my foster parent was deteriorating. She would refuse to give me money for transportation to and from community service events. She lied to me frequently. She sent me to a mental ward even though I had no mental illness, and she would never give me recognition for my accomplishments. Of course she would refuse to allow me to make a difference in the lives of other people.

My program coordinator, Missy, was questioning why I no longer participated in service activities – for three straight months I did not attend a single project. But during that time, my perception of buildOn, community service, and myself changed drastically. Originally, I only participated in events to accumulate the hours I needed to graduate.

I did not fully understand the social impact I had on my community. I now realized that community service is something greater then I had ever imagined, and that buildOn’s goal of promoting volunteerism to children like me was nothing short of honorable, noble, and just. With this inspiration, my brother and I advocated to leave our foster home and be placed in a new one.

After moving to a new foster home, I was more committed to service than ever before. I became president of the buildOn program at my school and engaged in every service activity I could. One of the most memorable service projects I’ve done was the Father-Hearts Ministry food pantry and soup kitchen. I had prior experience with soup kitchens myself, while living with my father, but I never expected to be in the other side – serving food to people who were once in my predicament. The sheer amount of people who came also gave me insight in the real problem of poverty, as well as what it meant to be grateful. I had a fantastic time serving some of the 400 people that arrived at the Ministry that day, and will never forget my experience there.

I also travelled to Nicaragua, my first time out of the country, and helped build a school in El Portal. The village became a second home for me. I even helped my school’s program to raise more than $80,000 for 16 of my fellow students to travel to Mali, West Africa and build a school.

I would not be the person I am without buildOn. It is an understatement to say that buildOn was a pivotal part of my life. They helped to mold my character and find the right path for the future I am going to make. Currently I am a freshman at University of Rochester and am studying to be a teacher, a decision that was cemented by my experience in Nicaragua. Now, I know that whatever comes across my path, I will overcome because that is who I am. That is what buildOn helped me to be. Thank you.

Haben Girma truly embodies the spirit of buildOn. A deafblind woman who overcame incredible obstacles to help construct a school in Mali, her resilience and passion inspire nearly everyone with whom she comes into contact. and culminated with Haben’s helping to build a school in Mali. Since graduating, Haben has written extensively about her buildOn experiences in college application essays, which won her a full scholarship at Lewis and Clark College and acceptance at Harvard Law School. She met President Obama to discuss disability rights last summer. She delivered the following address as an alum at our buildOn Dinner in the Bay Area in 2011.

The Saharan sun attacked my sun-screened skin. The 130-degree temperature was almost unbearable. I bent over and shoveled sand repeatedly, until exhaustion forced me to pass the shovel to the next member of my team. I had come to West Africa to help build a school for 800 children eager to learn. These eighteen days were among my most memorable experiences of triumphing over difficult obstacles, and as a deafblind woman I have certainly encountered many difficult obstacles. It required months of insistent self-advocacy to convince my Ethiopian father to let me volunteer abroad. His were valid worries: how would a girl with limited vision and hearing participate in a program that had little experience with students with disabilities? Through strong self-advocacy, I succeeded in both earning my father’s blessing and making a place for myself among the brick-making and culture-sharing.

High school is a time of change. When I joined buildOn my sophomore year of high school, I was searching for skills that would allow me to change the world. Before I joined buildOn, I asked myself whether a woman with disabilities could have a positive influence in the world. I shared my worries with Abby Hurst, the program leader at my high school. “So, can I really go to Mali? How exactly am I going to help build a school?” Her answer held optimism and determination, “We’ll find a way, we’ll figure it out.” Long after my memorable trip to Mali, buildOn’s spirit of optimism and determination has continued to propel me forward. My college admissions essay described how buildOn inspired me to study cultural anthropology, and as a result, I won a full-tuition scholarship at Lewis & Clark College. A few years later, in my law school application, I symbolized my commitment to public service through an anecdote from Mali. Thanks to the magic of Mali, I am now in my second year at Harvard Law School.

High school students stand waiting and ready to take on challenges that guide them into a productive adult life. When you give these students the opportunity to engage in meaningful community service, you give them the skills of leadership that will remain lifelong assets. Without the positive support I received from buildOn’s staff members or the volunteer opportunities in my community and abroad, I probably wouldn’t have survived Harvard Law or even met President Obama at the White House last summer. And it all started at fifteen, “I want to go to Africa and build a school.” I learned people with disabilities have the power to change the world. I learned courage. I learned my limitless limits. I would have never guessed back in high school that joining buildOn would have lead me to so many more great things.

The people of Malawi are facing economically challenging and politically turbulent times. During my most recent trip to the country for buildOn, I witnessed the daily struggle that was taking place. I left most concerned about the potential for conditions to deteriorate further.

Economically, Malawians are facing three main interrelated challenges. The first is that the heavily relied upon tobacco industry has seen close to a 50% reduction in revenues this year, and everyone from the rural tobacco farmer to the large exporter is feeling the pain. One scary consequence of the reduction in tobacco revenues is that rural (mostly subsistence) farmers are selling their corn harvest to make up for their shortfall in cash, causing much anxiety about their food security in the immediate future.

Second, the Malawi government has a shortage of the foreign currency they use to purchase fuel, which has led to acute fuel shortages throughout the country. In Kasungu, the district where buildOn works, fueling stations went weeks without supply, forcing people to purchase gas on the black market for as much as $13 per gallon! For people living in bigger cities like Lilongwe and Blantyre, fuel queues stretched for blocks and required wait times of up to fifteen hours and more.

A Malawian man with bricks to construct a buildOn school

Lastly, the price of goods in Malawi has increased significantly due to both the imminent devaluation of Malawi’s currency and rising fuel prices. A bag of cement in Malawi costs an astounding $23 per bag (it only costs $8 per bag in the United States). Meanwhile, the cost of food items such as cornmeal, sugar, flour and cooking oil have all gone up.

Politically, Malawi faces an uncertain and increasingly unstable future. Dating back to April of 2011, the current administration has been at odds with the international donor community, resulting in the expulsion on high-level diplomats from Malawi, and the suspension of foreign aid to Malawi by important bi-lateral donors. As a result, the Malawian government is faced with finding a way to make up for a 40% revenue shortfall that used to come from international donors.

All of these factors culminated in July when Malawian civil society leaders tried to stage a non-violent protest against the current administration’s intolerance to outside criticism, and its failure to handle the economic problems. The protest quickly turned into riots putting the police and national military against the protestors.

Cooler heads prevailed in August of this year, and things seem to be calming down a bit. There is, however, no question that the conditions are unacceptable for many Malawians. As is almost always the case, people living below the poverty line in Malawi are impacted most by these difficult economic and political times.

The conditions that I saw in Malawi during my last trip underscore the importance of buildOn’s work in the country. Education and literacy continue to be the backbone of development, and in a time when many large donor agencies are reluctant to fund the government’s budget, the most rural and isolated communities will be in even more in need of the type of partnership that buildOn provides.

Allison Garvey

My second home is in La Estrella, a rural Nicaraguan mountain village. In a cozy three-room wooden hut, I have laughed with my host sisters as we discussed our boyfriends, played countless games of tag with my host brothers, sung songs with my host mom, and cried out for my host dad to rescue me from the massive spiders that emerged at night.

I fell in love with La Estrella during a two-week stay last February, when I pick-axed, sifted sand, carried bricks, and shoveled cement alongside villagers to build a school. When I returned to the US, I received a photo of the completed school and an occasional phone call from my host family, but I did not feel a sense of completion. I dreamed that I could wake up in my hammock once again with an opportunity to give more to this incredibly welcoming community.

Three of my closest friends from the trip and I began toying with the idea of returning to La Estrella over the summer to teach English. No one believed my outrageous dream would ever become reality, but the cynicism of others only fueled my ambition. After five chaotic months, my dream came true. On the second day of July, my eyes immediately swelled with tears as I caught a glimpse of the completed schoolhouse for the first time. I was speechless, and not just because of my limited Spanish vocabulary. That night, I fell asleep feeling like I had never left. La Estrella looked the same as before, except a beautiful brick schoolhouse replaced the bustling worksite I remembered.

But after a day or so, I realized that the village had changed. The rainy season drenched the sunny, green paradise of my memories and turned every path to mud. Barely any sunlight glistened over the mountains, and not one night did I see the sky bursting with stars like I did in February. Even the school, which I had proudly worked on months before, did not live up to my expectations. The government provides no school supplies except for chalk – their only supplies are those that we donated.

Volunteering has always given me a sense of empowerment, yet I spent much of the trip feeling smaller and more insignificant than ever. One day, my host family led me up the same mountain that we had hiked in February. Our English lesson that day focused on emotions, and my host brother paused to exclaim, “I am happy!” I asked him why, and he responded in Spanish, “Because I have a new school and a new sister.” I let his words sink in as we reached the top of the cliff and cleared the last of the brush, revealing a gorgeous valley that stretched for miles.

Three Students in a buildOn School in Nicaragua

It was the same breathtaking view that I remembered from the first trip, but my perspective was different this time. I finally realized how much happiness our return had brought to the community. From that moment on, instead of being discouraged by the tiny impact that I made, I celebrated it. When I was younger, adults constantly told me that I could “make a difference”. It took two trips to Nicaragua to understand what they meant. It was hard for me to accept that I may never fix all the problems that my host family faces, but I now understand why it’s important to keep trying anyway.

Anyone who doesn’t see the point of trying wasn’t lying beside me as I fell asleep to the sound of a ten year old boy blissfully counting to ten in English. They weren’t standing next to me as I read a book to a swarm of children inching closer and closer to gape at the pictures of the first storybook they had ever encountered. They weren’t sobbing with me in the car after saying goodbye to the 200 villagers that I now consider my family. I am looking forward to a lifetime of striving to alleviate poverty in communities like my home in La Estrella. I know that as long as I keep trying, I am making all the difference in the world.

- Allison​ Garvey​, attended Connecticut ​Westhill High School​, now attending SUNY Binghamton

I’ll be blogging throughout my journey: Documenting my experience, sharing stories from the field and introducing you to some of buildOn’s dynamic Chapter leaders.  I encourage you to participate by posting comments, sharing the blog with friends and, if you haven’t already, start a buildOn Chapter of your own!

Stop #1: Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Chapter!

It seems somewhat significant that I begin my buildOn Chapter Tour in Pittsburgh, because that is also where I began my life.  Growing up in Pittsburgh I saw, first hand, the need for programs that engage youth on a meaningful level and expose them to the greater world around them. I had no such opportunities at my high school and the same was true for most students in the Pittsburgh region (with the exception of a few elite schools). Even today, opportunities to travel abroad on international service trips are few and far between.

I often think of how impactful a buildOn school building trip would have been on a teenage me. Having lead 5 of them with buildOn, I have seen the powerful and transformative effects that the program has on the youth we engage. Students are exposed to a new world and in turn, discover a new part of themselves. And they do this through helping communities in developing nations build schools! What a powerful experience for all involved. It has been a dream of mine, since starting at buildOn 3 ½ years ago, to see our impact in Pittsburgh. Thanks to the efforts of the dedicated individuals in our Regional Chapter, that dream is becoming a reality!

We kicked off our efforts by hosting the first buildOn Pittsburgh Chapter meeting on Sept. 7th. Hosted by Kate Porigow and Taku Ohkawa, our group of 10 discussed the need to engage Pittsburgh youth in international service and brainstormed ways in which we could make it happen. Hours of talking, joking and eating great food (thanks Mom!) lead us to a game plan. We decided, like many of our other Regional Chapters have, to seek a partnership with the school district in the city and other Community Based Organizations operating within the schools. We hope to be able to offer a buildOn school building trip to students in the Pittsburgh school district who show commitment to bettering their own community and who would gain from the experience. We plan to engage the Pittsburgh community to fund the construction of a buildOn school and the travel costs for the students participating in the trip.

Although we are starting from scratch, we are committed and hopeful. There is a clear need; both in Pittsburgh and the developing world. The buildOn Pittsburgh Chapter is determined to answer those needs in creative and dynamic ways. When buildOn was first started, 20 years ago, we were building one school a year, a dramatic difference from the 60 we built this past year. Like the organization as a whole, our Pittsburgh Chapter knows we have to start somewhere. We know that changing our local and global communities takes real effort and begins with us.

Three students limber up before practicing their public speaking skills

Many students enjoyed authoring “I am” poems, rhythmic collections of detail about themselves and their work in buildOn. Kamel Yousfi went on a school building trip to Malawi with buildOn last year, and turned in the following poem:

Two students practice speaking about buildOn with a Program Coordinator

buildOn's First Treasurer, Tim Owens

Our first treasurers came from this pro-bono GE pool. These individuals devoted much of their own time to helping balance our books, secure our grants, and build the financial infrastructure for donor confidence that has allowed our organization to celebrate 20 years of success this autumn.

Tim Owens first met Jim Ziolkowski when the two were working in GE’s finance department. After Ziolkowski’s departure, Owens kept hearing stories from other volunteers who were visiting the house in Stamford to construct buildOn from scratch. “I started asking about it and next thing I knew Jim was asking me to help with the books,” Owens recalls. “I wound up being their first volunteer treasurer and worked with them for 4 years.”

Owens was instrumental in developing a professional environment for buildOn’s donations. “My main contribution in those early days was to transition the books from paper and binder to Quickbooks,” he says. ”I also dealt with all our 1099 consultants, getting them set up, and I kept track of all matched gifts from GE.”

Owens was a full member of the buildOn team during his tenure, even orchestrating service projects in Stamford. “We did volunteer work all around the city…helping out in homes, freshening up yards, painting. I really enjoyed it because those guys were just such a positive influence. Jim would always say to me: ‘Do it for the kids, Tim!’ I still remember that battle cry.”

