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Spotlight On…Hearts And Voices!

6 Apr

I recently volunteered for Lifebeat’s Hearts & Voices program, an on-going live performance series for people living with HIV/AIDS. I watched as the performers entertained a small group of residents at Rivington House in Nolita, turning what would have otherwise been just another night into a musical experience and singalong for everyone present. It gave me goosebumps. After finding out that two of four members of the performing group Solo fell ill, Erika, Manager of the Hearts and Voices program, stepped up to the mic and helped round out the night with a few extra songs. Her willingness to go the extra mile to make residents happy was heartwarming and made me want to learn more about her and Lifebeat immediately. Luckily, Erika was more than willing to share her love for Hearts & Voices with me. Below is the outcome of our recent e-terview*; read on for some inspiration from Erika Banks:

Give & Get NYC: What is your role with Hearts and Voices, and what attracted you to this organization specifically?

Erika Banks: I am the Manager of the Hearts & Voices Program, which means I organize/coordinate all of the facilities, performers & general volunteers to produce over 240 shows each year for people living with HIV/AIDS.  I was drawn to this organization because it combines my two loves: Music & Community Service.  In many ways it’s a dream come true for me to be able to use music to make a profound difference in people’s lives.

G&G: I’ve heard you sing- and you can SING..Do you have a background in music?

EB: Yup!  I have always loved music and started taking violin lessons when I was 5 years old.  I switched to voice and piano lessons when I was 11 years old and currently have a Masters Degree in Music.  Though I’m no longer in a formal vocal training program, I am always learning and growing as a singer.  I perform my own shows outside of Hearts & Voices and collaborate with other performers whenever possible.  The learning never ends and the love of music never dies.

G&G: Why do you think it’s so important to have the H&V program in New York City specifically? Are there plans to expand to other cities?

EB: For well over 15 years, Hearts & Voices has been making a powerful and lasting difference in the lives of our audience members who are living with AIDS.  Live music has been proven to relieve stress, pain, build community and combat loneliness.  Hearts & Voices also provides performers with a way to give back to the community using their natural gifts and abilities.  Performing a Hearts & Voices show has a positive lasting impact for both the performer and the audience.  Everyone wins!

We have also started holding regular Hearts & Voices shows in Washington, D.C., which I’m very excited about.  I hope we will be able to provide this program to many other major cities in the US in the coming years.

G&G: From your experience working with HIV/AIDS patients, how have you seen music affect them and their rehabilitation?

EB: I have continually seen the people that attend our shows, enter the room in a “bad” or “ok” mood and consistently leave the show smiling, laughing, singing and happy.  We have many regular attendees to Hearts & Voices because they enjoy it so much.  This is a great link that shares the audience members experience of the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdvjf6DLaLE

G&G: Is there any one artist on the H&V list of performers that you absolutely love to hear perform?

EB: I absolutely LOVE all of the H&V performers.  The generosity and heart that comes through in each show is what is truly moving.  When people perform from their heart/soul you can’t help but be moved and uplifted.  This is the main quality I look/listen for when I review Artist Applications and it’s the quality that comes through at each show.  That’s why we can have so many different styles of musician or performer and still cause the same powerful healing effect.

G&G: Do you have a favorite memory or performance?

EB: It may sound corny, but each performance is magical and amazing. I can’t say I have a favorite, but the last show is always the most fresh on my mind.  Just last night after the Hearts & Voices performance at Casa Promesa, an audience member came up and said the song “What a Wonderful World” really touched him deeply cause he’d been dealing with a lot of drama.  I live for these moments when I can see the difference the show makes for someone or they share directly how it uplifts them.

G&G: Are there any upcoming events for Hearts & Voices or Lifebeat in NYC that people can attend and learn more about the program, and maybe see a good show?

EB: People can find out about Lifebeat events on our website www.lifebeat.org and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/Lifebeat.  We have a number of partnerships and events people can attend or get involved with, and we’re constantly creating more.

G&G: If someone is interested in volunteering, as an artist or just to help out, how can they make that happen?

EB: I encourage interested folks to contact me directly about volunteering at a Hearts & Voices show, either as a performer or a production volunteer.  We hold between 18-20 shows a month, which adds up to about 240 shows a year.  There are lots of opportunities to make a difference and have a good time while you’re doing it!

