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Entrepreneurs sought for business plan competition | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
April 15, 2013
The winner of the Silver City Business Plan Competition will be awarded the opportunity to rent this storefront at 3519 W. National Ave. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
If you’re planning to open a small business, the Silver City Business Plan Competition might be for you.  The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $5,000, free initial rent and free professional services from several small business advisors.
So far, eight entrepreneurs have sent letters saying they intend to submit business plans.
“While we are enjoying the plans that we’ve seen so far, we welcome more people to apply to take full advantage of this opportunity,” said Natanael Martinez, economic development manager at Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN), which created the competition.  LBWN is accepting letters of intent to submit a plan through May 31.
Silver City is located near the Urban Ecology Center, Hank Aaron State Trail, Mitchell Park Domes, and Miller Park. The neighborhood also boasts international restaurants and markets, high-achieving schools, job centers and local and national retailers, according to materials published by the competition’s sponsors.
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“The whole idea behind the competition is to generate a lot of excitement about the neighborhood and let other people know about what’s going on in Silver City and why it’s a great neighborhood to invest in,” Martinez noted.
LBWN designed the competition to attract an entrepreneur “with a unique and compelling business plan” to the vacant storefront at 3519 W. National Ave. It is part of a $5.8 million project to renovate 24 foreclosed properties in the Silver City, Burnham Park, Layton Park, Clarke Square and Muskego Way neighborhoods. Two of the properties are commercial and the rest are single-family houses that will be developed as rent-to-own homes. LBWN and its partners unveiled the project recently at a construction kick-off in the store.
Layton Boulevard West Neighbors Executive Director Charlotte John-Gomez spoke at the unveiling of a major initiative to renovate 24 foreclosed homes and businesses in five South Side neighborhoods. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Renovation of the nearly 2,000-square-foot store will begin in May. New windows and floor, bathroom restoration and fresh paint throughout will bring the building into compliance with city building codes and prepare it for the competition winner to add design elements.
Among the applicants who have expressed intentions to compete are retail clothing stores, a day care business and businesses catering to pet needs, according to Martinez.
Development partner and property manager Impact Seven, Inc., a community development corporation, is offering a rent package that will include initial rent-free months and then reduced rent during the first year, depending on the length of the lease.
“We are also a small business lender so there is a potential that we may be able to provide a small business loan to the entity that comes in,” said Todd Hutchison, Impact Seven’s real estate development director.
Marketing company Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute (MEI) another competition sponsor, will offer the winner help with Web design; marketing materials such as business cards, flyers, posters and brochures; and licenses or permits, according to Account Manager Araceli Santoyo.
Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) volunteers are providing legal and accounting services to the winner of the competition, Martinez said.
WWBIC volunteer Terri Kuhlmann, owner of Kuhlmann Small Business Solutions, will help the new Silver City business set up its accounting and bookkeeping.
“I am very passionate about entrepreneurism. Any time I can help someone get started on the right foot, I am happy to do so,” said Kuhlmann, who began creating businesses when she was a child.
The Silver City Business District is also a partner in the project. The Zilber Family Foundation contributed $5,000 for start-up costs.
The deadline for final plan submission is June 30. Finalists will be announced on July 15 and invited to make a presentation to a panel of judges in late July or August. The winner will be announced on Aug. 30.


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8580437039_5a07185754_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
April 14, 2013

source: news-milwaukeenns

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Adam Carr


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8580442567_5e2afe88ed_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
April 14, 2013


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Capuchins’ Run Walk for the Hungry to German Fest Team Captains’ Meeting | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Capuchin Community Services
April 17, 2013
Businesses, organizations, and companies are encouraged to organize a team of 10 or more for the Capuchins’ Run Walk for the Hungry to German Fest which will take place July 25.  A team captains’ meeting will take place May 9, 8:30 AM, at St. Ben’s Community Meal, 924 W. State Street.  Team recruitment tips and tools will be shared plus a continental breakfast with the event’s emcee, Bill Michaels, the “Big Unit.”  Please RSVP:  jvanhoven@thecapuchins.org
Each team member will receive a discount registration plus entrance into German Fest, a $5 German Fest food and drink gift coupon, and a 2-for-1 return coupon to German Fest. http://bit.ly/CapRunWalkTeams