Jane Hackney, Our Second Treasurer

After Owens relocated to Atlanta with GE, fellow finance professional Jane Hackney stepped up to take his place. She remembers being fascinated with buildOn’s approach from the get-go. “We’re very interested in investment, being in finance…and this was an investment in education, really. An investment in a whole new generation.” Hackney would continue in Owens’ footsteps, helping with our books and allocation of funds. “I put Marc Friedman on the payroll!” she proudly points out.

By the time Hackney joined the team, buildOn had expanded from the Ziolkowskis’ kitchen to a small office space donated by GE. “I remember the tiny room with four cubes or so where everyone worked. Those were definitely the bootstrapping days! We often had to really think about purchases to ensure that we wouldn’t run out of money by the end of the year. It’s incredible that now buildOn has offices all over the country.”

Commenting on buildOn’s success, Hackney observes that ”Jim and Marc really are a yin and yang. Jim has a lot of passion and Marc is sort of quietly behind the scenes with a plan to make the passion work. And their dynamic, along with mentoring from business executives, has really allowed buildOn to scale. It’s not a lot of Kumbaya fluff. They aren’t afraid to measure themselves.”

Owens similarly states, “I was always amazed when Jim and Marc would come back from overseas trips, the stories they would tell. They were going out and representing our organization and getting involved in global issues, but they didn’t just throw money at poverty. They wanted to work in tandem with people in remote and urban areas. Folks in the communities where we work take ownership in what they do with buildOn. We help create community pride.”

eBay Giving Works provides an easy way to contribute to buildOn. Direct friends, family, and fellow ebay users to our new page, where they can post and bid on items. Between 10% and 100% of every sale goes directly to buildOn! You can also save us as your “favorite” nonprofit and donate $1 every time you checkout on eBay. List, bid, and JOIN THE MOVEMENT!

We spoke to Adam Barnum, eBay user adamcaddesign, who recently listed a great many items on buildOn’s eBay Giving Works page. If you’re looking for any rock concert memorabilia from the 2000s, check out Adam’s listings!

buildOn: How did your eBay store start?

Adam: So, I’ve been a stagehand for over 13 years doing various gigs and shows mainly in Las Vegas, where I live. I’ve acquired, bought, and traded a number of crew shirts from many concerts that I’ve worked and that friends have worked. These things are sometimes handed out to the crew as a token of their hard work and can be very rare items at times. There is a lot of blood and sweat that goes in to these concerts and shows so sometimes a t-shirt is a really cool way of showing the crew that the production and talent appreciates them.

The way I started my store was–I was operating a lighting board in Vegas for an eBay sellers meeting and after sitting through some of the amazing stories I decided to find my niche and start my own. After selling a couple of random items I decided to offload my collection of concert shirts and memorabilia.

buildOn: What made you interested in buildOn’s eBay Giving Works page?

Adam: While posting items on eBay I noticed that I could donate a percentage to a charity of my liking and felt that it would be a good way for me to give back a little. After researching many charities and non-profit organizations I came across buildOn. I think buildOn is a great organization: Instead of just supplying food, clothing, shelter, etc. buildOn builds schools around the world. I believe education is the key to stopping world poverty and hunger. I thank buildOn for what they do and eBay for making it easy to donate to a good cause. These are two great entities in today’s times.

• Students enjoy a day of getting their hands dirty at Chicago's City Farm.

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• Students serve breakfast to seniors in Chicago!

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• Students remove an invasive species from Skokie Lagoons.

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• Students hold a cardboard box sleep-out to raise awareness of homelessness.

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• Cooking dinner for homeless veterans in Connecticut!

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• Students carry water jugs to raise awareness of lack of access to clean water worldwide.

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• Students clean up the east coast!

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To join the fight for service that gives hope and opportunity to millions of at-risk youth and marginalized groups in the United States, visit Save Service.

Ziolkowski goes on to note that: “The act of service itself is transformational. Studies have shown after engaging in service the achievement gap for low income students narrows, academic engagement increases, and graduation rates rise. At buildOn, 95 percent of the high school seniors participating in our program not only graduate, they go to college.

“Right now, federal funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service is at risk of being zeroed out…From the young adults involved in AmeriCorps to the retirees engaged in RSVP, from students supported by Learn & Serve America to low-income communities improved by the Social Innovation Fund; these eliminations would have disastrous effects on American communities, youth unemployment numbers and the nation’s economy.

“If CNCS is eliminated, more than 500,000 positions for young adults and seniors serving on the front lines of natural disasters, the dropout crisis and many other community challenges would be eliminated. More than 3 million at risk children would lose vital educational support provided by service organizations, and $800 million in private investment would be taken away from essential services for local communities.”

Read the remainder at the Huffington Post!

In this year’s Summer Internship Program in Chicago, a total of 27 students committed 1510.40 service hours!

Students interned at a wide variety of locations, including local youth centers, humane organizations, and a Chinese-American coalition. Many worked well past 8 hours a day, with some putting in as many as 11. They did this not because they were forced to but because of their personal commitment to their internship schedule.

The work site facilitators were in total awe of our buildOn students’ overall dedication to service. Facilitators were most impressed with how students not once complained about working under the summer’s grueling heat wave, as many of the jobs took place outdoors or required students to travel. Even I was amazed by how our students individually put in some long daily hours. This further strengthens my belief that the city of Chicago does not have enough community youth centers.

Juvenal Jaimes Impressed at his Internship with Compass Public Services

For some students, interning was a life altering experience. Juvenal Jaimes, a recent graduate of buildOn, left his internship with knowledge and motivation he can use in his freshman year at college. I purposefully placed Juvenal Jaimes at Compass Public Affairs, a public service and government marketing firm, because of his charisma and desire to change the world around him.

When I personally went to check in on Juvenal at his worksite, I had a long meeting with both him and his supervisor, James Robinson to talk about his work performance. Mr. Robinson spoke highly of Juvenal and admired his commitment to learning. Mr. Robinson couldn’t believe how dedicated Juvenal quickly became to his job duties, stating, “this kid is a machine, he goes above and beyond his hours”. He explained how Juvenal was always thirty minutes early to work and worked well within their professional environment of attorneys and politicians, including aldremans, senators, and our state governor Pat Quinn.

Through this internship, Juvenal was able to experience a professional environment in Chicago’s Downtown business community. He explained that it resolved one of his many curiosities about working in the fast pace of today’s industry. The worksite was so impressed with Juvenal that they are bringing him back in soon to work on various major political projects; they even are committed to helping him finding permanent work once he is ready.

I had a great summer working each student. It was truly a blast and I’m so proud of how hard they worked. They did a phenomenal job!

buildOn’s Youth Engagement Zone just finished its 4-week summer program, a series of service projects that got students out of their homes and interacting with the Bronx neighborhood through the month of July. Previously on the blog, we discussed the YEZ’s trip to the James Monroe Housing Development with local Assembly Member Marcos Crespo and their efforts to spread awareness of urban violence prevention methods. On August 4th, students ventured even further out of the bubble of summer leisure and met at Times Square at 7am to ride a Greyhound Bus into Philadelphia to volunteer at a homeless shelter.

We wanted to show the students the similarities between inner-city environments in different locations; to illustrate how the problem of homelessness extends beyond the Bronx. We set up a service project with the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, an organization that runs a temporary shelter and transitional housing for homeless men, as well as a soup kitchen for all that serves three meals a day. After we arrived on the bus, the students were given a tour of the facilities by the community outreach director, who provided a brief history of the organization and an explanation of why their approach helps homeless people.

The director led us upstairs through the soup kitchen to the dorms that act as emergency housing. Student Andira Rodriguez was particularly impressed by the set-up. “I had never been in a shelter or a soup kitchen before,” she said later. “It really opened my eyes to see how a shelter was run – to see the bunk beds where the men sleep. I felt like the whole concept of a soup kitchen with a shelter was really good, because it gives the men the option to sleep there.”

Volunteering in the Pantry

After this, the students volunteered in the pantry, sorting cans in an assembly line. The director was impressed at how quickly they were able to organize themselves, and I was proud that the students could interact so intimately after 4 weeks of service together. I explained to the director that the students really take the lead; I often find myself following their instincts.

We volunteered through lunch, which served about 80 people. The students acted as soup kitchen waiters of sorts, placing food on trays and carrying it out to any arriving for mealtime. “The people we served were nice,” reflect student Sirley Lopez. “They were kind of surprised that we came all the way from New York to serve them food.”

Rodriguez added: “I was expecting the men to be more stand-offish when we brought the food out, like questioning why we were there. But they were so nice and thankful. And they were calling me ‘sister’ and asking me where I’m from.”

In addition to learning that homelessness is a universal affliction, the students afterward seemed to be thinking most about the impact of their own involvement as teenagers–the fact that they’d traveled so far to do a little bit of good at their age. “The men were surprised to see young people helping them out, I think,” mentioned Shabany Pereyra. “You usually don’t see young people helping anyone.”

But the students consider that other young people may not help because they don’t know how, or don’t think they’ll get anything out of the experience. buildOn, and the YEZ, is one way of exposing teens to what it feels like to make a difference. “I like helping people,” says Rodriguez. “Coming all the way over here to do that makes me happy.”

buildOn Afterschool students in Chicago have periodically visited senior apartments in the city to engage with residents–playing games, helping out, or just chatting. This summer, we had our students write reports on specific members of the senior community. They conducted interviews in an effort to examine key differences between older generations and their own, as well as to mine pearls of wisdom from their elderly friends. Several of the students were told fascinating stories that brought them closer to the residents of these apartments and enriched their understanding of the senior citizen experience.

“Jesse is an old woman who likes to talk about love a lot. Her age right now is 87, and she was born in the southern state of Arkansas. Her grandparents were born in Arkansas as well; they spoke Indian and a little bit of English. Jesse smiles a lot when she brings up the word ‘love’. During my interview with her I could tell that she wanted to cry a bit. I saw the happiness and all the love she had in her eyes.

I asked her, ‘What are the most serious problems that you think teenagers have to face?’ She replied, ‘Drugs and no love.’ And by ‘no love’ she meant that teenagers are sometimes treated badly for the things that they do.

Overall Jesse is a really kind and sweet old lady, I really had fun interviewing her. I would like to see her again someday.”

- Richard Jara

“I interviewed Catalin Padilla. She and most of her family before her were born in Puerto Rico. She lived there the first 11 years of her life. She came to the United States at the age of 11 with her parents for better living and more opportunities. She says that a serious problem all the people in Chicago and all Americans face is injustice – people just can’t live for peace! But Catalin describes herself as able, friendly, and calm. She is still able to take care of herself without needing the help of anyone. She is really nice with everyone she meets and almost never dislikes anyone.”

- Catalin Padilla

“We started to play bingo and I met Mr. Johnson. He was from Bari, Italy. He also served in World War II and showed me a picture of him and his brother in the war. Bingo was not going well for him until he won twice and went to get his prize. He got some shampoo and a light blue hat. So me and this other lady kept telling him that with the shampoo he won he can take a shower and then get all the ladies in the apartment.”

- Marco Mercado

“My interview was on an elderly African American woman from Greenview Apartments. Her name is Ms. Burrell. I learned that she had about 16 children and took care of them all on her own. She needed to balance a family and two jobs. Her life was more work than play. Her most treasured possession is her family and life itself. ‘I consider myself lucky,’ she said, ‘to have a big a family and people like you and your friends to care for me. There are people that die sad and even angry because they have no one. Although being here today might not seem like a big deal, it really is for people like me.’

Being at the retirement home was educating. It made me think of my future and how I would spend my time. I thought of where I would end up and who I would be with. How many children I would have and about my brothers and sister and where they would be. Being there made me want to come back in the future and help out even more.”

- Clara Aguirre

Welcome to Sousounkoro-Sanso

When our US students go overseas on school building trips, they live in a remote village for about two weeks, working side by side with the local people on the construction. They dig and make dozens of bricks by hand. When they leave there’s typically a small wall that will, in time, be expanded to a schoolhouse that they’ll never see in person. Due to this, we often take these students to previously-constructed buildOn schools about halfway through the trip. While in Mali last month, School Building Trip Coordinator Brian Socall enjoyed the rare experience of revisiting a village he had journeyed to one year ago. Here are his thoughts on seeing the fruits of his labors in the form of a completed school for the first time.

School building trip coordinators such as myself usually don’t get a chance to revisit village where they construct. buildOn is constantly moving into new areas, and it’s just not practical to set it up that way. But on the trip to Mali I took with some Chicago students in July of this year, I got to go back to a school I helped build a year earlier. This was really awesome for me; I got to see a lot of the same people I had worked with a year ago on the school. It’s also a really helpful experience for the teens because they’re working 4 hours a day in the village and they’re not really seeing what it’s going to look like as a finished product. It’s incredibly motivating for the students to see what their work will eventually turn into.

We were in the village of Ble this year; I was returning to Sousounkoro-Sanso. The villages are a few hours away from another, and require long drives through the bush. We only allot about an hour for these visits due to the travel time and the logistics of the construction schedule.

US Students are Welcomed with Traditional Dancing

Upon re-entering Sousounkoro-Sanso I was reminded of the rapport I had established with the locals pretty quickly. On the work site a year ago we would all say “Walla Walla!” to each other constantly in an effort to bridge the language barrier with a nonsense phrase. When I went back some of the guys who remembered me approached me and starting saying “Walla Walla!” Even though we couldn’t speak the same language, they remembered me. It brought back a lot of great memories of our time working together, and finding ways to communicate using only the few bambara words we learn there.

After entering the village we do some dancing, take a tour, and give some speeches, and we ask questions about the school’s success. I was really overwhelmed because the school looked phenomenal, as well as the latrines and a separate structure for teachers to meet in that we’d constructed. It all looked fantastic and really gave the students a “vision” of the completed project.

Inside the Completed School in Mali

I saw a lot of the students and their families, who acted and spoke very appreciative. So far the school is sending boys and girls to the school in equal numbers as outlined by the Covenant; it’s not a huge village, so there are about 70 students, but it’s nice to know that they don’t have to worry about rain or storms. The schoolmaster has continued to urge the parents to send their kids to school, too. It was overwhelming to see how the community wanted to show off everything they’d worked for.

