You could use some good news
We just shared this message with our newsletter community and are now sharing it with you:
How are you?! Here's some good news for you:
It's been a minute since I've written a message and briefly update you on where BuildaBridge is heading this Spring. This email is a little long but full of some solid updates. Our 2025 fiscal year began alongside the New Year and while the first quarter of the year always seems slow, I'm hopeful for the strides BuildaBridge will take in 2025.
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Our first public program of the year took place in partnership with HIAS PA on MLK Day. BuildaBridge has supported HIAS PA's mission for many years by offering therapeutic art-making to our newest community members through afterschool programming, summer camps and adult education. Martin Luther King, JR. once said, "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." We shared this sentiment through song with performances from Iranian, Haitian, African-American, Brazilian, and American folk traditions. Over 150 people filled the Philadelphia Ethical Society Meeting room. Infinite hope was felt indeed. Immigration is an essential thread to the strength and success of the United States - economically, culturally, and spiritually. Its importance must be elevated as such. Here's an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer published about the event to learn more.
YOUTH PROGRAMMING
BuildaBridge's youth programming continues to thrive. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency supports our East Germantown Music Studio based out of the Lonnie Young Center. On Mondays and Thursdays, each week, youth from the area write, sing, and record music while learning life lessons through metaphor-based learning. In West Philadelphia, BuildaBridge continues to run the English Language Learning + Art-Making (ELLA) program for youth new to the community.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
On the professional development front, the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center partnered with BuildaBridge to produce an asynchronous learning module called "Combining Enactments with Expressive Arts." It is a throwback to our online institute and is the beginning of reestablishing more online and in-person training for professionals. This module demonstrates how BuildaBridge's art-making works within ecosystemic family therapy. Feel free to sign up and learn from BuildaBridge's pedagogical practice.
THE FUTURE
As far as the future goes, we have our eyes set on some BIG goals:
Raise $15,000 to expand our school vacation programming: Outside of summer camps, there's not much for youth to do during school breaks that fall during the school year. BuildaBridge successfully ran a winter art-making vacation program in 2024. The demand is there for more.
Raise $65,000 to onboard new administrative and teaching artist staff: I've been running the backend of BuildaBridge on my own since 2020. The future of BuildaBridge depends on more hands to support our work and teaching artists in the field.
Raise $6000 to fund public programming: Emails and reports aren't enough to garner support for BuildaBridge. We need people to feel what it's like to be a part of BuildaBridge and not just read about it.
Continue working with schools and human service organizations: If you see BuildaBridge as a potential partner, please reach out and invite us to dream up some transformative art-making for your community!
Increase the availability of arts-based self-care practices for professionals, parents and caregivers: Since 2021, BuildaBridge's Arts of Self-Care webinar and in-person workshop has reached hundreds of people across the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. Caring for the caregivers benefits their immediate community and themselves. If we took more time to check in and care for ourselves, our impact would be felt worldwide. Let's empower the arts to make transformative experiences for all.
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