New Perspectives Through Murals for Motivation at Gulf Avenue Elementary

Great partnerships have always yielded great results. There are some partnerships that are always a winning combination, like chocolate and anything it’s paired with. One of these winning combos comes in the form of Sharefest and State Farm. Together, they have made it possible for “at-risk” students of Avalon Continuation High School to provide their community with works of art that are inspirational to everyone.

Since the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, students have been teaming up with local artists to visit elementary school campuses in the Wilmington area, plan a relevant work of art, and execute it with aesthetic appeal – all while learning artistic techniques that they can benefit from in their personal and professional lives.

The largest project so far has been a huge two-bungalow classroom sized mural at Gulf Avenue Elementary, on the west side of Wilmington. A handful of Avalon students got together with L.A artist, Arnaud Damasceno, and dreamed up a fantastic, inventive, and encouragingly literate mural for the younger kids at Gulf to enjoy. In about 3 months, students were able to help Arnaud transform the classrooms into a (much) larger than life bookshelf, complete with book ends, some classic stories, and Dr. Seuss’ Lorax – certainly a topical addition because of the film hitting theaters soon.

Many students were enthusiastic about the project from the beginning, perhaps not realizing how much hard work it would require and instead focusing on the delicious pizza they would be eating at the end of each session. They soldiered through the job, however, and by the end of the Fall semester had almost completed the mural. Perhaps the most enthusiastic student was a young man by the name of Elvis. He certainly ended up being king of the murals class. In a short interview with Elvis, he told me that he “didn’t think it would be as laborious, but [his] appreciation for murals was strengthened after so much work on this Gulf mural.” The students weren’t the only people learning, however, when it came to the class.

Although Arnaud was the instructor for the murals class, he ended up learning a few things from the Avalon High students as well. Specifically, Arnaud said he learned to be patient when it came to showing the students how to create, and he learned how to effectively employ collaboration in order to complete different parts of the project simultaneously. The experience is certainly one that I enjoyed being a part of, and I feel I learned the incredible sense of community achieved from creating together; after all, quite a few people will be able to view the art piece.

The mural is definitely in a prominent part of the elementary school’s campus, which means our work of art will be showcased to the surrounding neighborhood. I know the Avalon students feel a sense of pride when reminded that it is their project that is helping to beautify the school, unite the student body and surrounding community, and provide a source of inspiration for the students who grace Gulf Avenue’s campus. Hopefully, years from now when the students are casually walking or driving by the school, their work will still be on display and they can point out to people just how much hard work went into this beautiful, inspirational masterpiece.

 Click here for more photos >>

Written by Rosie Parra // YDA Tutor

workday kick-off event | reflecting back and looking ahead

On Saturday, February 4th, 45 enthusiastic representatives from some of the South Bay's finest community-minded organizations gathered for Sharefest's Annual Workday Kick-off Meeting.  The gathering was a great opportunity to come together with organizations who are considering serving as "adopting organizations” for our upcoming 9th Annual Workday on April 28th.  Some of the many highlights from our time together were the stories shared from the perspectives of both recipients and adopting organizations.  For example, Steve Park shared on behalf of Lighthouse Community Church, a long-time partner of Sharefest, regarding his regular role as a project manager. He shared specifically about the relationship that their church has built with Torrance High School.  During their time renting weekend meeting space from THS, Lighthouse made it a priority to give back via the annual Workday.  As a result, a wonderful community alliance was formed and Lighthouse caught the Sharefest vision of community development and creative collaboration.  One other side note as it pertains to creative collaboration:  Lighthouse Church now partners with another local church on the Workday, serving the community side-by-side. 

Diane Schweitzer, who heads up Healthy Start on the Gardena High School campus, was an active part of our 2011 signature project at Gardena High.  During our meeting, she shared her perspective on last year’s Workday, which brought out hundreds of volunteers just four months after a tragic on-campus shooting.  She shared how the Workday had an undeniable, lasting impact in the Gardena High students' sense of ownership of their own campus.  She commented on the clear and palpable sense of pride these teenagers have for their school, something that was noticeably missing in their hearts and minds prior to the campus beautification project. 

Next, we heard from Holmes Avenue Elementary Principal Tony Amparan, as well as his 2011 Holmes Project Manager, Debi Raasch.  They shared how a year ago Principal Amparan  had a dream of building a state-of-the-art computer lab for his school.  Amazingly Amparan's dream became reality through the hard work and leadership of Greg and Debi Raasch, who oversaw the lab's creation on the Workday. Principal Amparan shared how the "heartbeat" of Holmes Avenue Elementary has changed.  At one point this school was the second lowest performing school in the state of California, but under the guidance and dedicated leadership of the current faculty and staff, test scores are on the rise.  In his words,

"I thought the computer lab was my dream, but my dream was to have Sharefest at my school. Sharefest has changed our values and belief system. We, the administrators, staff and teachers, no longer look at obstacles, but look to find ways to work as a community. And it has given students the belief that they can achieve and succeed in the same way."