This trip really motivated the students from the US to return to the Ble and put their all into the build; they were able to see a little bit of how a school can transform a village. This also helps the fundraising projects they do back home, because they’ve seen the tangible project of buildOn’s efforts and can make an emotional connection. And for me, personally, it put my work here at buildOn in a whole new perspective, being able to see what my students and I did a year ago in this small village.

US Students and Villagers Pose in Front of the Completed School

In addition to local outreach, buildOn’s afterschool youth service programs feature global education activities that connect themes of community activism with obstacles others are overcoming around the world. Global education activities have included  in-depth studies of humanitarian and woman’s rights issues plaguing the countries in which buildOn constructs schools, as well as cultural exposure programs that provide students with a crash course in a particular nation’s socio-political landscape.

Earlier in July, students from our programs in California’s Bay Area enjoyed Revolution Week, a 3 day celebration of world-altering action. A diverse number of functions were held, all focusing on the countries in which we construct schools, but perhaps none was as robust or inspiring as Nicaragua Day. An eight-hour tour through the Sandinista revolution organized and funded by the very generous non-profit MangoMundo, the events of Nicaragua Day continue to resonate with participating buildOn high school students.

Solidarity Movement Poet Alejandro Murguía

Through the day, teens enjoyed presentations given in the Mission District’s beautifully mural-laden Women’s Building by local poets and journalists who participated in the United States’ Sandinista solidarity movement. Poets Daisy Zamora and Alejandro Murguía discussed the importance of verse to the Nicaraguan revolution, while journalists Daniel Del Solar, Nina Serrano, and Elaine Elinson offered accounts of how they kept the masses informed of the late-70s movement with photos and self-distributed newspapers.

Catering by Sasonao Nica

Photographer Lou Dematteis also talked about his experiences capturing the action of the Sandinista, and then distributed free copies of his photobook to students. The event  featured a lunch of plantains, mango salad, and a cake with buildOn’s logo catered by Sasonao Nica. Paul Katzeff, founder of Thanksgiving Coffee and a fair trade activist, provided Nicaraguan brews for sampling throughout the entire day.

Students were enthralled at the opportunity to see a political movement from a non-US vantage point. “They really opened my eyes to a completely different perspective of Nicaraguan history,” said Cindy Jiang. “Our textbooks emphasize what is important to the United States, for obvious and non-malicious reasons, but as a consequence, important events can be overlooked.” The relationship between poetry and politics also resonated with some teens. “[They told us that] every Nicaraguan is a poet,” noted Jorge Gomez.

Kathy Lien added: “We got to walk out of the building with not just free coffee and a super cool book of photographs, but with the fact that we actually learned something. It just made you think: No matter what your first intentions were or how you live your life, you’ll always have the ability to make a difference. Which was cool. I was inspired.”

buildOn's Students and Staff with the Nicaragua Day Presenters

A very special thanks to all the local artists and vendors who helped make Nicaragua Day so entertaining and enlightening, and a huge thanks to MangoMundo for organizing the entire function!

An Urban Student from the US Helps Builds a School in Mali

Caitlin Flanagan’s vicious generalization of students doing service and volunteer work overseas merely to bolster their résumés (“The Do-Good Zeal of the College Bound,” Review, July 16) is hurtful and misses the point.

Last summer, I worked with 14 students to build a school in a village in Mali called N’tiola—in-CHO-la, which is hardly “unpronounceable.” We went through the organization buildOn, which covered all expenses except clothing and vaccines. We were selected for our commitment to service; we earned our way through our participation in buildOn’s volunteer service projects. My group came from diverse socioeconomic strata, from the inner-city to more well-off areas. We worked alongside villagers for two weeks in the scorching sun.

Students and Villagers Share a Moment in Mali During their Hard Work

When we weren’t working, we were learning about the culture and history of Mali, as well as exploring the village and playing with N’tiola’s kids. This wasn’t “edutainment” or a vacation; this was sweaty, dirty work. This wasn’t “luxury”; we lived with host families in whatever accommodations they had, without electricity or indoor plumbing. This wasn’t “throwing money at the problem”; buildOn’s philosophy is to empower villagers to use education as a tool to begin breaking the cycle of poverty.

Believe it or not, many of us want to do good for good’s sake. We want to “give back” because we understand that there are many places where people are struggling. Our passion is to change that, one step at a time.

Perhaps if the college application arms race were to slow down, this dialogue would be unnecessary. However, for the time being, Ms. Flanagan’s article is offensive and part of the problem.

Jorge Gomez: One night our host family said they were going to play Konpa music for us, and then took out 3 buckets and found some branches and started playing. There was a singer and 3 drummers making beats. We danced all night with our host family, making our host dad dance with our host mom. Our host sisters were cracking up.

Jamie Pelusi (Program Coordinator): I miss hiking mountains, wading in rivers, eating coconut, and saying “bon swaaaaaaaa” every 5 minutes.

Courtney M. Winterbauer: I was craving plantains yesterday odd enough! What if there is plantain ice cream. Yum!

Jorge Gomez: The Haitians laughed at us when we started working. But working with them and getting so much done showed that anyone could work together and do a lot.

Asha Vitatoe (Program Coordinator): Woke up craving grenadine juice and a coconut…

Courtney M. Winterbauer: I’m gonna miss waking up to 12 am roosters,
Or 3 am roosters…any-hour roosters,
And cicadas at night,
And thunder and lightening and rain storms,
Tropical storms,
And the river,
And crickets,
And unhappy donkeys,
And my host dad that snored,
And my loud sisters,
And the mostquito net,
And goats,
lol
and the quiet…

Ronah Baha …and speaking French in your sleep!

Earlier this week, staffer Rosann Jager reported from the ground on the construction of our most recent Haitian school, which was built with the help of our youth service students. Every year, a select number of students from buildOn’s afterschool programs around the United States are granted the opportunity to help construct a school in a remote village overseas. During the trip, they live with a “host family” right in the village, pick up the local language, absorb the regional culture, and incalculably broaden their realm of possibility. Many of the students who participate in these ventures have never been outside of their urban neighborhoods, and many are inspired by the beauty and resilience of the people they encounter abroad to commit themselves to serving their communities after returning home.

buildOn Students Draw Strength from Haiti

Student Courtney M. Winterbauer had never been outside of the US before, and noted the simplicity of the lifestyle that she and her fellow students were exposed to. “We took with us the bare necessities of toiletries, a few changes of clothes, malaria meds, 2-liter water bottles, sunscreen, shoes, flashlights and gifts to our host families in our backpacks and duffel bags,” she wrote in an article for the Alameda Journal. “It was all we needed. Bucket-bathing first thing in the morning made me appreciate not only running water from an actual shower head but water in general. You can sufficiently bathe in a bucket or less of water.”

This has been the first time that our students have traveled to this country, which not so long ago swelled with tragedy in the face of natural disaster. Luckily, buildOn has had a presence in Haiti for nearly a decade, and we were able to partner with local NGOs such as Hope For Haiti to provide urgent support during the earthquake. In the hard days and months that passed, we never lost sight of our mission to bring education to the nation’s most impoverished inhabitants. All of the schools we’ve built in Haiti remain intact and in use.

A buildOn Student Poses with an Elderly Worker on the Construction Site

This spirit of resilience left a strong mark on many of the students who participated in the trip. “My favorite memory of Haiti was seeing everyone motivated to build a school in their community,” noted Jorge Gomez. “An old man showed up almost everyday and he would carry buckets of cement back and forward all day long. Another man with only one arm worked hard to make bricks. It motivated me a lot to try to work as hard as I could every day.”

Jamie Pelusi, a coordinator on the trip, echoed this. “It was great to see little kids, elderly people…everyone come out to contribute to the worksite. It was amazing to watch. A few people who had to be in their late 70s or 80s just got pick axes and worked all day. I can’t even imagine someone in the US doing that…just being so thankful and willing to participate.”

Winterbauer further comments that the culture’s richness paired with the dedication of the Haitian people helped to make the trip truly special. “During work, a RaRa Carnival parade of Haitian women and drummers [who] carried buckets of sand to make cement with on their heads took a friendly break for traditional dancing to music.” The hard work of Haitians is a kind of celebration, a way of seeing the world optimistically. Winterbauer took this to heart, adding: “Each planned and unplanned moment embraced on the trip brought us closer to Haitians, who we are as individuals and what we value in our personal lives.”

Students Enjoy Local Produce

First three pics courtesy of Emily Shur’s photo essay for Time Magazine

Leigh Ann Llarena: Arriving at Facebook headquarters was surprising because there’s no Facebook logo on the building that notifies you that you’re there.

Xiaofan Wu: Facebook actually gave us individual tours. We each paired up with a Facebook intern. At first I was shocked, because I thought we were just going to have a big group tour together. I learned a lot about my tour partner, too, like what college he goes to and how he applied for this internship.

Leigh Ann Llarena: The Facebook interns were very friendly. Doing the community service with them was fun. It’s nice knowing that we are improving the Bay little by little.

Kathy Lien: We got to learn about all the perks of being a Facebook intern. The most admirable part, I think, would have to be that the free food, awesome electronics, rip-board freedom through the halls, and unrestricted dress code, wasn’t why these interns were here. It was because they actually had a real interest in what Facebook does. It was pretty motivational.

A Lounge at Facebook

Amy: Many of the employees seemed relatively young. Makes one feel more reassured that such sophisticated jobs are attainable early on, not something that takes years of a career to achieve (just get the education and determination to do what you want!).

Xiaofan Wu: The food at Facebook was awesome too, my partner told me they eat a different country’s food everyday. We ate Mexican food that day, which tasted great. Facebook company tries everything to keep you there, they even have tooth brush in the bathrooms. And the waterbottle that Facebook provided was really cool.

Finn Wurtz: Other highlights of the tour included the extensive facilities (think couches galore and high-tech gadget vending machines), and writing on the ‘Facebook wall’ (an interior wall open to free expression by any and all visitors). A few people were disappointed that we didn’t get to see/meet Mark Zuckerberg who the employees at Facebook endearingly referred to as ‘Zuck’.

Leigh Ann Llarena: I can’t believe they have showers there, too! Having all these things make you want to live there and that’s their goal, for you to never leave. Hahaha.

Most of Facebook's Employees Work at Desks like These

Kathy Lien: Going to the headquarters was great. It kind of convinced me that, hey, not all jobs are going to be boring when we get out of college.

Finn Wurtz: The greatest thing about visiting Facebook’s headquarters was, of course, having ample time to talk with a generally friendly and interesting group of people who have experience working at the forefront of social networking technology. I had an excellent time discussing pretty much everything about Facebook with the interns, and was able to explore topics relating to both Facebook as an employer and Facebook as a supreme, omnipresent part of the lives of millions of people.

Amy: I think the most awesome thing about the visit to Facebook was realizing that because these employees on the Facebook team had interest and passion for their careers. If they weren’t as passionate or diligent, they wouldn’t have had the chance to experience the freedom (no set work hours and unlimited paid sick days, for examples!) that Facebook offers.

Program Coordinator Laura McKinney and the buildOn Team at Facebook Headquarters

The buildOn Haiti Construction Crew

Students from our very first buildOn school building trip to Haiti have just returned to the United States. I was in Haiti with them for the week of set up and the first few days, and I wanted to take a moment to share some highlights with everyone.

The team arrived in the village – Cherettes – to a warm welcome. The church was packed with community members eager to see the visitors. People were looking in windows and crowded around doorways in order to be a part of the celebration. Among them was Gary Clerge, a fabulous buildOn staff member in Haiti. He has been working on our Haiti programs for 5 years.

At the church, he addressed the students and the entire community and told us all how people thought he was crazy for trying to build schools in Haiti with so few resources. He was just one guy dedicated to the mission of a small nonprofit…passionate about helping his own country through education. It was a powerful moment as Clerge was overcome with emotion. In tears, he told us all (hundreds of us in the church) that this was a great moment for him…having the students come to Haiti. This was a real wake up call to me. I often get caught up in the logistics of making things happen and forget about the impact of the work we do.

A Student from California Constructs in Haiti with a Local Teen

This trip also showed me the strength of our methodology. On our first workday, there were 250 people working alongside us to build the school! It was amazing to see all ages working on the school. We had the president of a women’s group 300 people strong walking across the river to collect sand and rocks. We had young men and old men swinging pick axes and both men and women digging. There was even a guy walking around with a bull horn motivating people to join in. At the end of the day, it was 250 VOLUNTEERING to build a school. TOGETHER we had completed 3 days of work on the first day!

On day two, I spoke to a young boy who was moving rocks onto the foundation. I asked him if he was in school and he told me he was not. He said that he could not afford the school fees. I asked him why he was building this school. He replied that he was building this school in the hopes that he would be able to attend.

Community Leaders, buildOn Students and Volunteers Congregate in Front of a buildOn School Completed Earlier This Year

Haiti has more NGOs per capita than any other nation. There are so many groups going to Haiti with good intentions, but instead they are creating a culture of dependency. This makes our work in Haiti even more difficult, but we stand in stark contract to many other organizations. We are creating self reliance through education!

All of our school building trips involve cultural activities — visits to local midwifes, landmarks, and more that provide a deeper understanding of the way people in remote villages live. One of the cultural activities offered in Haiti was a trip to the local baker — a man who bakes bread twice a week using a huge concrete oven in the back of his home.

A group of students gathered around to watch the baker knead the bread dough using a slab roller. Each of them took turns helping to crank the rolling mechanism that allows the baker to make bread in large enough quantities for his entire village.

The dough gets kneaded through the slab roller into flat squares that are then placed in the oven until they rise.