~

Erika Banks is the manager of the Hearts and Voices program based in New York City. She can be contacted at ebanks@lifebeat.org. Lifebeat is a nonprofit that uses the power of music and the music industry to help educate young people about HIV/AIDS prevention. For more than seventeen years, Lifebeat has helped to mobilize the talents and resources of the music industry to raise awareness and funds, and to provide support to the HIV-positive community. Learn more about Lifebeat by visiting their website: http://lifebeat.org/

*E-terview is an online interview. I just made that up, but I’m hoping it catches on!

Pando Projects: Service for the New Millennial

18 Feb
2011

I recently came across the website WhatGives?!, which is dedicated to spreading the good word about volunteerism, organizations, and causes, using social media to help raise awareness and funds for nonprofits. It’s teeming with useful information I love to read about and is now on the top of my bookmark list. More importantly (and relevant to this article), is that I read about Pando Projects for the first time. A new start-up based in New York City, it’s mission and platform immediately caught my attention and I needed to know more. Enter: Milena Arciszewski. Ask and you shall receive; I was able to get on the phone with Milena and learn more about Pando, and confirm that she is, in fact, as cool and candid as the voice she writes with on her site and blog.

Pando Projects is a nonprofit that “empowers people to step up as leaders and develop new, local solutions to the problems in their communities.” The Pando platform that was created will allow project leaders to create personal sites for their local causes to raise money, manage volunteers, organize events, and share their experience and results. As projects are completed, the leaders will become mentors to 5 more up-and-coming Pando Project leaders; with Pando as the catalyst, this is sure to become a chain reaction for change and create a true social network for good.

Though Pando Projects accepts applications from anyone over 18 years old, their primary demographic is Millennials: us young people born between 1980 and 1994. This includes Milena herself, who told me that our generation has big ambitions to change the world but we’re bored with what’s out there. Millennials don’t necessarily want the traditional volunteer experience, they want to create their own project and make change happen on their own terms. This is sure to harness the passionate energy of millennials not only to start their own projects, but also to donate to local projects to which they feel most connected. When I asked Milena about whether Pando Projects would serve mainly as an online platform or something that connects people in real life, she said that “Our platform definitely encourages off-line action. The idea is that we give Millennials the encouragement and tools they need to start amazing initiatives in their own communities.  But then they come home and share their experience on their website and then distribute the update through Facebook, email, and Twitter.  It’s offline action that’s documented through social media.”

I love the concept of Pando Projects, and I’m really happy that Milena chose New York City as her base of operations. In such a big city it’s easy for a lot of smaller, local community issues to go unnoticed and unfixed. Pando Projects is ready to empower New York’s ambitious Millennials to step up and fix the problems they see in their own backyards. I can’t wait to watch how this progresses as projects are successfully completed and the network of NYC do-gooders begins to grow through the mentorship program.

The pilot has officially begun- check out the inaugural projects by visiting http://pilot.pandoprojects.org. You can sign up to volunteer or make a donation on the individual project page you’re most passionate about (or more than one-they’re all pretty interesting!).

~

And if you’re wondering why it’s called the “Pando Project”: Pando is the name of the largest aspen forest in the U.S. whose trees are all connected with one root system. <<insert ‘The More Your Know’ jingle here>>

Send A.H. Dance Company to China

27 Jan

A few days ago I was contacted about the A.H. Dance Company- to take a look at what they were doing to promote and support independent contemporary artists and companies in New York and worldwide. At first I was a bit confused; I don’t know much about the performing arts beyond what I’ve seen in mainstream in performances and movies. However, after reading about what they’re trying to do on their Kickstarter campaign page, I was definitely interested in learning more about the company’s most recent creation, the Chameleon Project, and how they’re using dance and performance to explore the concept of global nomads.

A.H. Dance Company is a dance company in the NY area, and is led by Director Alaine Handa: a dancer, choreographer, and Third Culture Kid (TCK) who conceived of the Chameleon Project during her senior year at UCLA. Third Culture Kids are people who have spent a significant part of their developmental years outside their parents’ culture; Alaine fits this mold perfectly, having lived in Indonesia, Singapore, Los Angeles, and New York. For this reason, when she discovered that her “global nomadic tendencies” had a name, she knew she had to create a dance piece and documentary film based on this theory of global citizens. I was able to talk one on one with Alaine and truly learned a lot about what it means to be a cross culture kid. Read on:

What is Chameleon?

Chameleon is a multi-disciplinary arts presentation about global citizens who have been exposed to several cultures in their developmental years. Exploring the notions of home, cultural identity and relationships through dance with film, spoken word, theater, and photography.