Beyond this, Debi’s relationship with the school has deepened, as she is on campus, serving as a tutor each week, and they are already in the planning stages for a follow-up project on April 28th.  The dreams for this year seem mountainous, but we have seen the impossible become reality.  Stay tuned, as that project comes together!

As you can see, we are as excited as ever for the amazing things in store for this year's Workday.  For those  who attended the kickoff meeting, we cannot thank you enough for carving time out of your schedules to come together and begin planning another great Workday.  Our vision to bring about lasting positive change is fully dependent on the hard work and dedication of our community partners.  If you are interested in being part of the upcoming Workday, please visit our website by clicking on one of the buttons below.

Doors of Hope // how the impact of the 2011 workday continues to touch lives

When Barb Nannini, from Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter in 20 beds are ready to welcome women in needWilmington visited the women's Bible study groups at Oceanside Christian Fellowship in 2009, she shared the vision for a new shelter for single women who were falling through the cracks.  It was then that Cheryl O’Donnell felt a stirring in her heart to do something for the shelter.  The timing wasn’t right that year but she began to dream of a quilting project that would be birthed two years later.

During the 2011 Workday, Cheryl provided a place for those who wanted to participate in the Workday but not able to handle physical work. All the pieces began to fall into place, and the project was born. On that Saturday in May, over 30 people began a project that continued through several workdays.  Eventually, Cheryl and her team of faithful volunteers had sewn together 20 quilts for the shelter's 20 beds in time for the Grand Opening in September.  

Volunteers at the 2011 Workday In Cheryl’s own words:

“The name of the quilt pattern is Warm Embrace; we prayed together throughout the completion of the quilts for the women who would sleep under them.  A project like this blesses participants in so many ways. Reaching out and finding out more about local people in need, praying for those people, physically contributing, working in community, accomplishing something beautiful...all this and more under God's guidance.”

Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter ministers the love and grace of Jesus Christ to homeless women in the South Bay by providing a safe and nurturing environment where they can receive food, clothing, temporary shelter and spiritual encouragement in their present life circumstances.  Doors of Hope provides temporary shelter, daily meals and showers, clean clothing, counseling and spiritual guidance.  For more information, to volunteer or make a donation, contact 310-518-DOOR (3667). 

If you are interested in being involved in our upcoming 9th Annual Workday on April 28th, 2012, please use the buttons below:

      

support a local blood drive | february 12, 2012

Our friends at Torrance First Baptist Church are partnering with Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center and invite you to come and participate in a Community Blood Drive on Sunday, February 12th from 8:30am-2:30pm.  Walk-ins are welcome, appointments are preferred.  Each donor will receive a coupon for a free pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream!Please make sure that you meet the following criteria before donating:

• Are in good health
• Weigh at least 110 lbs.
• Bring a valid photo ID
• Drink plenty of water
• Eat a nutritious meal
• Have not received a tattoo within the past 12 months
• Are at least 17 years old (or 16 with hospital parental consent)

Sunday February 12, 2012

8:30am-2:30pm

2118 W. Carson Street | Torrance, CA 90501

310.328.5030 | www.tfbclife.org

honoring dr. king at eagle tree// recap of a memorable workday

After the rain cleared up this Monday, Sharefest and Eagle Tree Continuation High School students teamed up to provide some much needed, and appreciated, color to the small Carson campus. Along with two groups from California State University, Dominguez Hills – the Bellas and a few brothers from Lambda Theta Phi fraternity, Eagle Tree students donned bright red Sharefest shirts and took to their garden, planters, basket ball backboards, and volleyball posts with paint brushes, tools, and enthusiasm.

It was inspiring to see the students file in, even though it was their day off and it was still a bit drizzly in the earlier part of the morning, to beautify their campus. When students take ownership of the spaces that they inhabit, then it is more likely that these spaces are taken care of and preserved.

Local artist Vanessa Andrade was also there, instructing the more artistically inclined students on necessary painting techniques as they filled in a pre-outlined mural that she designed specifically for the school. As the day wore on, the mural took shape and became a sort of round window looking out onto a picaresque scene of an eagle landing onto the branches of a splendid tree.

Darcy, a 20 year old student at CSUDH, says she came out to help the community – something she felt is an important part of anyone’s experience as a member of the neighborhood. The work done on that day, she said, will provide a better environment for the students, one that she hopes improves the students’ attitudes about their school. Many times, continuation high schools are neglected parts of larger schools – this is something that Darcy does not want to see happen at Eagle Tree.

Desiree, 17, a student at Eagle Tree, said she decided to come down to spruce up her school so that it would look better and so that hopefully her peers would want to actually come to classes. She says that the students will be proud of the work done on campus because they put the effort in to complete the beautification. She believes that there will be a decrease in graffiti, because the students know the hard work that went into painting the mural and other items on campus. She also added that she’d be more inclined to volunteer in the future because of the experience with Sharefest.

She summed up the experience with a simple and concise quote that I feel lends itself well to the spirit of volunteering: “Knowing that you helped gives you a good feeling, it’s like ‘I did that!’”

Additional photos can be viewed here.

Written by Rosie Parra // YDA Tutor