The end result is similar to French bread; soft, doughy, warm, and delicious!

buildOn Program Coordinator Laura Reardon from Connecticut was inspired by the popular Bravo series Top Chef to create a culinary-based service project. Earlier this year, she organized Restaurant Wars: Community Meal Style. Eighty-nine students were divided into teams that had to compose a menu from food donations and serve the meal to five groups of people at soup kitchens and shelters. Laura’s co-worker Lara Levin said the event was the participating students’ favorite project of the year.

“She’s a really, really hard worker,” Lara said, describing Laura as being a team player who looks for ways to make their region’s programs better. “She puts in that extra step to get things done so everything’s perfect… so we have more meaningful projects that are really great for our students.”

We interviewed Laura about her experiences for this week’s They buildOn.

Years at buildOn: I just started with buildOn at the end of August, 2010.

What were you doing before you joined buildOn?

I was working up in Rochester New York as a refugee resettlement case manager.

How has buildOn changed your life?

In the nonprofit world, my job is to volunteer, but for the students, school is their job, and they inspire me to do service during my personal time. I volunteer at the library. I do ESL Conversation Partners weekly at the library. Lately it’s gotten down to one or two Mondays a month with refugees.

It’s restored a lot of my hope in community development and youth. I think that I’ve met students that are without a doubt changing and impacting their communities – and that’s continued to inspire me to do work here.

A Student Checks Her Restaurant Wars Submission

Tell us a little bit more about the Restaurant Wars project.

This was a project that I really wanted to come to fruition. The program’s participants have different challenges and one of the challenges is to create a restaurant and they’re judged by the quality of the meal. Our idea was to take it out to the community. The students were in six teams and they used the food they collected from a food drive to make a meal in one day. They had to be creative by thinking about what types of food they could use to make a healthy and nutritious and delicious meal. The recipients of the meal got to rate the students based on their creativity, their friendliness, their service, and their decorations. The winners received a meal book by the buildOn staff.

What’s another favorite memory you have working with buildOn?

We made over 1000 paper cranes to donate for Japan relief through Students Rebuild. They donate $2 per crane.

I really enjoy when we’re doing a project where the students are learning a new skill, whether it’s cooking or making cranes, because it’s something that they can use where they’re empowered by not only what they’re able to give, but also through the skill that they gain it.

buildOn Spelled Out in Origami for Japan!

Complete this sentence:

buildOn is… an avenue for youth to see and create change in their communities and their world.

School may not be in session, but the Youth Engagement Zone, buildOn’s service learning program at Banana Kelly High, is still going strong with a number of community outreach activities. On Friday, July 8th, students ventured to the James Monroe Housing Development in the Soundview area of the Bronx to spread the word door-to-door about what residents can do to help prevent violence. The students were accompanied not only by community volunteers but by local assembly member Marcos Crespo.

“There’s been a number of high profile crimes in Soundview recently,” Crepso commented. “Everything from a young student who was shot while coming out of a high school to a gentleman who was picked at random and also shot. There’s a lot of gang activity going on and drug sales and it’s leading to a lot of these shootings. In response to that we’ve done some peace rallies with both students and seniors. And for this project we wanted to get buildOn’s students to go door to door spreading the word about how to report illegal guns and crimes through an anonymous hotline. If a tip leads to an arrest the caller could be rewarded up to $1000.”

Assembly Member Marcos Crespo with YEZ student Yanique Mackenzie

In the morning, students were given tips by Assembly Member Crespo on how to approach the residents of the Monroe Houses, and then they started knocking on doors. Not everyone was friendly, however. Recent YEZ graduate Stephanie Velazquez noted that “Some people were nice — saying hi, shaking your hand, appreciating what we’re doing — and some people didn’t even want to open their door.” Another student, Shirley Gonzalez, explained the importance of providing resources even to those who refuse to engage. “We respect their privacy,” she said, “and just put a pamphlet on their door.”

Crespo added: “In a community that’s been plagued by crime, for the residents to see that we’re not afraid to come here and speak about positive information…it puts a face on the good things that are happening in our neighborhood. And it shows that not ALL our youth are involved in gangs and crime. The bravery they exhibit by coming here and talking is really powerful. I think it’s a great experience for the students, too…when they leave here they’ll feel empowered.”

YEZ student Stephanie Velazquez and Program Coordinator Alex Balliard pose with pamphlets for the community

Indeed, this is one of the most hands-on service activities we’ve ever done, and engaging in a service project this challenging requires courage. But our students, as usual, rose to the occasion. Velazquez further stated, “At first I was scared to do this. This is a community I don’t know. I didn’t know how people would react to us going door to door…but then I got the hang of it.”

Repeating a favorite activity of ours from last summer, buildOn students from Philadelphia attended a Phillies game over the weekend to help collect recyclables from throngs of fans at Citizens Bank Park. Part of the Philly Goes Green initiative and an attempt on the ball park’s part to adopt more sustainable practices, the afternoon’s service involved walking up and down aisles after each inning and collecting cans, bottles, and paper containers in large trash bags. After the seventh inning, students were free to watch the remainder of the game.

Program Coordinator Crystal Collins noted the fun that all the students had getting involved with a hometown institution. “One teen was really surprised at how eager people were to recycle,” she said. “She wound up with a huge bag full of bottles and cups. Other students had never seen a baseball game before, and this provided a great opportunity for them to get the know the sport’s logistics. It made them want to follow their hometeam more consistently being among so many passionate fans.”

Collins looks forward to a similar partnership with the stadium next year, as the recycling activity provides an appealing way for students to get involved in their communities over the summer. “We see so many of our students complaining on Facebook that they have nothing to do during these months,” she commented. “We’re trying to give them an awesome reason to leave their homes and do some good.”

The buildOn Team at Citizens Bank Park

I’m sure you students have noticed a lot of differences between us older folks and yourselves. But really, we have a lot in common.

You’ll be old like us someday, and I want you to know that we are blessed to have you here. Just remember there are lots of lonely people out there with no one to visit them, imagine that- no one!

Coming here and helping out, you brightened our day!

Thank you for coming. I love you and I thank God for you.

Over the phone, Corinne Lowe doesn’t sound like an average high school sophomore. Despite being out of breath from running home after a late lunch to catch our interview, she smoothly and confidently launched into the story of her recent accomplishments with buildOn. “It started in the summer of 2010,” she said. “My family had dinner with the O’Connors [editor's note: The O'Connors are enthusiastic California-based buildOn supporters.] And they were talking about their experience and how they’ve been building schools all over the world. It was just over a casual dinner but it was something I immediately wanted to be involved in.”

Lowe’s involvement over the past year has blossomed into a full chapter at Sage Ridge High. Like all buildOn chapters, Lowe’s is a closely knit group of passionate buildOn advocates who support our international development programs. But she has achieved an unprecedented feat for a buildOn supporter her age — her chapter has now raised enough money for an entire school in Nicaragua.

“Most student chapters only raise like $5-10k,” she noted. “But I liked the idea of building an entire school. I know $30k is a pretty lofty goal, but I thought I’d be able to do it. And with the help of a bunch of my friends and other kids at school, I was.”

Corrine Lowe, third from left, and the Sage Ridge buildOn Chapter

Lowe admits, however, that the path to achieving this goal was not easy. Getting her school on board with the project, and corralling interest around a fundraiser with such a steep objective, was no small task. “There were a lot of people who didn’t think we could actually do it, and there wasn’t a lot of motivation. The faculty and administrators at the school were somewhat reluctant. But through the year, as it became clearer that our goal was attainable, the support has really increased. We’ve been featured on the front page of our local paper.”

Located in Novato, just underneath Northern California’s world-famous wine country, Sage Ridge and its students have access to a rich community of philanthropically active individuals. Still, I was curious what tactics Lowe used to differentiate herself from the world of asks in her neighborhood. “Back in February we had a fundraiser that brought in nearly $10k,” she responded. “We had a friend who knows an astronaut. So we held a ‘Meet an Astronaut’ benefit event and got a bunch of people to donate.”

“In addition to benefits and fundraiser events,” she adds, “We make a lot of phone calls and house visits. Generally they’re people we know. That’s the most efficient way to raise money…really it just took a lot of outreach.”

It’s clear, however, that Lowe’s passion for buildOn’s mission allowed her campaign to succeed so wildly. She explained with great conviction her dedication to international development. “I find education to be very important. I have a wonderful education and most people, especially people in third world countries, don’t have that luxury.”

She added, “When I was in China a few years back I saw some people who live with next to nothing…in homes the size of my bedroom, and don’t have access to education. My dad also went to Ethiopia a while ago, and while he was there he heard about the building of a local school and how happy it made the people there. That’s something we don’t often appreciate, we think we HAVE to go to school, but so many kids don’t have that opportunity.”

Lowe and her buildOn chapter will now get the opportunity to personally observe just how much a single school can do. “In mid-August we’re gonna go down to Nicaragua and live with the residents and build the school,” she mentioned. “I’m incredibly excited…I just love traveling and I think it’ll be an amazing experience.”

If you are interested in starting your own buildOn Chapter to help support the construction of schools worldwide contact Tom Silverman at tom.silverman@buildon.org

There was striking passion and confidence in Pylvainen’s voice as she discussed injustices that so many others have taken for granted. And behind that passion and confidence is a burning curiosity that demands answers. “Why are some people so poor and others so rich?” she interjected at one point during our conversation, then adding: “I’d really like to work for a government agency some day and be part of the ‘change from within’ process.”

One has to wonder where this outlook came from. As a teen, Pylvainen attended Michigan’s renown International Academy, and was exposed early on to the nuance of hardship both in the United States and abroad. But thinking back, she attributed much of her current perspective to her years with buildOn. “I first heard about the organization when I was in the 9th grade at IA,” she commented. “A student a few years older than myself gave a presentation about her school building trip. And that got me interested.”

Pylvainen joined in the 10th grade with the hopes of going on a school building trip herself, and was selected as part of IA’s second international excursion ever, to Porto Banco in Nicaragua. “It made a huge impression on me,” she claimed. “I was 14 years old and had never been to a developing country before.” She still remembers discussing the future with a Nicaraguan 8 year old and realizing for the first time the randomness of socio-economic privilege. “He said he wanted to be a doctor,” she recalled. “But his school didn’t even provide classes past the 8th grade. So I started thinking about all these challenges that this child would have to overcome in order to become a doctor versus my own, and there was a huge disparity.”

After witnessing poverty in Nicaragua, Pylvainen felt ready to ask some very tough questions of her homeland and herself. “I got really upset in Nicaragua, learning about their civil war, and how the US was involved. We spoke to people in the village who had fought in that conflict and were missing limbs. And the communist government ran a really successful literacy campaign in Nicaragua, despite the United States’ attempts to take them down. It’s unfortunate that we can’t acknowledge the success of conflicting political ideologies.”

With her political convictions blossoming, Pylvainen returned to the States, and continued her participation in buildOn with renewed passion. As a senior, she eventually became president of her school’s program, and orchestrated fundraisers and projects that would raise, along with money, awareness of the diversity and inequality in Michigan’s own backyard. “IA’s a very ethnically diverse school. One project I remember well was our multi-cultural cookbook. We put the whole thing together and sold it. It made a ton of money, which really surprised us.”

Helena in South East Asia

Pylvainen would go on to study international relations at Wellesley College, and has just been accepted to the Harvard Kennedy school to study public policy. “I still talk about my trip to Nicaragua,” she said. “I wrote about it in my application to Harvard Kennedy. I learned how easy it is to make a difference in your local community at buildOn. The more you think about disparities that exist globally the more you start to think about them in your own country. Coming from Michigan, from the suburbs, it’s obvious what inequalities there are.”

Indeed, the relationship between a worldwide perspective and the motivation to act in one’s own neighborhood is a crucial one, and Pylvainen’s advice to current buildOn students speaks to this. “One of the great things about buildOn is the way it ties together the local and the global,” she explained. “Often some of the best ways to help are in your own local community and you don’t need to go on a big glamorous trip to help out. Inequality happens everywhere.”

When buildOn constructs schools in Nepal, yoga is a required activity for all students and staff members, often beginning as early as 6:30am and lasting over an hour. It’s a physically demanding start to the day, but our urban youth and staff teams have again and again risen to the challenge.

I was in Nepal earlier this year and got to experience this firsthand. The sun would be rising over the hills as the mist began to burn off, and we would embark morning after morning on a crazy journey of dancing, stretching, straining, breathing and chanting in Nepali. Our instructor gave lengthy explanations for all the ailments and potential cures for each position; it was as much a mental exercise as a physical one. I’m sure a lot was lost in translation but we all sat patiently and tried to really appreciate the surreal nature of the moment. Often times host family members would join us in the morning ritual and there was always lots of laughter as we unsuccessfully tried to contort our bodies and balance in precarious ways. Most of the buildOn students had never done yoga in the U.S, so this was a new and unusual experience right from the start.

Our  instructor’s recommendation for a healthy/happy life:

- Eat 1/2 as much food

- Drink 2x as much water

- Do 3x as much yoga

- Laugh 4x as much.

In the video above, our yogi demonstrates a series of laughing exercises that one can follow to achieve his recipe for happiness. I really think the world would be a much better place if we followed this simple advice. Seriously, who can argue with more laughter in this world?

Behind every enthusiastic buildOn youth service program is an active advisor. Advisors are teachers who volunteer to act as buildOn’s connection to each program’s host high school, and to help navigate the school’s bureaucracy when planning activities. The buildOn program at Balboa High School in San Francisco boasts 50 to 60 members, and one of the two advisors in charge of coordinating the healthy-sized team is Sarah Brand, an elective teacher. buildOn coordinator Ashley Shult said the group owes a great deal of its sustainability to the district’s peer support and Sarah’s leadership.

“Sarah is really well known in her district for taking an idea and making it even better,” Ashley said. She’s been working with Sarah for four years and they both went to Mali together in 2008 to build a school. “She was fantastic,” she said. “Not only does she put energy into buildOn but she’s also one of those teachers who carries a lot of energy. She’s been great at assisting communication between buildOn and Balboa High’s principal.  She keeps students to their promise and makes buildOn their priority.”