How did Chameleon come about?

Alaine Handa was born in Singapore, had a childhood in Indonesia, adolescence in Singapore, went to college in Southern California and has been based in New York City for the past 5 years. She was used to saying good bye to friends every year, making new ones, seeing old friends in foreign countries while traveling, and shifting in between cultures. When she discovered there was a book and a term, Third Culture Kids*, that described her, her parents and friends, thus began her creative process into conceptualizing this experience of ‘growing up everywhere’ but belonging to ‘nowhere’.

Who is Chameleon?

The team is an amalgamation of a variety of artists, which speaks to the Chameleon Projects mission perfectly: dancers, photographers, jewelry designers, musicians, actors/actresses, playwrights, filmmakers, visual artists, and regular non-artist Third Culture Kids. These collaborators and performers have lived all over the world, from Tokyo to California, Belgium to Burma and almost everywhere in between. They’ve performed all over the New York City area, and at the Meridian International Children’s Festival and Capital Fringe Festival in Washington D.C.

What is Alaine’s goal for Chameleon?

“To provide a space for open dialogue about global citizenship between colleagues, artists, collaborators, students, and the general public. It is my hope that involving the community in performance, workshop, and discussion about the experience of third culture kids we can work towards a more peaceful world.”

What is the Chameleon Kickstarter Campaign raising money for?

The U.S.-based comtemporary dance company wants to take their show on the road and hold temporary residency at the Utahloy International School in China for one week. While there, they will host a series of workshops incorporating interpretive dance, movement and theatre focusing on the experience and exploration of the TCK concept, what it means to be a TCK, and how these emotions can be expressed through the Arts.

Why the Utahloy International School?

Utahloy International School Guangzhou is committed to excellence in education. It strives to fulfill the unique potential of students by addressing their social, emotional, intellectual and physical needs in a supportive learning environment that prepares them for life in a multi-cultural world as a global citizen. It now offers an international education from K-12 for more than 700 expatriate students who represent over 40 nationalities. The teaching staff comprises well-qualified teachers, recruited from: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.A. It is the perfect venue for Chameleon to share their performances depicting the experiences of global citizens.

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I really enjoyed learning more about this concept of third culture kids, and thinking about their experiences as global citizens, moving from one country to the next. At one point in my life I had dreams of traveling the world: put my roots down somewhere new and completely immerse myself in a different culture and become a member of a community outside what I called home. I thought of it as a glamorous lifestyle, and never actually considered what it would be like to of never made the emotional connections to family and friends that I have now. The Chameleon Project, and Alaine herself, are exploring these lost connections or even those that never began, and expressing them through dance;  it’s progressive, taking on sociological contexts and turning them into performance pieces, bridging race, religion, and social standing.

To learn more about the Chameleon Project, visit their Kickstarter page and see what they hope to do in China this February. If you’d like more information about the project and A.H. Dance Company, you can contact Alaine Handa at  ahdancecompany@gmail.com . Their next performances will take place on February 3rd and 5th at the Cool New York Dance Festival.

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*To find out more about Third Culture Kids, please check out David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken’s book Third Culture Kids available at major bookstores worldwide. Also check out TCKid.com

A Benefit ‘In Our Backyards’

5 Nov

For the past few months, something big has been brewing inside the ioby office on 6th Avenue. ioby, which stands for “in our backyards”, operates under the belief that environmental knowledge, innovation, action, and service begin and thrive in our backyards. They were founded in 2008, with a beta site launching in May of ’09, and have since enabled over 30 environmental projects to be completed with the help of online microphilanthropy. Now in their second year of operation, they’re ready to formally introduce themselves to New York City and begin taking over the world… Okay, maybe not the world, but you get the point.

“A Benefit In Our Backyards”, ioby’s First Annual Gala at Brooklyn Brewery on November 11th, will showcase the 2010 Heroes In Our Backyards; these are eight groups and/or individuals that have completed projects funded through ioby.org that exemplify leadership in environmental innovation and community organizing. The Heroes will be put on display via a gallery created by students from Parsons The New School.

In addition to the custom gallery, ioby has gotten the backing of various corporate, food and beverage sponsorships to ensure that this event is a huge success. Here’s a glimpse of what you can expect at the Gala on November 11th:

- Food provided by Whole Foods Markets will be turned into tasty comestibles by Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy. Chef Joe from Joe Doe will also be providing some delicious snacks.

