Classroom Assistant

Do you love kids? Do you know how to handle them? Classroom Assistants play a valuable role in a successful art education class. BuildaBridge generally partners with homeless shelters and transitional homes to provide art education and art therapy to children and youth residing there. Main tasks include helping the lead teacher run the class and building healthy relationships with kids. Some experience with the arts is preferred, but we are more interested in someone who loves children and has a heart to serve.

Qualifications:

·         A commitment to principles of love, social justice, reconciliation, and service to others

·         Experience, or the desire to learn, in multi-cultural contexts

·         A love for the arts and their functional nature in faith and society

·         A love for children and youth

·         Dependability and faithfulness in completing assignments

·         A spirit of teachability

·         Experience in working with children

Time Commitment: Beginning in September, one or two 2-hour sessions per week from October 2009 through May 2010. We are also looking for “on-call” assistants to act as emergency substitutes on short notice.

Who We Are: BuildaBridge is a non-profit arts education organization dedicated to bringing hope and healing to vulnerable children, families, and communities in the tough places of the world through direct arts-integrated intervention (social, spiritual, educational, and therapeutic) and cross-cultural service. BuildaBridge motivates, enlists, trains and connects those who have the desire to serve others through their artistic gifts with those in greatest need. 

To Apply: Please forward a current resume to Sarah Heady, Volunteer Coordinator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , indicating the title of the position in which you are interested. Please feel free to call (215) 842-0428 x15 with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

www.buildabridge.org

On June 3, 2009 Dr. Cheryl Wade (pictured center) was presented with a Bridge Builder Award for her work throughout the community.  During Neighborhood Interfaith Movement's Annual Assembly, Wade received the award for interfaith work to build bridges on issues such as racial, economic and gender inequality. Her community service is both multicultural and intergenerational. Board member Diane Robertson (pictured  right)  read Dr. Wade's biography as she accepted the award. As BuildaBridge Board Chair, Cheryl has provided strategic planning and financial management for programming that serves children and families coping with homelessness throughout Philadelphia.

Rev. Dr. Cheryl Wade has served the community of Philadelphia for more than ten years as a founding Board member of Breakthrough Philadelphia, providing college students with opportunities to serve economically and educationally disadvantaged middle schools. She has opened her home to students every summer for 11 years acting as a mentor for aspiring teachers who want to serve schools in the Philadelphia community. Dr. Wade also works with the National Council of Churches of Christ as their Vice President for Finance and Administration. The Council focuses on justice issues ranging from rebuilding the Gulf Coast, to women’s issues and peace issues. Her intergenerational outreach includes facilitating an adult forum at the Second Baptist Church of Germantown with adults aged 20 through their 90s. Her full-time profession and ministry is with older people at the Kendal Charitable Funds which supports the Kendal system of continuing care retirement communities. 

Congratulations to Cheryl Wade for receiving this award! BuildaBridge would like to thank Cheryl for all her work on behalf of the organization. She is truly an advocate for the populations we serve.

If you would like more information on becoming a BuildaBridge board member, please contact Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (610) 656-3499.

The eighth edition of the BuildaBridge Institute took place at Bryn Mawr College on June 3-7. Fifty one participants from United States, Brazil, Nicaragua, Malaysia, Romania and the Philippines attended the five day intense two track training conference to learn how to use the arts for empowerment, healing and community development. Twenty faculty, professionals in the field from United States, presented courses on Foundations for Arts in Transformation, Arts in Education, Arts and Human Development, Arts and Spiritual Development, Arts in Social Services, Arts in Healing, Skills Workshops in various art mediums and Methods Lab Practicum classes at four social services sites from Germantown and North Philadelphia.

Among the participants, a new group of six Eastern Univ. MA students in Urban Studies  (EUMAUS) attended the courses. BuildaBridge Institute is Eastern's instructional partner in providing a MA degree in Urban Studies, Arts in Transformation Concentration.  As a result, each year, first and second year EUMAUS students attend the Institute as part of their curriculum work. For more details about the MA program, go to: http://www.eastern.edu/academic/ccgps/ssc/urban/index.html.

Special thanks go to Bryn Mawr College for being a reliable host, and to the staff and interns of BuildaBridge that worked hard to make the Institute happen!

To learn more about the Institute contact the Institute Coordinator This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , (215) 842-0428 x11

Thank you to the Adam and Maria Sarah Seybert Institution for Poor Boys and Girls

The Seybert Institution recently awarded BuildaBridge's Artology Program $5,000 in program support. The Seybert Institution provides support for organizations in Philadelphia that serve the needs of disadvantaged children. Primarily giving to community-based organizations, the Seybert Institution has been providing support to Philadelphia agencies since 1907. BuildaBridge thanks them again for the generous support in 2008 and 2009.

BuildaBridge Thanks The Douty Foundation

The Douty Foundation awarded BuildaBridge's Artology Program a $2,000 grant. The Douty Foundation provides support to organizations in the greater Philadelphia area that serve the needs of economically disadvantaged people and social service agencies. Concerned with children, education and social justice, the Foundation Foundation has been providing support to the Philadelphia community since 1968. BuildaBridge is grateful for their support again in 2008 and 2009.