Sarah Brand constructed a school in Mali with buildOn in 2008.

Years worked at buildOn: 5 years.

How did you get involved with buildOn?

I remember hearing about it and thinking, “Oh, that’s so cool.” I’m the Peer Helping teacher and I try to support youth development. It’s an elective that trains the students on social justice and health issues, and they figure out how to make changes in their community based on knowledge of those issues. It was a very natural fit.

What do you bring to buildOn?

I bring the keys to the room. Just kidding! I bring knowledge on how to help youth make interactive workshops. I bring my own love of global issues. I bring a very high standard of what I believe youth can accomplish.

What are some of your favorite memories working with buildOn?

I was able to go to Mali several years ago and it was a really unique experience to just be in a community that really didn’t have much garbage. It was a very small community and they just didn’t have a lot of plastic or a disposable culture like we do in the United States. I think that was very eye-opening that the material objects that are really important to people in the U.S. are different for them.

I also really appreciate the moments when we do peer-education… and the youth are leading other youth and making it acceptable. And I also think it’s really exciting when something comes up and the students get really into it. This year one of our community service projects was Cookies for Bookies. If you give a book you’d get a cookie, and we got a lot of books. The books were going to this Oakland organization that was putting on this book fair that families could go to.

Complete this sentence:

buildOn is… giving to ourselves by giving to others.

We travelled from all over the USA to come together as one,
With the earnest hope we could give some help and at the same time have some fun,
We were mostly BA, proud and true but some folk we’d never seen,
We soon put our world behind us and became the BA buildOn team.

We knew not what to expect or even what we would do,
But with the leadership of ‘El general’ we knew that we’d get through,
The task ahead was enormous but a challenge that we could embrace,
We had no doubt that we’d get through once we saw the smile on each child’s face.

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To be able to experience first hand such profound differences from our daily lives was truly a privilege.

My own personal special moment will be just passing a Rugby ball around in our host family’s home with the children and their friends who came to stare at the strangers. Despite our inability to communicate through speech, the common bond of playing pass quickly broke the barriers and we laughed with each other. To me, it seemed as if the children momentarily forgot their hardships and had a few moments of fun.

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One cannot really appreciate the need of people and what a difference we make without experiencing it personally. I am glad we had the chance to experience this.

I also cherished our time together as it gave me the chance to get to know my colleagues better. Nothing like sharing a village experience to get to know someone really fast!

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I had visited Central America before, even spending some time in an orphanage, so I thought I had an idea of what we were heading into. I was completely wrong. This trip has brought my experience to a new level and I am so grateful.

The warm affection and love I ( we) received from the village was amazing. It amazes me how these people do not have a lot and they are so happy, yet here in the US we have everything at our fingertips, and sometimes that is not even enough.

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If I had to pick one word to describe our trip it would be “eye-opening.” Actually a lot of the trip was amazingly surreal.

My wife and I were getting ready to sleep in our not so water-tight “kitchen” and Isabella, our host, knocked on the door and insisted that she and her family sleep in our room and we spend the night in their house. Of course we turned down her special gesture. She truly touched us.

It’s funny, we are now finding ourselves looking at things and saying: “that would pay for 20% of a school, that would pay for half a school.” Wow, how we live ? .. . . .

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A chance to build a school we hear, helping kids get on their way,
to attain an education and offering them a brighter day,
What better way to spend your time, reaching out to those in need,
‘Beware’ they say, it might be tough, this warning we will heed.

Tough were the conditions, living in one room old and young,
and should you need to use the loo, go through the field with wet cow dung,
Chickens, Parrots, Dogs and Geese all indoors and roaming free,
but a loving family living simply with hearts wide open for all to see.

Humbling does not cover it, our disbelief could tell no lies,
To live like that for just one day really opened up our eyes,
We were so grateful for that chance to see how the other half lives,
and from today a change of heart on what it means to give.

I’ve travelled the world, both far and wide in an endeavour to open my mind,
But my heart and my soul were touched so much more by this trip I’ve just left behind,
I hope that I can continue on this path of giving more,
And thank you for all your efforts and love, great people to the core.

When Joanna Branch, buildOn Program Director in Pennsylvania, needs to hire a new youth service coordinator for her region, she whittles down candidates to who she feels is the best fit and then conducts an interview–with her students.

“It’s crucial that the students have a voice in this,” she says. “For one thing, whoever fills this particular position will act as a ‘chaparone’ on international school building trips. So they’ll have a powerful influence on the students’ experience in those new, foreign environments. The students also ask things that are important but that I wouldn’t necessarily think to.”

Taylor, seen here with her tutees, represented Delaware Valley Charter High School at the interview

Branch designs the interview to give students a taste of what it’s like on the other side of the employment process. Last week, she singled out Aubrey Millert, a stellar applicant for a vacant program coordinator position, and then held a workshop with students from each of the 3 schools that the hired coordinator will be working with. Millert’s resume was passed around, and the youth discussed issues they face in their high schools to question Millert about.

On the day of the interview itself, Branch had Millert develop an icebreaker activity. “She was great,” Branch notes. “She introduced her background in international travel and then had the students share about whether or not they’d ever used the bathroom in a developing country. Then she presented a roll of toilet paper and had everyone pull off how much they’d need to use the restroom. For every square of tissue they broke off, they had to share a personal anecdote about their work in buildOn.”

The students then grilled her with inquiries. “What would you do if a student got homesick while building a school in a remote village?” “What would you do if students weren’t fulfilling their service obligations, not showing up to projects and the like?” After answering these and more, Millert asked the students questions of her own. The session ended with a presentation by the students about what they feel makes a program coordinator great.

“Millert won the students over on many levels,” Branch notes. “One girl had been encouraged to go on a school building trip last year but was apprehensive. She told me that Millert’s responses to her questions put her at ease enough to want to go this year. That’s exactly the kind of effortless comfort level we hope a buildOn program coordinator can foster.”

After Millert was offered the job, the students from the interview sent her letters of congratulations.

Taylor from Delaware Valley Charter High School: “Dear Aubrey, I can’t wait for you to start working with our school! I think you can really add some new things to our program and also teach us new things. Can’t wait for you to start.”

buildOn Student Kim in Malawi

Kim (seen right), also from Delaware Valley: “Dear Aubrey, It was nice to hear you respond so well to the questions we had for you. I feel so lucky to have met you and have a head start on knowing who you are. You’re going to be great!”

Aubrey Millert responded to Branch via email as well: “Thanks so much for inviting me to Philly to meet the students. They are truly remarkable and I can tell what a positive impact buildOn has had on their lives.”

We warmly welcome Aubrey into the buildOn family, especially knowing that she comes with our students’ seal of approval.

Skyler’s Picks

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
By far my favorite novel out of those that I’ve read in the last 5 years. It incorporates a bit of autobiography with lots of fiction. Most of the storyline takes place in India and has everything you could ever ask for in an epic summer read. It captures you from the first sentence and sends you on a journey laced with love, betrayal, deep rivalries, intense loyalty, war, survival, and irony.

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge is my favorite Haitian author and this book is just one of her many must-read books if you are interested in Haiti. It’s a book of 9 short stories, and what I call a perfect commuter book because you can finish a chapter on your way to work.



Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen
This is a book that I enjoyed reading in graduate school. It helped me define my world view on international development and poverty. It’s an academic read, so don’t bring this book to the beach.




The Man and the Storyteller by Brett McNaught
Written by buildOn’s Vice President of International Programs, Brett McNaught, this book will get you in the mood for travel and life on the road in developing countries.

Brett’s Picks

A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
V.S. Naipaul writes about his native Trinidad in a way that shows great humor, sadness and truth in A House for Mr. Biswas. The story follows a seemingly ordinary man, one that is not even necessarily likable, through his quest to one day have a house of his own and to get out from under his in-laws. What struck me most about this book is how fiction can be a rich and wonderful window into a time and place that non-fiction has trouble replicating with the same power. If you like this I recommend A Bend in The River as his next book, which takes a look at post-colonial Africa.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A magical journey through multi-generations of a Columbian family called the Buendias. Marquez is famous for his Magical Realism. If you like this you will also like Love in The Time of Cholera.



The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
The amazing and true story of William Kamkwamba of Wimbe village in Malawi and his resourcefulness to build a windmill in his village. buildOn has partnered with William in Wimbe and has completed the first of multiple schools in Wimbe, Malawi.



The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
A quick, inspiring must read that is perfect while you are travelling to get you in the travelling mood or while you are at home wanting to feel like you are getting away. It’s hard to go wrong when it has sold something crazy like 65 million copies and been translated in 65+ languages. Timeless.



Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
An insightful book that examines history in an interesting way that seems to logically explain many mysteries of human society. Jared Diamond is a serious academic who writes in a way that allows most anyone to understand what he is explaining, even me.



A Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Inspiring, educational and a very important part of world history that happened not too long ago.




American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis
Pulitzer Prize winning author of Founding Brothers Ellis is a great historian and storyteller who I believe honestly portrays the complexity of America’s founders at a time of great change. Ellis looks at Adams, Franklin, Washington, Madison, Payne and Jefferson to name a few and exposes their greatest strengths and weaknesses. It is an interesting read for anyone interested in creating social change.

Some other non-profit related reading lists were recently published by Fast Company, who notes a book about KA-BOOM!’s genesis, and LearnPhilanthropy.net. Hope your summer provides lots of opportunities to curl up with one of the above tomes!

Team Achemwali: Emma, Caroline, Charlotte, and Monica

buildOn is very fortunate to have supporters all over the world, including the UK. One of those supporters, Caroline Rolfe, is running a campaign on our fundraising site, We buildOn, to construct a school in Achemwali, Malawi. She recently organized a buildOn Bash to raise awareness of buildOn and money for her school building trip. Read Caroline’s report from the fête!

Update: The buildOn bash in Britain raised over $20,000!

Team Achemwali with Auctioneer Mike Cattermole

Taking place on Friday, June 17th in the beautiful club house of Buckinghamshire Golf Club, the buildOn Bash was a large success. Rain was the order of the evening but did not manage to dampen our guests high spirits in the least! We started with a champagne reception, and I then made a welcoming speech and thanked our guests for their support. I also thanked my friends Charlotte, Monica and Emma for agreeing to come on this life-enriching African adventure with me!

Charlotte and Caroline with James Holliday, the owner of The Chateau

Silent Auction

A hog roast dinner was then served, followed by a quaint old fashioned candy bar, which many guests commented reminded them of their childhood. Guests frenetically bid on silent auction items throughout dinner. The guests then assembled for our loud auction. Charlotte spoke in depth about buildOn as a charity and its huge accomplishments thus far. Monica then talked about the importance of education–which was a very personal speech as she is a teacher. The loud auction was, appropriately, very loud and fast, as well as great fun, with guests out-bidding each other at every turn. We then had a fabulous live band and DJ to continue the fun into the early hours.

- Caroline Rolfe

Caroline with Mercy Tahuna, Press Officer at The Malawi High Commission in London

When I phoned buildOn alum Megan Massey on a Wednesday, mid-morning, one of the first things out of her mouth was an apology. “Right now I’m on call for a few end-of-life situations…” she explained, that might cut our conversation short.

Massey is a certified child life specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Her occupation is grueling but people-oriented, and rewarding as a result. “I work with children and help them cope with the stress of hospitalization,” she said. “We prepare them for procedures, and make the hospital environment feel safer by providing play. In end-of-life situations we work with brothers and sisters and help them to understand what death and dying really mean, and also do some ‘memory making’.”

It all sounds overwhelming, but in Massey’s words, “It’s really about connecting with people.” She describes the desire to reach out to others as a lifelong passion, one that buildOn helped to ignite. “When I was a freshman, Jim [Ziolkowski, CEO and founder] did a presentation about the program, and a recent school building trip to Nepal. As soon as I saw that work it really changed my perspective. Jim has a way of grabbing your attention and getting you to think about those who don’t have the same opportunities as you. I joined the year after that presentation.”

Massey attended Lumen Christi High, Ziolkowski’s own alma mater, in Jackson, Michigan during the early 2000′s. As a sophomore, she was part of Lumen Christi’s second school building trip ever, to Mali. “It was right after my sixteenth birthday,” she said with a mix of nostalgia and disbelief. “But the trip was…it was amazing. I went with a very diverse group; I was one of 3 Caucasian people who went.”

Megan in Mali

She’s now come to view this experience as monumentally formative. “We were in a village with no running water and no electricity,” she reminisced. “Their only food source was the crops they grew. It was drastic exposure to a different world. It gave me the chance to not just see a problem from afar and throw money at it. It was a chance to engage and be present in the suffering and be present in part of the solution. That’s something my husband and I still do today. If we want to make a difference, we don’t stand on the outside and offer vague support, we really like to get involved.”

After returning from Mali, Massey stepped up that involvement immediately, entrenching herself in buildOn service. “My junior and senior year I was student president of the buildOn program,” she mentioned to me. During her tenure, she focused on promoting the awareness of and reaching out to regional human suffering. “We did one activity called ‘Homeless for a Night’ where we’d spend the night in a parking lot. The cops would usually move us, sometimes it would rain. It helped us not to take things for granted and to support the underserved in the community.”

Since leaving high school, Massey has continued to nurture her interests in education and community development. “Mali gave me the perspective of joining people in their suffering and helping them come out of that, and not from a distance,” she explained. “I don’t travel anymore, but I’ve been able to apply that knowledge to my own community. It’s followed me around.”

In addition to her day job as a child life specialist, she and her husband are foster parents, and are also involved in Common Ground, an organization that supports the rights of underprivileged youth in Milwaukee. “…which is a hot topic, if you’ve been following Madison in the news,” she points out. “There’s a lot of change and budget cuts. We want to support kids in their education here, because there’s a lot of downsizing of staff going on.”

Through it all, Massey often thinks back to the school she constructed in Mali with buildOn. “It inspired me to reach beyond myself. It came at a vulnerable teenage time in my life and allowed me to view things outside of my ego-centric self. It was great at an early age to be able to reach out to people.”