author: Capuchin Community Services


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Immigration reform bill historic but not perfect, advocates say | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
April 19, 2013
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces, says the introduction of the immigration reform bill marked a historic step in the immigrant rights movement. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Milwaukee immigration reform advocates gathered at Voces De La Frontera to mark what they consider a historic step forward: a bi-partisan bill to revamp immigration laws has been introduced in Congress.
“We have a commitment to start unfolding the story around the immigration reform bill,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces, to the overflow crowd of about 50 people huddled in the lobby at 1027 S. 5 St.
While the proposed reform creates a path to citizenship for more than 11 million immigrants, Ortiz said the bill arbitrarily left out 300,000 people who came to the country after Dec. 31, 2011, the cutoff date for citizenship.
She also said the path is too long, and Karla De Jesus, 17, agreed. De Jesus has been living in the United States since she was 5 years old and will attend college next year.
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“As a dreamer (student) I will only have to wait five years to attain citizenship but my parents will have to wait 13,” said De Jesus, who stood in front of the 45-page legislation on the table.
She said her parents would be in their 50s by the time they’d be eligible to become citizens.
Sofia Anguiano, who came to the United States in the 80s and is now a citizen, has been waiting 16 years to bring her brother and sister here from Mexico. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Ortiz would like to see changes to the “overly cumbersome” process, including making it affordable for low-income families. In addition, she said the president should address the high rate of deportations. She pointed out that legalization of undocumented immigrants is taking shape while record numbers of immigrants — most of whom pose no criminal threat — are being deported.
“We need to keep families together,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz added that the legislation proposes background checks. There are waivers for some minor offenses, but serious criminal activity would exclude an individual from attaining citizenship. She said that the legislation is not clear on the issue and it needs to be examined further. Also unclear is the role of the long-used family waiver process in which naturalized citizens petition to bring other family members into the country legally.
Sofia Anguiano, who arrived in the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico in the 1980s and is now a citizen, began the petition process long ago and is still waiting.
Anguiano, who yearns to see her siblings, submitted paperwork for her brother and sister to come to the country legally 16 years ago. She said the new legislation could exclude family petitions, meaning she and her eight siblings would remain separated.
“It’s my dream to have one of them (siblings) by my side,” said Anguiano.
Ortiz said the bill places more importance on employment verification than on the family waiver as a determining factor for attaining legal residency status.
That also worries Omar Damien Ortega, who believes workers will continue to be abused. “There will be a continuation of exploitation of working people if you give employers too much power,” said Ortega. Employers would hold workers’ immigration status in their hand, he added.
Ortega said an employer recently fired him, using his status against him. He worries that the new legislation will make it easier for workers’ rights to be violated.
Ortiz also criticized that implementation of the legislation is tied to additional border security and a 90 percent apprehension rate of immigrants trying to cross the southern border illegally.
“Adding additional criteria is unfair, creates more bureaucracy and slows the path to citizenship, ” Ortiz said.
Despite the concerns, the meeting drew to a close with the crowd chanting “si se puede, si se puede,” meaning “yes we can.”

author: Edgar Mendez


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Adam Carr
April 18, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 18, 2013