This season we are hosting four fabulous interns who come to BuildaBridge with a wide range of life experiences and skills.

Ejolee Mitchell, an International Relati o ns major at Syracuse University, is spending the summer learning about  how the arts can be used for transformation in an international context.

Alysia Williams comes to us from Eastern University, and is completing an administrative internship with this year’s Artology summer camp. This internship will serve as her leadership practicum towards a Master of Arts in Urban Studies with a concentration in Youth Development.

Kim Jupinka, B.A. in photography, is currently wrapping up her time as an intern with the BuildaBridge Institute ’09, but will be returning in August to begin a year-long term of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member!

Janet Bartholdson is a rising senior at Duke University, where she is double majoring in History and International Comparative Studies. She will be our Development intern this summer.

We’d like to thank Ejolee, Alysia, and especially Kim for all the hard work they put into this year’s Institute, and look forward to Janet’s contribution in the months to come! To learn more about interning with BuildaBridge please contact Sarah Heady, Volunteer Coordinator at (215) 842-0428 x15 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Khayla Lowe Joins BuildaBridge as Coordinator of Community Programs

Khayla joins BuildaBridge as the former Assistant Program Manager of the Cops & Kids Program, at The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Fine Art and Africana Studies from Lehigh University and has aspirations of pursuing a Masters in Public Policy.  As the assistant program manager, she partnered with the various organizations to implement creative programming focused on social change and community building.  An example of creative programming includes a partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department.  Through this collaboration, local youth and police engaged in a series of dialogue workshops which culminated into a mural project on a police precinct.  Her past work experiences include research for the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).  She is an active member of her local church as the director or the youth choirs and in her free time she is a practicing artist who also enjoys creating art, playing the piano, and singing.
 

December Arts for Hope Malaysia

Join us for ten days to serve alongside local artists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

One to two artists only working as assistants to local artists.  This will be our first time serving in Malaysia and is an exciting opportunity to serve children. Join us by using your art form and time to bring about hope in the lives of children. Each artist will assist in teaching approximately 20 students under the leadership of professional level artists. Artists will use their art form to teach the elements of hope and skills of the art form ending in a final celebration of the week’s work.

More details coming soon!!

If interested in any of these exciting opportunities, please contact Rebekah Wilcox at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (717) 514-5200.

At the BuildaBridge offices, Taequan is famous for his ending quote in our Artology video, "If they are not going to have Artology next year, I'm going to cry!"  Artology is our art and biology summer learning program that utilizes the Philadelphia park system as a vibrant and evolving classroom.  Taequan attended our two week pilot program in 2007.  He was an eager and bright student.  We did have Artology the following year, but when we inquired about Taequan's registration our hearts sank.  We learned that despite his desire to go to Artology his poor school performance required him to attend summer school instead.  A few conversations with school district administration confirmed that there would be no way out of it.  In 2008, Taequan went to summer school.  Shortly afterwards he and his family moved out of the shelter and we lost contact with them.  Imagine our surprise in May when we received a phone call from Taequan's mother and within a week a completed registration!  Taequan returns for Artology 2009 and he's not the only one.  Several other students are returning for their 2nd and 3rd years and both our Highschool students, Mat and Chris will return as junior leaders.  Stay tuned, Artology start July 6th! 

For more information contact the Director of Artology, Charlene Melhorn, 215-842-0720 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Guggenheim Museum in New York City and is a muralist with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Currently, Ben is working in Helena, Montana, and is our main contact for our new Arts for Hope camp on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Ben has spent hours making contacts and forming relationships with artists and youth workers in Montana to make this trip possible. We would like to thank Ben for his commitment to BuildaBridge. Take a look at Ben’s incredible photography and artwork.

For more information contact Rebekah Wilcox, Coordinator of International Programs 717-514-5200 (cell) or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

April 23, 2009  “The Power of my Place” finished with its last trip to the Tulpehocken Train Station.  Students chose the site as a place they would like to see changed or improved.  A quick look at the building reveals why: peeling paint, rusting hardware, and a tattered tarp draping over the roof. 

“A train is coming!” Amira exclaimed and sent the class racing to the Northbound side of the tracks.  Everyone arrived just in time to gather around the train doors as people exited and then entered the train.  The students gripped their pencils with intensity and concentrated on the flurry of forms in order to catch a few gesture drawings.  Most passengers hustled by without pause, but a few glanced curiously around at the sketchbook wielding students.  After the train had passed, the students relaxed and returned to their posts where they continued contour and perspective drawings.  The students themselves started to take on the rhythm of the train schedule and its flux of people and energy.  However even an alarmed timer could not quite prepare everyone for the rush of the train.  We dashed and fumbled most the night and even ran a couple laps when the air turned cool, but in the end we found ourselves at the heart of a community intersection, an intersection that could be a treasured destination with a few resources, some work, and lots of love.                    

For More information contact Charlene Melhorn, Artist in Residence and Director of Artology, 215-842-0720 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it