To flip through, click and drag the lower right hand corner of the image below!

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Abbe Ewell and her Dad

My dad has always been involved in the community – doing everything from taking on projects and leadership roles to support the Boy Scouts, emceeing fundraisers for the local Salvation Army, and recruiting friends and community members to get involved with various causes. The most memorable project that my dad started over 25 years ago is called Santa Feeds the Kids. Every December he collects donations to purchase groceries for 20+ local families in partnership with a local children and family services agency. Then, a couple days before Christmas, he recruits friends and family from the community to do the grocery shopping early in the morning. It’s an inspiring experience to see 30-40 people come out at 6:30am to fill carts with groceries for families in need. And it definitely confirms the fact that one person’s idea can positively impact many, many lives. My dad’s investment in our community and big ideas for giving back have long been an inspiration to me – helping me better understand the difference that I can make in our world.

- Abbe Ewell, Program Coordinator & Training Specialist

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My Dad has truly made me who I am today. He is a rock solid, driven, creative, passionate man who has faced challenges and setbacks in his life and always viewed them as opportunities. He loves baking anything and everything (he made 9 pound cakes and 90 cupcakes for a party for me a few weeks ago!) and him and his wife make a sweet Georgia wine. His door is always open to the world and he is always ready for an adventure.

My dad is a man of very few words, but I still ask him questions all the time. One day we were talking and I asked him, “What is happiness?” And he said, “happiness is when I look in the mirror, and I can honestly say, I did a good thing today.”

Simple words, but they have always stuck with me and I think about them all the time. Over the past three years, in my work with buildOn, I feel lucky to be able to truly know that I am living his words everyday.

- Missy Shields, New York Regional Manager

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Tamsyn, her dad, and her son Miles

My Dad is the best for more reasons than I could ever list! He is always there for me and all of my brothers and sisters, whether we have to ask him how to cook Grandma’s famous Acini de Pepe or if we need his advice on buying a car or house. The only thing he does better than being a Dad is being a Grandpa to his favorite grandchild of all time, Miles!

- Tamsyn Ambler, Program Coordinator

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My Dad has taught me so much over the years. He taught me to understand the importance of understanding the other parties’ perspective during conflict. In fact, I still call him when I need to talk through a difficult situation. But other than being my emotional rock he is also one of the funniest people I know. He once offered me a spoonful of vanilla ice-cream, it was only when I had the spoon in my mouth did I discover it was sour cream. He also sent me an empty carton of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream when I was in Peace Corps Kiribati. Keep in mind I was on an island that was regularly hotter than 100 degrees. He is a jokester. He is my favorite person.

- Danielle Gilbert, Program and Trek Coordinator

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Catarina and her Dad, Geoffrey Norman

My Dad was the one who first introduced me to buildOn. He met Jim & Marc while he was at GE (worked there for 36 years!) and then slowly but surely our whole family got involved. My mom was a buildOn Co-Advisor at New Canaan H.S., my sister opened the buildOn office with Abby in CA, I was a volunteer for many years before joining full-time, my sister-in-law in Seattle is one of the Seattle Chapter Chairs and now all the women in my family are raising $ to go to Malawi to build a school in October. And it all started with my Dad!

- Catarina Schwab, VP, West Coast

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My father has a laugh that one can never forget and a heart that spans the cosmos. My dad can do anything — I have always thought so and I’m still convinced. Growing up he supported my feline adoption habit — I’m quite sure he only liked them because they made me happy. He made it so there was always time for the little things — the moments that make life worth living. He knows how to turn hard times into the best memories…and when it’s appropriate to have ice cream and popcorn for dinner.

My father is the source of my hope and compassion. He and my heart are one.

- Kimmy Kunkle, Program Coordinator

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Erika Robers' Dad and her Son

My Dad has influenced me perhaps more than any other person in my life.  His open heart, willingness to empathize with others and deep love of humanity inspires me to continue to dedicate myself to the work we do here at buildOn.

When I was 12, my dad volunteered through our church to travel to rural El Salvador. The stories of struggle he was told by ordinary Salvadorans about what they had endured in their civil war humbled him. They wanted, and continue to want, the most basic of things – education, food for their families, health and safe communities. The love and openness that strangers showed my Dad when he visited really touched his heart. I have a vivid memory of sitting in Sunday mass next to my father after he returned from El Salvador and seeing him break down. I think it was the only time I had ever witnessed him cry. I saw the frustration and sadness in him, knowing he could do so little to alleviate others’ pain.

- Erika Robers, Program Coordinator

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Jim Snodgrass

In 2008 I bought my first house. Little did I know that said house had been infested with termites and the damage had been covered up to pass inspection. In short I planned to remodel the kitchen and that turned into gutting the entire house down to the brick. My dad moved to Chicago for a year and helped physically rebuild the whole darn house from top to bottom. In that year I got to spend more quality time with him than any time in my whole life. That one termite infested, rat hole of a money pit was the reason I got re-introduced to my dad, and learned more about him and myself than I ever would have otherwise. Thanks Dad!  Thanks for coming to save the day, and for being an all around great dad.

- J. Quinton Snodgrass, VP, Midwest

~

My dad loves to cook and eat. Growing up he would travel to foreign countries for work and he would come back with full rolls of film, not of amazing sites and cultural landmarks, but of the new foods he got to try. I’ve learned so much from my dad. He taught me that food is one of the great joys in life and that I should be open to new experiences. I always think of him when I’m overseas with buildOn trying exciting new foods like guinea hen, T’oh, sesame candy, and so much more. After a 30+ year career as a chemist he went back to school to earn his culinary degree, so he’s taught me to follow my dreams as well as food.

- Joanna Branch, Philadelphia Regional Manager

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Antonia DeMichiel and her Father

Giving back to the community has always been a key family value in the DeMichiel-Madson household. As a toddler growing up in Minneapolis, my dad took me to visit homebound elders during the holidays through a non-profit called Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly.

Shortly after joining buildOn, two students presented a powerpoint about their Trek for Knowledge experience in Mali. I thought to myself, “How cool that they went to Africa and built a school! I could never do that.” I was born with a neurological disorder called cerebral palsy which affects the muscle function in my legs. Since I walk with crutches, I was certain that my physical challenges and the desert like conditions of Mali wouldn’t mix well. But my dad, being the supportive man that he is, told me to go for it without hesitation.

I went on Trek in June of 2008, and the experience definitely deepened my commitment to the buildOn mission. My dad has also given me numerous late night pep talks about the challenges of starting a buildOn chapter from the ground up, edited many fundraising letters, and listened to me rehearse my buildOn gala speeches until they were perfect. I owe my passion for helping others to the values my dad instilled in me at a very age. Thank you dad, for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.

-Antonia DeMichiel, buildOn Alum,

buildOn Chapter Leader at University of Oregon

Curie Metro High School has a modest program advisor. Sharon Yu would rather talk about her phenomenal students than herself, but buildOn programmer Danielle McCarthy tells us that she’s stellar. “This is my third year of programming, and no insult to any other advisor, but she goes above and beyond,” Danielle says of the history teacher. “Every Saturday she is out there with me and the students, taking photos. She’s a buildOn cheerleader to the max.”

Danielle says Sharon’s enthusiasm has been infectious as she’s committed herself to programming for the past two years, doing everything from filling out paperwork to running to Cosco for snacks to chaperoning dances. We’re proud to have such an excellent role model supporting our organization.

What were you doing before you joined buildOn?

This is my third year of teaching. During my second year, the person who used to run buildOn at the school was doing grad school so I took it on along with another teacher. I knew about community service when I first got hired… I went on the Martin Luther King Day Chicago Cares trip and it was great.

What do you bring to buildOn?

I bring leadership, and I’m very humorous around the students. I bring students knowledge about service learning, about helping other people. In the process of reaching out, they’re learning about different people, different situations, and they’re learning about themselves and gaining knowledge.

How has buildOn changed your life?

Immensely. I am going to Mali in the summer with buildOn and two other students. I’m sure it will be once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. I would not have gone to Africa on my own. I think with buildOn my relationship with the students has changed immensely, too… I love interacting with the students who join. They’re so funny, so hilarious. Their personality in the classroom is very different.

What are some of your favorite memories working with buildOn?

The forest preserves trips were very fun and interactive with the environment. We had a bonfire where the students cut the buckthorn, and then we burned the invasive species. Another memory I really enjoyed was the CTA (Chicago Transport Authority) scavenger hunt where students took public transport and went around the city learning to use CTA and looking around for sites. It was pretty cool.

Complete this sentence:

buildOn is… an opportunity for me to work with various people. I don’t think I would have this opportunity to meet so many people in various fields of work otherwise.

We’re very pleased to announce that one of America’s foremost journalists, Ann Curry, is officially joining the buildOn team as an honorary board member. Curry has displayed a passion for service, philanthropy, and human issues throughout her career; she was one of the first to report from Haiti after the earthquake, and has filed crucial reports from Darfur and Chad. And despite her globe-trotting, she’s taken the time out to offer buildOn hands-on and enthusiastic support.

She joined buildOn students during their service in the South Bronx, helping to maintain a community garden that now acts as the neighborhood’s only local source for fresh produce. She’s also helped our students run athletic and crafts workshops for disabled youth. Attendees to our Connecticut Dinner in 2010 may further remember her as our keynote speaker.

We’d like to formally congratulate Curry on her new position as co-anchor of The Today Show alongside Matt Lauer, and we look forward to a mutually enriching relationship with her. Stay tuned for more news about Ann Curry’s honorary board membership by following @buildOnEmpowers and @anncurry on Twitter!

My international work with buildOn has taken me to some truly unique parts of the globe–Misomali, in Malawi, Africa, where one school blossomed into a 10 classroom campus, and a community of former slaves in Lathaiya, Nepal are but two examples. But La Cruz, a small village in Nicaragua, may trump them all with its singular circumstances.

I was introduced to La Cruz while working in Nicaragua with an NGO partner, Fabretto, who helps impoverished youth with education, nutrition, and health programs. I could hardly believe the particulars of the project. “The entire community,” they told me, “sits beside the massive Esteli Dump.”

Like all too many who live in poverty in South and Central America, a dump provides La Cruz with the nearest thing it has to an economy. No one owns land, and as such there’s little agricultural motivation, and no farms or crops. To earn a living, every day the people of La Cruz sift through the mounds of city trash all around them, collecting items that can be recycled or re-sold–pieces of glass, scrap metal, plastic.

Founded in 1951, La Cruz remains small: 37 small “houses” provide shelter for roughly 150 people. When I first visited, it struck me as substantially poorer even than the other under-developed Nicaraguan villages in which we’ve built schools. They have no electricity and no sanitation system. And much of the refuse they can’t sell they take home with them and attempt to put to use in their household.

A row of La Cruz homes fashioned out of recycled garbage

The entire town consists of several rows of ramshackle structures pieced together from discarded items and debris–there wasn’t a single brick in sight among the scraps of roofing sheets, wood splinters, and torn plastic tarps. It looked more like a refugee camp than a village, per se, and yet a conversation I had with a town elder who’d lived in La Cruz for 20 years revealed that these were not temporary homes. If you’d looked across the dump to the horizon two decades ago it’s hard for me to think that much progress could have been made.

Our school in La Cruz was easily the most challenging project we’ve completed in Nicaragua, partly due to the way that life is oriented around the dump in the village. Since all men, women and children were accustomed to organizing and collecting refuse every day, the idea of investing even one day a week of volunteer labor in a long-term project was met with confusion.

A Boy in La Cruz who Works in the Dump Every Day

The community is, in addition, very fractured due to a family feud. Nicaragua is rife with blood battles, the sources of which are very vague. In La Cruz I was told that a few generations back one family’s cow or donkey had been stolen, and when the crime went unsolved violent lines were drawn. To this day, while all townspeople work in the same dump side by side, a strip of land divides La Cruz’s residential area, and the families rarely venture over into opposing territory. A poorly built school stood on one side of town when I first visited, but it only educated very young children who belonged to one of La Cruz’s two fractured sides. It was obvious that much work would need to be completed in order to get the school built and both familial sides of La Cruz to send their children there.

I’m proud to say that, working with Fabretto, we were able to show the people of La Cruz the value of walking away from the dump and their feud to build something permanent for the community. Fabretto helped us to communicate the importance of volunteering on the construction, and have also implemented health and income generation plans that can improve the quality of life in La Cruz. Food workshops and meal plans are in place to alleviate widespread malnutrition, and the villagers are learning the importance of hand washing and oral hygiene. The school was completed in Spring of 2011, and due to the lack of electricity in La Cruz is powered by solar panels.

It was an incredible thing to watch men and women who have toiled amid mountains of trash every day for nearly their entire lives break from that routine and build something for themselves. And while the opening of the school on June 6th was, to be certain, one of many steps for La Cruz, it was ultimately this community pride that overcame the numerous obstacles standing in the way of education.

Some villagers and members of our Nicaraguan staff pose in front of the completed school

buildOn presented a session at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service this year about engaging and mobilizing youth. Our CEO and founder Jim Ziolkowski gave a speech that illustrated the impact our afterschool youth service program has on participants–our students broaden their perspectives, go on to college in astoundingly high numbers, and help to build schools for impoverished villages around the world. We also shared our engagement methodology, focusing on the structure of our programs in high schools and how we function with our many partner associations.

But the highlights of the session, without a doubt, were provided by our student panel, who first offered highly emotional testimony about how buildOn has altered the course of their lives, and then fielded questions from a truly inspired crowd of attendees. Some quotes from their biographical addresses:

I have done over 380 hours of service through buildOn and I can tell you that if it wasn’t for buildOn, I could be dead or in jail. - Ron Daldine Jr.