- In addition to Brooklyn Brewery donating their space for night, they are also tapping the kegs and pouring their world-famous brews all night. There will also be a custom ioby cocktail available, made possible by Tuthilltown Spirits, which is the main ingredient in your new favorite drink, the Backyard Blazer.

- Gotham Project Riesling is also providing a keg(!) of wine for you to enjoy. Yes, a keg of wine. Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?

-Fantastic raffle prizes and a silent auction of goodies from Patagonia, Kombucha Brooklyn, Green in BKLYN, Green Fitness Studio and much, much more!

There will be a limited number of tickets available to purchase at the door, but you can save some money and buy online now before they sell out! If you can’t come but would like to donate, you can do so by clicking here. As always, volunteers are also an invaluable asset to this organization, both for the event and for the projects that they fund. If you’re interested in volunteering, email volunteer@ioby.org. If you want to volunteer specifically for this event, you can also email me at info@giveandgetnyc.com.

If you have questions about ioby as an organization, about submitting a project, about donating to a project, or want to tell us about important environmental work in your neighborhood, email info@ioby.org.

NYC Civic Corps: Looking Back and Moving Forward

7 Jun

Are you ready to take your commitment to volunteerism and service to the next level?

NYC Civic Corps, an initiative of NYC Service and the Mayor’s Office, is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 service year. Whether you’re a recent college graduate looking to break into the non-profit world, a community leader who wants to dedicate more of your time to the betterment of New York City, or if you’re just looking for a new, more meaningful career, NYC Civic Corps is ready to hear your plea. Selected Corps members will dedicate one year of service to the City, during which they will be dispatched in small teams to local non-profit organizations and City agencies with the charge of developing sustainable volunteer programs and expanding organizational capacity.

Last July, 193 inaugural members of the Civic Corps were sworn in at City Hall. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the program very well received, especially by the 57 public and nonprofit organizations that were able to benefit from the extra help. Though this first year of service has been referred to as an “experiment in social innovation”, a very flashy annual report shows that the initial results indicate that the program has already had some great successes. More than 33,500 volunteers were recruited by Civic Corps members for a variety of initiatives in several different areas, including: Economic Opportunity, Education, Environment and Clean Energy; and Health. This large influx of ready and willing volunteers contributed to the continued expansion of NYC Service into 2010.  Some of the highlights from the annual report include:

  • The Police Auxiliary saw a 183% increase in the number of applicants.
  • The Flu Flighters initiative recruited 1,381 New Yorkers to conduct outreach and awareness activities in their communities.
  • In one day, 800 volunteers planted 20,000 trees as a part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative.
  • The Financial Empowerment initiative resulted in 655 trained tax volunteers to assist full-time counselors at the City’s Financial Empowerment Centers.
  • 13,852 adult volunteers participated in education-related volunteer programs through partnerships with local nonprofit organizations as part of the Serve Our Schools initiative.

By September of 2009, this idea of a localized service movement had caught on in cities across the country, leading to the creation of Cities of Service: a bi-partisan coalition of the mayors of large and small cities from across our country who have taken an oath to work together in engaging citizens to address the great challenges of our time. Founded by 16 mayors with our own Mayor Bloomberg at the forefront, this organization is now now 95 members strong and growing.

If the numbers don’t speak volumes enough, many organizations that have benefited from Civic Corps have gone on record with their gratification. In an April 20th press release, Executive Director of New York Cares Gary Bagley said “I’m proud to announce today that because of the support we have received from NYC Service, New York Cares grew its programs by 20 percent and created 25,000 additional volunteer opportunities to meet higher demand for volunteer support as a result of the economic downturn. At a time when our capacity could have been limited, it was NYC Service’s Civic Corps that helped us rebuild our capacity and exceed our ambitious goals.”

So, are you ready to join?

In return for their service, Civic Corps members will be provided with a monthly stipend (about $1,163), health benefits, a NYC transit commuting stipend, and an end-of-service education award or post-service stipend. They’ll also receive professional development and support from NYC Service and the Office of the Mayor. To be eligible to join the NYC Civic Corps, individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a Bachelor’s degree, and they must be willing to commit to a full-time (40 hours per week) position starting in late August, 2010.

Applications are available at http://www.nyc.gov/service and are only accepted online. You must apply by June 30th, 2010.

If you are a 2009/2010 Civic Corps member and would like to share your experience, email info@giveandgetnyc.org and have your story featured on Give and Get NYC!

 


 

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