Site Presentations
Posted on 07/06/2010 @ 01:06 PM
Impact: Boston
On Friday, Impact: Boston held a Site Presentation Luncheon to eat and share presentations about the work they've been doing at their eight different sites. It was a wonderful opportunity for all the teens to speak to the other participants about the work they've been doing at their sites and how it has affected them. We were joined by liaisons from several of our Partner Sites, who praised the teens for their work. The entire Impact community dined, smiled, laughed, and talked about their great experiences. The room was filled with cheers and laughter, and tears were shed as we bid farewell to the site liaisons with whom we had bonded so deeply.
The site presentations began with the Waltham Police Department Kvutzah ('group') talking about taking initiative in working for a cause one feels is worthwhile and important. GWArc and WCI spoke about making a difference in the lives of the people they worked with at the sites. The Waltham Fields Community Farms Kvutzah shared the fulfilling feeling they felt when they saw a completely changed farm landscape, reflecting all of the hard work they had done.
Horizons for Homeless Children Kvutzah and City Mission Society Kvutzah taught everyone about the state of homelessness in Boston and about the dangers of making assumptions and labeling people. The Youth Force Kvutzah spoke about the importance of teen jobs and the change that can be made with persistence and teaching others about a cause. The Spare Change News Kvutzah documented their journey in Boston: beginning with panhandling on the streets, to talking about issues with a minister, to selling newspapers, to writing articles for a newspaper. The site liaisons thanked them for making an impact on their organizations and for doing such great, important work at all of their sites. Many teens were in tears as they spoke about the profound change their sites had on them and how they plan to incorporate what they've learned at Impact: Boston into their lives back at home.
Site Reflections
Posted on 07/06/2010 @ 01:01 PM
Impact: Boston
Greater Waltham Arc (GWArc- People First)
"During my time at GWArc, I had the amazing opportunity to spend one-on-one time with the consumers and truly get to know who they are. From joking around with them to learning about serious topics, the bonds I’ve formed with the consumers at GWArc will be with me forever. One of my favorite parts of my experience was when one of the consumers expressed to me how much he appreciated our group being at the organization and spending time with him. I’ll never forget this experience and am so grateful I was able to be a part of such a wonderful cause."
Robyn Croft, Bellaire, TX
"GWArc has had a really huge impact on me and I will never forget this amazing experience...We learned about People First language and how we shouldn't just say mute or blind but instead say a person who can't speak or hear. This is really important because it is respectful. They are people too. They have emotions and they are aware of their surroundings."
Raphaela Kramer, Pittsfield, MA
"People First has really made me look at many things in different ways. Like how to treat a person with a mental disability. . .I now know that people like Stephen (my partner at the site) can be just a interesting as anyone else you know. This experience will change me for life."
Jeremy Samarel, Charlotte, NC
WCI (Work, Community, Independence)
This week at WCI, the teens were hard at work on their creative information boards. They painted one large canvas along with individuals in the Social Skills/Art Initiative program, and collaged a smaller bulletin board with the individuals in the higher-need Life Skills program. Additionally, we paid a visit to the office of Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) to advocate for continued public funding to organizations like WCI. All of the teens were able to spend a few minutes with one of Senator Brown's aides, and they valued the opportunity to make their voices heard.
Youth Force
“In order to raise awareness and promote our campaign for youth jobs, we went out into the Dorchester area and knocked on people’s doors asking them to vote in the upcoming election for governor. We helped convince citizens to vote in the election and reminded them when the election takes place. In downtown Boston and Boston commons, we went around handing out flyers and informing people of our campaign. Since Scott Brown is against funding for youth jobs, we tried to get people to call his office and attend the rally to gain support. To end off our time with the Youth Force teens, we went down to City Hall and participated in a rally to try to convince the city council to include funding for youth jobs in their budget for the city. We also sat in on the city council’s final vote for Boston’s budget and listened to the issues being brought up. By us participating in the rally, we raised attention to show that we care about youth jobs and that our campaign is important.”
Sami Beatty, Centennial CO
“Through Youth Force we have helped make an impact in the Greater Boston area, we have learned skills to bring back home to make an impact on our own communities, and just as importantly, we have built relationships with the youth force teens, making an impact on ourselves. We went into Youth Force with assumptions and not really understanding the importance of their cause, but we learned they are teens just like us who trained us in community organizing. We learned about each others’ lives through heart-to-hearts and we connected with them on multiple levels. We contributed what we could to their campaign, but they have given us so much more. They showed us their community and how important it is to be involved and make changes to better it. We learned all about their campaign for youth jobs, but we learned on a personal level why it is so necessary. As much as we have gotten out of our experiences within the community, we have gotten so much more out of the friendships we have grown with each other.”