During the past two years, I have had two of my cousins murdered, lost a friend to cancer and another to suicide. Through each of these events my buildOn family, both staff and students, have helped me get through this difficult time…. It is because of the people who are invested in buildOn that we are able to make an impact in the world and our communities. - Rayia Gaddy (Rayia has completed over 540 hours of service)

When I came to NY three years ago from the Dominican Republic, I didn’t speak any English and I had no idea how to get around. Language is still a barrier for me but through buildOn I’m able to express myself because buildOn is like being around family. This past February of 2010, I traveled to Mali, West Africa to build a school in Chessana. It was like ‘Wow!’ This experience made me understand that it doesn’t matter the difference of countries and environments, we can help each other and there is always someone who needs help. - Faustino “Junior” De la Cruz, Jr.

Ron Daldine and Rayia Gaddy at NCVS in New Orleans

Throughout the various parts of our session, we emphasized above all else how our program works because of our staff, and the positive safe space our staff provides students.  We do little things that make a big difference in our students’ lives: Learn their names, constantly invite them to projects, encourage them, recognize their contributions, identify strengths.  Students respond to that, to the relationship, to the caring adult. And then they begin to see themselves differently, and begin to interact with their community differently.  We view youth as a part of the solution and are dedicated to finding ways to harness their creativity and idealism to make positive change.

We look forward to NCVS 2012 in Chicago, IL!

With the school year winding down, we’re taking the opportunity to recognize the hard work our students and staff have put into making the Youth Engagement Zone at Banana Kelly such a success. No one was quite sure what to expect–integrating service learning with urban high school curriculum presents challenges for which there are no ready-made solution. But as stories right here on the blog have shown, the last semester in particular has been a rewarding one. We’ve seen students reaching out to their communities, to each other, and to themselves–to the selves they might not have realized they had within them.

Our Year End Celebration was designed to engage in the same manner that our service project and field trips engage. We handed out lots of awards and watched a video montage with footage and stills from the whole academic year. 9/10th grade Guidance counselor Sandra Rivera-Perez noted to me how moved she was by the festivities–”So many of the students getting awards are those that feel invisible or alienated at school,” she said. “And many others might be considered ‘bad’ or unwilling to engage.” Today was about putting the spotlight on all of them.

Ezequiel Osorio, Proud Recipient of 2 Year End Awards

Engagement across the board has led to achievement across the board. Many of the Youth Engagement Zone’s projects, such as the community garden and the school store, are still going strong and will continue into next year. We handed out awards to our gardeners, as well to students who excelled at our Paint4Change Service Day, our senior interns, our The Point volunteers, students with notable service hours, and many others.

Joshua Martin Poses with His Award

Reflecting on strategy is a crucial part of service learning, and I was happy to be able to fuse assessment with celebration for this year end event.. It was a truly emotional few hours at Banana Kelly; students and teachers are still coming up to me with inspired reminiscences about the “energy in the room.” And as I welcomed next year’s class at new student orientation later in the day, I was reminded that this is only the beginning. I look forward to continuing my reflections here on the blog, and to engaging with the Bronx’s youth in even more exciting ways.

William Bowles is the driving force behind buildOn’s afterschool program at Detroit’s Western International High School, according to buildOn staff member Keisha Brooks. She said he expects great things from his students and holds them accountable. William has been an advisor with buildOn for so long he doesn’t remember the date he started; his memories have all melded together.

William got involved with buildOn because of his passion for global issues. He is a Library Media Specialist at the school, and through his resources, he gives his buildOn students access to computers and introduces them to books. “Considering literacy is something important to buildOn’s goal, and with our illiteracy rate being so high (in the region), having interesting books to read for the students is imperative,” Keisha said.

Keisha and William have been working on Taste Fest, a popular potluck fundraiser that transforms the library into a restaurant. William, who goes into full character as the maitre d, says the program is successful because it brings the staff and the students together. The fourth and last Taste Fest of the school year will take place in May and feature karaoke.

“He is very fun and at the same time very serious,” Keisha says. “He’s really an activist for maintaining the quality of education.”

Years worked at buildOn: I joined in 2003, 2004, 2005 or 2006. I’m not quite sure.

What were you doing before you joined buildOn?

I started working at the school in 1993. Before that I taught overseas in Zaire, I spent a year in Nigeria as a grad student and I taught in Turkey.

How has buildOn changed your life?

It really increased my awareness (of service organizations) and appreciation for the need to do service and the satisfaction that it gives.

What are some of your favorite memories working with buildOn?

One of the things I remember was a cold October morning, Saturday, maybe 8 o’clock, and I think we were doing tree planting with my school and a few other schools. I remember looking at the faces of some of these young people and thinking, “Wow, these kids have gotten out of bed to come out and help.” It’s sort of an iconic image for me. They’ve been given the opportunity to serve and what they end of doing is having a lot of fun.

What does buildOn mean to you?

The bulk of buildOn is the ongoing service. So, when I think of buildOn I think of the value the students receive in the act of helping others — and in that act they learn so much. It’s not only increased awareness of the needs of the community but also the multiplicity of organizations that do outreach, that serve the community in different ways. It gives the students an opportunity to develop a philosophy of life, and one of the main components of driving meaning to one’s life comes from service.

Complete this sentence: buildOn is… necessary.

Student Isac Herrera Presents His Speech at the buildOn Breakfast

Our student speaker at the buildOn Breakfast in Chicago last month was Isac Herrera, a resident of the city’s South Side and a shining example of the social power of volunteerism and youth service. His story, from near-expulsion to college matriculation, is posted below.

I find the words of philosopher Albert Pike very meaningful. He said, “What you do for yourself alone dies with you. What you do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

My name is Isac Herrera. I grew up in a gang-infested neighborhood in the South side of Chicago. My dad tried to protect and isolate his kids from the drugs and bad company, but I got sucked into that world at school. I was a mediocre student in grade school. In eighth grade I did my best to fit in with the crowd, and although I wasn’t gang affiliated I would do everything I could to be liked by the those who were. Eventually I was suspended and nearly expelled. I needed a clean start in high school.

Unfortunately, the high school I entered was worse. This year alone, there were three shootings at Gage Park, two in the first month of school. I was scared that nothing would change, that I could not change, and I would fall in with the wrong crowd again. Luckily, that is not my story.

I am currently a senior at Gage Park High School. Although Gage Park is known for gang violence, drug dealing and many negative stereotypes, I found a different path for myself. I found buildOn.

I joined buildOn in my freshman year. The program helped me with my new beginning by giving me something to do after school and on weekends. While my peers from middle school continued running with gangs, I was introduced to new people — students and buildOn staff, people who I should be affiliated with because they would have a positive influence on me. My life could have taken a very different direction, but buildOn continued to make sure I stayed out of trouble throughout freshman and sophomore year.

My buildOn Advisor, Mr. Ratterman, and some buildOn students would go to a homeless center for women and children to sort donations. We would also visit homes for the elderly to cook them a healthy meal, play games and spend quality time with them. The people at these projects appreciated me, and helped me gain more confidence.

More importantly, volunteering showed me that the choices I make matter. They matter not just to me but to every life I touch. My junior year I was chosen to build a school in Mali, Africa. Living in a rural village made realize how fortunate I was to have everything that I have — from the material things to the people in my life. This experience helped me to embrace my education, because I got to see what education can do, and how desperate people are to get it when it’s not available. I overcame certain obstacles in Mali, but I got to come back home. What gives me more confidence to face the obstacles in my life here in Chicago is remembering how my friends in Mali were so determined to create better lives for themselves and their children, and I helped them do it.

buildOn has helped me stand out instead of fitting in, when fitting in means a life of low expectations. I no longer think people see me as mediocre because I don’t see myself as a mediocre person. I see myself as someone who has made huge changes in his life and above all has made a great impact in the lives of others. buildOn has helped me find my purpose not only in high school but also for the rest of my life.

I am determined to be the first person in my family to graduate college. This fall I’m going to attend the University of Cincinnati. I want to work hard to provide a better education for my children. I want to be the kind of person few people believe I can be, the kind of person buildOn believes I am.

buildOn’s afterschool programs in the Bronx have partnered up with none other than the Yankees to turn one of the United States’ most famous franchises “green”! Since the start of spring, a group of buildOn students has attended every homegame at Yankee Stadium, where they spend the first four innings cleaning up, recycling, and composting waste. They also provide brief tutorials to fans about proper disposal of recyclable and biodegradable products, and how they can do their part to keep the stadium eco-friendly. For the remaining five innings, the buildOn students get to watch the game from reserved Green Team seats.

buildOn Students are Interviewed on Yankee Stadium's Jumbo Screen

buildOn Program Director Missy Shields describes the partnership as a “great on-going service opportunity. It’s been one of the students’ favorite activities for the entire year. We’ve had about 50 different volunteers from our high school programs so far.” In addition to teaching the students about how to remain environmentally friendly in urban settings, Shields also notes that the project has helped to spread awareness of buildOn. During several games, the students have been interviewed on Yankee Stadium’s jumbo screen, and Shields has been approached by fans afterward each time. “I ran into a former buildOn staffer of ours at one game,” she notes. “It’s great to be able to make those kinds of connections from this project.”

Stay tuned for more news as buildOn’s Green Team helps to make Yankee Stadium environmentally friendly!

buildOn Students are Helping to Clean Up Yankee Stadium!

Ram Tharu leads construction on buildOn schools in Nepal like this one

This September, buildOn will be celebrating 20 years of breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education. To prepare for this milestone, we’ll be posting tributes to the heroes who have defined the success of our programs over the last two decades. Look out for more “20 years of buildOn” features!

Ram Krishna Tharu, a Construction Supervisor from Nepal, is a rare link between buildOn’s auspicious beginnings and its continuing achievements. Tharu was present at the ground-breaking and subsequent development of buildOn’s very first school, and has just recently participated in the building of our 400th. We caught up with Tharu to discuss his background, his passion, and any memories he has from buildOn’s two-decade tenure in Nepal.

How did you first get involved with buildOn?

The first buildOn school in Nepal was built in 1994, in Haupur village. And I have a relative from Haupur who informed me that buildOn was looking to hire people to help build schools. So I came to Haupur village and talked with the staff, and buildOn selected me as a head mason.

What were you doing before that?

I was working as a contractor of construction near my home town.

How many schools have you helped build?

I’ve helped with about 42 buildOn schools.

What’s the usual construction process like for building a school?

First, we make a school building map with the design. After that we have to get the covenant and commitment from the community. [Note: Covenants are contracts signed by the villages that commits them to providing labor for the build, abolishing any child labor in the community, and ensuring gender equality in the subsequent education system.]

Then we collect construction materials, break ground, and start working.

What kind of relationship do you have with the students and coordinators from buildOn?

A harmonious relationship!

What has it meant to the Nepalese villagers to have these schools built?

The communities are very thankful to get a new, safe, and strong school building. The kids need not escape from school during heavy rain and wind anymore.

What changes have you observed in the past few decades in terms of bringing volunteers to construct schools in Nepal?

The communities recognize that every kind of project can be done if they do it in a group. Unity is the best policy.

What was it like having American youth work with you to construct the 400th school? What do you think the impact was on the community?

I’m very happy American youth travel so far to work with Nepalese people and contribute to their communities. This is an inspiration. The community gained more power from American youth.

How is building a school more meaningful than a basic construction job?

The school belongs to the whole community, not only single family. And schools help to produce teachers, doctors, and engineers.

The segment details Jim’s epiphany while seeing a celebration in Nepalese village after the building of a new school, and the subsequent development of our first programs for urban youth in the South Bronx. Flashing 20 years forward, Michelle Miller then follows Jim back to Nepal as he travels to break ground on buildOn’s 400th school with a team of students from the Bronx who later return home to contribute service to their own community. We were very proud to have the support of CBS Evening News and want to thank them for recognizing our hard work in the US and abroad. Please share this video with friends and family!

Left to right: buildOn CEO and Founder Jim Ziolkowski, buildOn Student Speaker Isac Herrera, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and buildOn Global Leadership Award recipient Neal Zucker.

Thanks to the generosity of buildOn supporters throughout the Chicagoland Region, the 2011 buildOn Breakfast has broken the event’s previous attendance achievements and has raised a current grand tally of $460,000. We’d like to applaud our supporters and students for sharing with us this morning of inspiration, celebration, and frittata in the Grand Ballroom of the downtown Chicago Hilton on Wednesday, May 25th.

NBC5 Chicago’s charismatic co-anchors Rob Elgas and Zoraida Sambolin proved charming and amicable hosts, and we were proud to welcome our honorees. Neal Zucker, President & CEO of Corporate Cleaning Services received buildOn’s Global Leadership Award as presented to him by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Groupon’s COO Margo Georgiadis was on hand to accept the Social Entrepreneurship Award for Groupon’s G-Team. And, Aon’s Kip Kelley accepted the Corporate Leadership Award for the company’s commitment to Chicago’s youth.

Local business and philanthropic leaders were greeted at the ballroom by a collection of dedicated buildOn students from 26 Chicago public high schools across the city. These students were the focus of the festivities, and they joined founder and CEO Jim Ziolkowski on stage during the climax of his address acknowledging heroes from buildOn’s afterschool and school building programs around the globe. The breakfast provided an unprecedented opportunity for many donors to connect with the youth that our programs (and their dollars) serve.

The morning’s most emotional moment occurred when buildOn program member Isac Herrara shared his inspirational story. A resident of Chicago’s south side, Isac described how buildOn motivated him to evade the pitfalls of gang culture and expand his social perspective. He was nearly expelled from junior high; he’s now been accepted to the University of Cincinnati where he will attend this fall. During the course of the event, representatives from four corporations offered Herrara business cards and job opportunities.

Our gratitude goes out to all of our honorees, sponsors and supporters, and here’s to an even bigger and better 2012 Breakfast with more inspiring moments!

Project Africa members organized a wine tasting fundraiser in San Antonio, Texas

The group’s student officers Stephanie Rodriguez (president and a business major) and Ana Bribiesca (treasurer and a fashion merchandising major) work with John, the faculty sponsor. The three said it took a while for them to get their chapter off the ground, but now Project Africa has ten solid members and their events have huge turnouts. It’s also won the campus award for “Most Charitable Organization” two years in a row. The chapter’s goal is to build a school in Mali by August, making Cisse’s dream come true.

