I've been meaning to update this with some of my recent photography adventures and there's no better reason than to push my little sister's
Kickstarter campaign to help the first ever San Fernando Valley team (that she coaches) raise funds to compete in year’s Brave New Voices in Philadelphia on July 16-20, 2014.
With the help of Kelly three years ago the students of PUC Triumph Charter High School, a small
charter school in the San Fernando Valley started to speak up. In a
traditionally underserved community of first generation Latinos where
many are living below the poverty line, a group of students found their
home in spoken word. Youth who were previously apathetic and chronically
unmotivated, came alive in her classroom. For the first time they
believed that their voices, their stories mattered. And the more they
shared them, the more engaged and empowered they became.
Last year our team coached by Kelly Grace Thomas and Becky Boss won
the Los Angeles regional championship. This year, the San Fernando
Valley team has a chance to compete in the international youth poetry
competition Brave New Voices. Brave New Voices has been featured on HBO
in a documentary that “captured teenagers picking up the pen and taking
hold of the microphone with passion, intelligence, creativity, honesty
and power.” Brave New Voices was created by Youth Speaks, Inc in 1998
after the inaugural Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam in San Francisco—the
first poetry slam dedicated to youth in the nation’s history.
Students and teachers alike are thrilled to have this once in a lifetime opportunity, the only issue they are facing is funding.
Many of their poets have families who work two to three jobs to keep a
safe and secure roof other children’s heads. Their mothers and fathers
support in every way possible, but unfortunately they do not have the
means to fly them across the country.
In fact, many of their poets have
never been on an airplane, or even left the state of California.
Your contribution would help fund a life-long dream of these powerful
voices. While they are doing everything they can to raise money in their
school and in the community, they're afraid it is not enough. The cost of
registration and plane tickets is in the thousands. And with
unprivileged youth and teachers on tight budgets, who are donating their
time for free, they need some help.
SO DONATE HERE NOW!
Oh and on to the art! I was lucky enough to photograph Triumph Charter's Talent Show and their poets last time I was in California so if you didn't actually click on the link above here's some more inspiration to
DONATE NOW!