Rachel Beiser, Potomac, MD
Spare Change News
“We learned that ignorance about homelessness is just as big of an issue as homelessness itself."
Dylan Weil, Lyndhurst, OH
“Too many times do we pass people on our way to work or school who are begging for any amount of spare change without even stopping to say “good morning.” But who would have ever guessed that Mr. Important Businessman is one paycheck away from losing his house? Or that Ms. Dirty Dorris who wears ragged clothing every day is really much happier by purchasing clothes with her million dollar inheritance to donate to those less fortunate? A homeless person has no specific gender, race, or look. It is impossible to tell a person’s social or economic status by the clothes they wear or the people with whom they associate. Everything is, truly, not what it seems."
Shira Solomon, Cherry Hill, NJ
“All people should be respected and treated fairly without regard to one’s socioeconomic status. I’ve heard stories of kind people being kicked out of a restaurant or not allowed to use the restrooms because they were not the venue’s target clientele. Homeless people walk with a lot of weight on their shoulders figuratively and literally. . . Homeless people lead hard, brutal lives,and are often more likely to smile at another homeless person or offer some words of wisdom than the average businessman who I see disrespect or completely ignore other people. Where has the world’s compassion gone?”
Jaclyn Turner, Atlanta, GA
"There is no one look for homelessness. Homelessness is not as easy to spot as a neon t-shirt-- it camouflages itself differently on each of its victims. “
Claire Nuchtern, Houston, TX
“I no longer walk past homeless people and turn the other way out of fear, discomfort or content. Rather, I stop and spare some change for the less fortunate; but more importantly, I share a smile and some words of comfort. I now know that in addition to providing a good source of protein and nutrition, a package of peanut butter crackers for under two dollars at CVS can make a homeless man’s day.” Jori Epstein, Dallas, TX
Shabbat in DC!
Posted on 07/06/2010 @ 12:18 PM
Impact: DC Jam 1
Happy 4th of July!
Here in DC, we had a great Shabbat. As mentioned earlier, we went over to the Lincoln Memorial for Havdallah and had some time to check out the monuments at night. The students all played an active role in planning our Shabbat Activities. We had a couple great student taught sessions discussing pluralism as well as some hot political topics.
Now we are ready to celebrate! We spent the morning doing a Patriotic themed scavenger hunt through our Nation’s Capitol. We got to test everyone’s US knowledge. (Pictures to come!) The group gathered for a picnic and some down time, followed by Burgers, hot dogs, and the whole 4th of July Spread. After dinner, we walked down to the National Mall for music, fireworks, and many celebrations.
Natalie
Happy 4th of July from ILTC!
Posted on 07/06/2010 @ 12:10 PM
ILTC
Hello from ILTC!
Happy July 4th! What an incredible two days we have spent together at ILTC! The teens are really starting to form a community; dorms and mock regions have created cheers that they sing at meals, teens are making announcements at meals, and initiating their own group discussions, such as philosophical musings, during free time.
Friday: July 2nd
We celebrated three birthdays, Tanner Berman, Alec Berkley, and Ezra Sackett, and at dinner we sang them happy birthday and their dorms enjoyed warm chocolate cake!
7:45AM: Optional Shacharit (Morning Prayer): Led by Dorm 8 (Dorm of the Day)
8:30AM: Aruchat Boker (Breakfast)
9:30AM: All Region Meeting, Leadership Topic of the Day: Programming. Participants learned new ways of thinking about programming and participated in a 5 minute round robin with all the leadership staff about aspects of programming (Teen Connection, WOW, Utilizing Public Spaces, Programming Topics and Evaluation). Regions also began planning their region planned evening programs for ILTC.
11:45AM: Morning Snack
Noon: MRC meetings continued
1:00PM: Aruchat Tzoharaim (Lunch)
2:00PM: Creative Arts: Teens had their first creative arts session including everything from ceramics, 3D Art, 2D Art, improvisation, israeli dancing, lego modeling, jam band, intramural sports, and video yearbook. Each of the groups will make a presentation at ILTC Presents (talent show on the last night).
3:00PM: Officer Training: Teens continued to network with fellow officers and learn from each other new ideas and resources to improve their councils/regions and chapters.