What do you bring to buildOn?

Ana: We have a lot of support with people on campus. We seem to get the community involved in our events.

Stephanie: I think that we each have our areas of concentration – from the fashion department to the business department to someone in graphic design who does flyers and advertising. You could think of Project Africa as an entrepreneurial organization because everybody gets to exercise what they’re studying and focused on.

John: I brought experience partnering agencies and groups together, so this fits in well because everything we do pulls in groups and agencies for a common goal.

How has buildOn changed your life?

Stephanie: It’s taught us about working together by acting locally and thinking globally. It’s brought out the best in everybody.

John: It’s broadened my scope of the world. I used to be very focused locally — on campus, San Antonio, maybe Texas. This has forced me to look beyond those boundaries. It’s also taught me that when students have a purpose and a goal to stay out of the way.

Ana: It’s made me more aware of what’s going on around the world and that there’s something we can do to make change in the world.

What events has the group organized since 2009?

Stephanie: There have been several fundraisers. We hosted two male date auctions. Those were fun. The girls bid to ask the guy out on a date. Then we had a talent show and a silent art auction. We had a wine-tasting for staff members, faculty and other business people. We just recently had our fashion mixer… We have a wine dinner coming up at a really exclusive country club here in San Antonio, and we have a silent art auction going on.

John: We participated in the Basura Bash, which helps the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word with an environment cleanup around the river. This is an environmentally sensitive campus.

Have you had any particular notable donations?

John: There was a donation from the Sister’s congregation, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, for 1000 dollars. They’re the ones whose mission we serve… why we’re here. For us to win that, we felt like we were doing the right thing, although we had to fight and struggle to get our ideas and our events approved. We had our own little justice battle and stood up to a lot of people because it was too much with what the students are interested in; we had college nights at local clubs. We were stretching boundaries by involving students to raise money.

What are some of your favorite memories working with buildOn?

Stephanie: The fashion mixer is probably the biggest experience we’ve had so far. That brought in 350 people. And I think everybody was really satisfied with the mixer because we all knew how much work it involved, with partnering and stress.

Ana: I think most of the great memories came from planning this fashion show. It took three months … We had fittings at local stores and each store had their own show. They chose some outfits and got models to volunteer. And then we had a salon do African-inspired hair and makeup.

John: My truly favorite moment was the end of last year, during the awards banquet. They didn’t tell us anything about it and told us to come, and that’s when we realized we had been nominated for all sorts of awards. We won four that night: best new organization, most charitable organization, most consistent with the mission, and then most creative event of the year. It was like the Academy Awards for us. We were never recognized before and it came at us real fast.

Complete this sentence:

Ana: buildOn is… an opportunity to help people around the world and make a difference.

John: buildOn is… a role model for thinking big and reaching out really far.

Stephanie: buildOn is… the opportunity to educate those in most need.

“I’m floating on the river! The river I’ve been studying all year!”

- Banana Kelly Student
Yaxeny Vasquesz

Service learning implementation at Banana Kelly’s Youth Engagement Zone has taken on many forms. We’ve completed community mapping so that students can develop the skills they need to recognize and troubleshoot problems in their neighborhoods, and we’ve planted trees in abandoned lots to explore how the environment fits into the Bronx’s urban landscape. Most of these have been projects undertaken by Banana Kelly’s 9th grade who, throughout the year, has also been examining water from the Bronx River in lab sessions that have fused science, math, and community awareness.

On May 16th and 18th, the 9th grade experienced the culmination of their curricular interaction with the river as they embarked on a class-wide canoe trip. These students had previously spent much time on the river banks, studying, but most of them had never actually been in the water, or even in a boat of any kind. Coordinating with the Bronx River Alliance, we prepped the students with safety instructions and a discussion of how they could connect the thrill of canoeing to the science they’d learned earlier.

A canoe tips over, but the students remain calm and execute a rescue.

This was an exciting field trip for many in Banana Kelly’s 9th grade. During the first outing, two students actually tipped their boat over and fell into the river. Luckily, 9th grade science teacher Nicola Vitale was with them, and everyone managed to remain calm while executing a speedy rescue. I imagine the students who fell in will always remember this day; it brought them a tremendous sense of accomplishment to have thrust themselves so confidently into this new activity.

We were equally proud that the students made a connection between the canoe trip and the studies they’d completed on the river’s water for the last semester. Many, like Yaxeny Vasquesz, were exhilarated by the opportunity to physically interact with a body of water whose properties they knew so intimately. Exploring both the natural and urban elements of one’s environment isn’t only about asking questions and observing outcomes–it’s about getting one’s hands dirty, or maybe even drenching one’s body, in what his or her world has to offer.

Sailing on the River

On Sunday May 22nd, the 50 buildOn students from New York with the most community service hours were recognized by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. as the Volunteers of the Year. These students’ families convened along with city officials and buildOn representatives in the rotunda of the Bronx courthouse to applaud the wealth of inspiring community service completed throughout the academic year.

During the ceremony, buildOn founder and CEO Jim Ziolkowski spoke along with regional program director Missy Shields about the organization’s rich history of community outreach in the Bronx – a relationship spanning the past 16 years. buildOn students Isacar Chavez, Gabby Ramirez, Luis Alonso and Keara Knight also discussed their experiences in the Bronx and how buildOn’s youth service program has impacted them.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. recognizes buildOn students from local schools for their community service hours

After a brief ceremony, each school was awarded a certificate for their students’ service, and pictures were taken with Diaz Jr. We’re thrilled to have collaborated with the borough president to celebrate buildOn’s presence in the Bronx, and the efforts of our tireless NYC-based students.

The students with the most community service from each buildOn program in the Bronx accept their school's award.

This week we brushed up on our Spanish to interview Anibal Rodriguez, buildOn’s Nicaragua Country Director. Rodriguez has been with us for nearly a decade,  and he’s helped to expand our international development program in his home immensely. Under his direction, many students in rural villages have benefited from the construction of schools. Anibal has told us that several of the first Nicaraguan students he met through buildOn are going to high school, and some are applying to universities.

buildOn’s International Programs Manager Skyler Badenoch speaks very highly of him. Skyler found Anibal through a Peace Corps contact in 2007 while he was living in Nicaragua.

“We were preparing for a big donor trek and we were hiring for a country director. We ended up doing a trial run with him,” he says. “ He did such a great job.”

Anibal also makes an effort to show donors and volunteers the best side of his homeland, and is skilled at organizing partnerships.

“He was instrumental in getting $94,000 from the Japanese Embassy [to build schools],” Skyler says. “He took that challenge and went out and impressed them. It was a team effort, but mostly it happened because he was able to get that grant.”

Country Directors are the gatekeepers of the buildOn’s methodology, implementing the steps that complete schools efficiently and effectively. Besides being the main source of communication between the Nicaragua office and our US Office, Anibal overseas the local staff, manages contracts with the Ministry of Education, visits mayors all across the country to gauge regional interest in education, selects construction sites, ensures the quality of our labor teams, and leads the construction process with the buildOn staff.

City: Esteli, Nicaragua

Years worked at buildOn: 9

What were you doing before you joined buildOn?

I worked with Peace Corps Nicaragua as a temporary technical trainer for culture. And I was a farmer.

What do you bring to buildOn?

Enthusiasm to work with poor neighborhoods, and to attend to the real needs that children have…. We connect buildOn to the community.

How has buildOn changed your life?

We talk with the villagers about their experiences. This is what changes my life because it makes me feel closer to my people.

There’s a connection with the students. We participate in the people’s conversations and I explain their experiences to the buildOn volunteers. We talk about what their life is like. It’s different in every country.

In Mali, we went to an International Country Directory’s Conference (in May 2008) and then went to a few sites to see the schools and how different they are from the ones in Nicaragua. The culture of Africa is very different. For me it was a motivating experience because there’s poverty in Africa but the people are very spiritual and happy.

What are some of your favorite memories working with buildOn?

Working in community Los Encuentros in Madriz. It’s a humble, indigenous community and the people were so well organized and very loving. We contacted them, and in a month they had everything organized. The school was built in six weeks. They had their own work to do but they were getting up early in the morning and completing their daily activities, and then after 7:30 they worked with us [on the school]. It was their dream to build a school. They didn’t want to lose out on this opportunity.

Complete this sentence: buildOn is… changing lives. It brings people together to work side by side to create new opportunities for children and the people.

During my last my last Leaders From the Field blog entry I discussed how buildOn’s youth service programs help high school students explore their communities and broaden their horizons. One of the students I profiled, Nikhail James, has since expanded his realm of possibility even more profoundly: Pushing himself beyond his comfort zone, he traveled over 7,500 miles from his home in Philly to help build a school in the rural village of Kharula.

I had the pleasure of sharing two incredible weeks with Nikhail and a group of students from Philadelphia as they explored a beautiful and different culture. On April 12, 2011, we broke ground on buildOn’s 80th school in Nepal. It’s a notable milestone, and one that I was happy to see Nilhail take part in: He is truly one of those amazing individuals who has taken up the buildOn mission as his own.

Nikhail, like many of our students, is intimately acquainted with perseverance. At 17, he already lives on his own, and he’s had to make difficult decisions for himself from a very early age. But he faces these challenges with determination and shrewdness. A chess player, Nikhail thrives on strategy, and is able to predict the outcomes of decisions made both in games and in life. And with his rich desire to be a positive and productive member of his community, and I knew he’d find the experience of building a school in Nepal rewarding.

Nikhail knew the trip was going to be demanding, but he had no idea how much strength and courage it would require. The dust and smoke of daily life in Kharula caused his asthma to intensify, and he labored to breathe for nearly the entire trip. But Nikhail’s primary concern was not for himself, but for the efforts of his teammates, his friends, his host family, and the children of Kharula to construct the school. Nikhail’s bravery was profoundly inspiring.

While in Nepal, Nikhail was deeply influenced by Lilla Choudhury, a village girl not much younger than himself whom he lived with. Nikhail at first attempted clumsily to communicate with Lilla using language, but eventually found that they share a common interest in games.

Lilla Choudhury, shown here with a village infant.

The turning point, Nikhail tells me, was one they played Connect Four one evening. Towards the end of the game, each player had 5 chips left, and Nikhail counted out the remaining moves on the board to see who would win. Lilla simultaneously did the same thing. They recognized the fate of the game at the exact same moment. “We really were able to communicate without language,” Nikhail says. “I made a friend without words.” Nikhail realized that Lilla is an incredibly smart young woman who simply doesn’t have access to education; he could feel his perspective shifting as he recognized the connection between his own life and the lives of millions of people like Lilla without many opportunities.

Nikhail adds that his trip to Nepal has motivated him to get involved at a global level. “When I went there I really liked the people. I didn’t believe that I would connect with them the way I did. Now I need to find a way to help people in developing countries.” I have no doubt that Nikhail will do just that! His courage and the manner in which his vision has expanded truly embodies the essence of buildOn.

For Kasiemobi Udo-okoye, community service has never been easy–but it is necessary. One of the student speakers at our buildOn Dinner in San Francisco last month, Kasie has transcended remarkable personal trials to become one of the most active of our west coast high school students. “It’s difficult to go to service after a long day of school and then come home afterwards to cook dinner, care for my brother, take care of the house, and do homework for seven classes,” she says. But she adds, “I have never regretted giving my time to buildOn, because doing it has made me a complete human being.” Read the entirety of Kasie’s inspirational speech below!

Good evening. My name is Kasiemobi Udo-okoye, I’m a senior at St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, I live in Oakland, and I’ve been in buildOn since my freshman year, 2007 and an officer since 2008. I’m the first-generation American daughter of a Nigerian mother, who raises me and my four-year-old brother by herself.

I want to make it clear that being in buildOn has never been effortless for me. Because my mom has two jobs, I help raise my little brother when he’s not in school– meaning that I haven’t had a free weekend or holiday since I was in the sixth grade, when my brother was born. Up until very recently my mother was an illegal immigrant, and we’ve dealt with abuse, poverty, homelessness, and the threat of separation. Even now that our life is more stable, the ever mounting pressures of school, and my mother and brother’s dependence upon me, make it difficult to be a fully participating member of buildOn.

It’s difficult to go to service after a long day of school and then come home afterwards to cook dinner, care for my brother, take care of the house, and do homework for seven classes. In addition to the difficulties I face at home and at school, there are emotional difficulties as well. It’s intimidating to step outside of my own problems and approach the problems of others. It’s a lot of work and the only person who can really keep me consistently motivated and excited about it is me.

So why bother? Why do I do it? I’m not always sure, but one of the things that keeps me motivated is my ongoing service project, which buildOn introduced me to: tutoring and supervising kids at St. Martin DePorres school in Oakland. Each weekday from three o’clock to six o’clock, I become responsible for fifteen kids in the kindergarten class. I become at least five different people: maid, disciplinarian, paper puppet doctor, “it” (during tag), and trained parent negotiator (because some people just can’t be convinced that their kid needs more tutoring or can’t handle cheese).

The best thing about the job is that the kids are amazing, walking bundles of manic energy. I love them. I knew I was a positive influence when one of my kids, Josue, who hated math before I came and was constantly in trouble for bullying, started being commended by his teachers for his class work. By my second month he was playing happily with the other kids. He knew I cared about him. “Thanks for being my best friend, Kasie,” he said.

What I gain from buildOn is firsthand experience and evidence of the fact that my love for people is valuable not just because it’s pleasant or moral, but because it effectively makes tangible changes for good. Genuine respect for human beings is a mechanism for shaping my reality. I believe that empathy and firsthand experience in the community are critical to create a fully good person.

I have never regretted giving my time to buildOn, because doing it has made me a complete human being. I have a strong influence on my world and the part I play in it. This power and perspectiv