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Outstanding volunteers honored at annual awards celebration | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee
April 21, 2013
Exceptional volunteers and their contributions to our community were honored at the recent 31st Annual Volunteer Celebration at the Italian Conference Center in Milwaukee.
The annual Inspire by Example awards for outstanding volunteer service through local nonprofits were presented at the celebration, which was held in recognition of National Volunteer Week (April 21-27).
“Together with the thousands of others who serve in the Milwaukee area, the award winners have a huge, positive impact,” said Bonnie Andrews, Volunteer Center Manager, Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee. “These are inspiring stories of people who make volunteering a big part of their lives.” The award winners were:
Anjana Murali – Youth Award – This accomplished student, and active Girl Scout, designed a two day chess camp giving girls the opportunity to play the game. Her model is gaining national attention.
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Joy Global – Business Award – For their employees’ volunteer efforts focused on education, urban renewal and human services; and for their extensive support building homes for Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.
Leticia Smith – Fran Swigart Board Leadership Award – For her leadership and strategic thinking to support a number of organizations and for strengthening the membership and evaluation process at Community Shares.
(MORE)Burmese Immersion Project – Tutoring Team – Team Award – This creative and committed team provides a variety of services to teach, befriend and help the refugees thrive in the US culture.
Maggie Cary – Adult Award – For compassionate care, listening and doing whatever it takes to assist residents, six days each week at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care.
Marcy Stutzman – Wile Volunteer Management Award – For effective engagement and increase in volunteers at The Salvation Army of Waukesha. The award is given with the Association of Volunteer Managers serving Southeast Wisconsin.
“The work of every volunteer is so important to the health of our community,” Andrews said. “These efforts combined help Milwaukee rank seventh among large cities in the U.S., with 32% of our population volunteering.”
This positive volunteer spirit was evident at the celebration and awards luncheon sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee, a service of the Nonprofit Center. Anyone can volunteer – to find a local volunteer opportunity visit VolunteerMilwaukee.org

author: the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee


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TEDxHarambee conference gathers ‘STEAM’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
April 22, 2013
(Photo by Adam Carr)
TEDx is coming to Milwaukee.
Milwaukee’s first independently organized TEDx will take place in Harambee on May 9 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
A local version of the popular TED Conferences and TED Talks, TEDx Harambee is centered around the theme of STEAM — Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Music. The STEAM approach places the arts at the center of the problem-solving and innovation processes, according to the TEDxHarambee website.
Owned by the  New York-based Sapling Foundation, TED is devoted to ideas “worth spreading.” The original TED conference in 1987 focused on bringing together people from Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) and has since broadened to other topics.
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TED produces several conferences each year, in California and the United Kingdom, where leaders of their respective fields are invited to present lectures. Capitalizing on the popularity of the brand, TEDx, was created in 2009 to allow communities to use the TED format to organize local conferences.
According to Jerome Knapp, TEDxHarambee organizer and executive director of the King Drive Business Improvement District, “A lot of the activity around innovation doesn’t happen in our part of Milwaukee. It happens downtown or Walker’s Point or Bay View or the Valley.” He added, “Let’s do it here and get people to think differently about Harambee as a place with potential for creativity and innovation to happen.”
TedX features 10 speakers based in the region, representing a wide range of disciplines. Per TEDx rules, their talks will be a maximum of 18 minutes. Speakers include Joe Du Fore, director of digital education at Wisconsin Lutheran College; Emmanuel Pratt, Sweet Water Foundation’s founding executive director; and Sherri Dodd, director of educational technology at Milwaukee Montessori School. A full listing of the speakers can be seen here.
TEDxHarambee is limited to 100 guests but the entire event can be viewed live through an online stream. A post-TEDxHarambee event, open to the public, will take place at the bar in Turner Hall, 1038 N. 4th St., from 4 to 6:30 p.m.


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Adam Carr
April 21, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 21, 2013