4:00PM: Jewish Culture Rotation: Participants attended one of the following sessions: Rikkudim (Israeli Dancing), Shira (Singing), or a Judaic Value session.
5:00PM: Chofesh (Free Time): Teens spent most of Chofesh preparing for Shabbat.
6:30PM: Menorah Lighting: We all gathered in the large quad to light our ILTC menorah and transition from a busy week to a peaceful Shabbat. The theme of Shabbat, Press Pause, created a time for reflection and growth as a community.
7:00PM: Aruchat Erev (Dinner)
8:00PM: Shabbat Services: Several teens and our song leaders led us in a Friday Night Alive (musical) Shabbat service, in which their Kavanah (intention) skills learned during the Jewish Value sessions were incorporated to teach us about the prayers.
9:30PM: Evening Program, B’eit T’shuvah** Representatives: Doug and Shayna shared their stories of what brought them to B’eit T’shuvah and teens had the opportunity to ask questions. The program was very powerful, the teens sat silently and interested the entire time.
** Beit T'Shuvah is both a residential treatment center and a full-service congregation offering religious services, holiday celebrations and study. The mission of B’eit T’shuvah is to restore lost souls and return them to themselves, their families and the community through a healing community of Jewish spirituality, 12 Step recovery and psychotherapy.
Saturday, July 3rd
9:30AM: Aruchat Boker
10:15AM: Saturday Morning Services: Teens had the option of attending a meditative service or creative/traditional service.
11:45AM: Shabbat Elective: Teens choose between a variety of electives including meditation, Israeli culture, B’eit T’shuvah discussion, faith versus reason, change management, Jewish college life, the art of Chassidic melody, and Shira.
1:00PM: Aruchat Tzoharaim
2:00PM: Shabbat Elective
3:00PM: Chofesh: This was by far my favorite part of ILTC thus far! With all the hype of the World Cup, the teens decided to create an ILTC Cup! Almost the entire ILTC community gathered on the soccer field to watch Dorm 7 versus Dorm 9 (Dorm 5 versus Dorm 7 is today) compete. The game started with the singing of all four national anthems represented at ILTC (American, Canadian, Bulgarian, Israeli).
7:00PM: Aruchat Erev
8:00PM: B’eit T’shuvah Wrap Up: Our final B’eit T’shuvah guest, Rebecca, shared her story and teens asked any final questions.
9:30PM: Evening Program, Jewish Improv Night: Led by ILTC Leadership Staff, Lawrence Nadel, teens enjoyed four improvisation style games- their creativity never ceases to amaze me!
10:45PM: Group Rikkudim and Shira
11:15PM: Evening Snack We had a perfect Shabbat together and the day was wonderful!
A Day in the Life at ILTC
Posted on 07/06/2010 @ 11:30 AM
ILTC
Hello from ILTC!
We had another great day! Here is the run down:
Sunday, July 4: 7:45AM: Optional Shacharit (Morning Prayer): Led by Dorm 5 (Dorm of the Day)
8:30AM: Aruchat Boker (Breakfast)
9:30AM: Mock Region Meeting: We continued to focus on programming and plan for our evening programs.
11:45AM: Morning Snack
Noon: Creative Arts: Teens had their second creative arts session including everything from ceramics, 3D Art, 2D Art, improvisation, Israeli dancing, lego modeling, jam band, intramural sports, and video yearbook.
1:00PM: Aruchat Tzoharaim (Lunch)
2:00PM: MCR continued
3:00PM: Officer Training: Teens continued to network with fellow officers and learn from each other new ideas and resources to improve their councils/regions and chapters.
4:00PM: Jewish Culture Rotation: Participants started new rotations: Hebrew, Avodah as well as continued Jewish Values.
5:00PM: Chofesh (Free Time): A typical chofesh: music circles, soccer, frisbee, and canteen. Dorm 7 versus Dorm 5 soccer game, turned in to Ultimate Frisbee game, but still just as exciting.
6:30PM: Aruchat Erev (Dinner)
7:30PM: July 4th celebration begins with swim a party.
9:30PM: Fireworks show over the lake! It was so fun!
10:00PM: Celebration dance outside the amphitheater.
11:30PM: Evening Snack
Don’t forget! In addition to the pictures on http://bbyo.smugmug.com (click 2010 and select ILTC), one of our ILTC Creative Arts groups will be blogging (http://bbyo.org/summer_blog/) and tweeting (http://www.twitter.com/ILTC10) everyday so make sure to check it out!
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