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City nonprofit organizations shy away from residency debate | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
April 23, 2013
Steve Fendt, executive director of the Southside Organizing Committee, says ending the residency requirement will hurt all Milwaukee neighborhoods. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Despite the impact that an end to the residency requirement for city of Milwaukee employees could have, few community organizations have taken a position on the issue.
NNS contacted 12 organizations, all headquartered in the central city. Only one, the Southside Organizing Committee (SOC), had taken a stance against eliminating the residency requirement. Three groups did not return a reporter’s calls requesting comment.
Several of the organizational officials who responded, including Sharon Adams, director of programs at Walnut Way; Laura Bray, executive director of Menomonee Valley Partners; and Jim Bartos, executive director of Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, said their boards had not yet taken up the issue and were unsure whether they ever would.
“I’m uncomfortable discussing it. It hasn’t been taken up by our board yet,” said Scott McGroaty, executive director of Enderis Park Neighborhood Association.
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The state budget should be finalized and a decision on the proposal to end statewide residency requirements for municipal employees should come by early summer, according to reports.
The reluctance of local organizations to take an official stance irks Steve Fendt, executive director of SOC. During a press conference in late February, Fendt urged local organizations to help him fight against legislation he says will cause great harm to the city’s tax base.
“Money is leaving the city and property values will go down, so people who stay here are going to have to pay more.”
But the main impact on the central city would be an erosion of public services, according to Fendt.
“There’s going to be worse service because people are going to be more out of touch than they already are,” said Fendt, referring to the possible migration of city employees even farther from the neighborhoods they work in.
Some organization leaders were willing to take a personal position.
Tom Schneider, executive director of COA Youth and Family Centers, said, “Though our organization doesn’t have a particular political position I can tell you that I personally feel very strongly that eliminating the residency would be very harmful to the city of Milwaukee and all its residents,” he said.
Schneider, who was a county employee for years, said he found it perfectly reasonable to be required to live in the city he was serving.
Sharon Adams, director of programs at Walnut Way Conservation Corp., says that though her organization doesn’t have an official stance, she believes that city employees should find pleasure in living in the communities they serve. (Photo by Jen Janviere)
Adams and Ricardo Diaz, executive director of the United Community Center, also said they personally disagreed with the proposed legislation.
People in public service should find pride and pleasure in living in the community they serve, Adams commented. Diaz said he thinks ending the resident requirement is bad policy, but said, “The agency itself doesn’t get involved in those matters.”
Some of those interviewed said that charitable and tax-exempt organizations are limited in their ability to take a stance on political issues.
However, according to the Internal Revenue Service, 501(c)(3) agencies are allowed to take positions on public policy issues and would only lose their nonprofit status if a substantial part of their activities involved attempting to influence legislation or engage in political campaign activity. The organizations may conduct educational meetings, distribute educational materials and consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.
Fendt said it is hypocritical for agencies to say they are not allowed to take a stand on the residency requirement.
“Clearly they (organizations) do get involved in some political issues, so for people to hide behind that is baloney because everything is political,” Fendt added.
He referenced recent published opinion pieces by Diaz and Maria Monreal-Cameron, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, in which both leaders stated that the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors should be reformed.
Monreal-Cameron, who was also polled for the survey, said she was uninterested in giving an opinion on the residency issue and would not say why.
Fendt argued that the residency issue is going to affect central city organizations as much or more than any other issue they take up. “Groups are always weighing in on issues that are in their wheelhouse,” he added.
Bray said her organization typically takes positions on issues that are specific to the Valley. She said, however, that she is a strong believer in the city of Milwaukee and added, ”I choose to live here and I think it’s a great city with great resources.”
Those resources will dwindle if the residency requirement is lifted, according to Fendt.
Alderman Michael J. Murphy, who represents Washington Heights and other central city neighborhoods, agreed, explaining that the residency requirement will lead to a loss of middle class families and their tax dollars, and a reduction in public services.
Murphy cited an analysis done by the Legislative Reference Bureau, a research arm of the Milwaukee Common Council-City Clerk’s Office, as proof that the proposed legislation would harm the city.
The survey of several large cities, including Minneapolis, St. Louis and Baltimore, conducted by the bureau, found that within 10 years of lifting residency requirements, more than half of city employees had moved out. Murphy said he believes the same would happen here, adding, “These are good-paying jobs for people who support local communities, but the income from those jobs would no longer be spent in the city.”


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Adam Carr
April 22, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 22, 2013


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MPS’ top schools again earn high marks in Washington Post, U.S. News national rankings | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
April 23, 2013
Milwaukee Public Schools’ Rufus King International School and Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School have been named the #2 and #3 best high schools in Wisconsin, respectively, in new ratings announced by the Washington Post.
King and Reagan are the two best high schools in the Milwaukee region and are both among the 50 best high schools in the Midwest, according to the analysis by the Post’s Jay Matthews. Matthews grades schools based upon the percentage of students taking Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests to determine which schools do the best job of challenging students to grow academically.
Both King and Reagan offer families the International Baccalaureate program, which was developed for the children of diplomats to ensure they have access to the highest quality education as they move around the world. IB programs help develop “the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world,” according to the IB organization.
MPS offers IB at other locations as well, including MacDowell Montessori School, which offers the IB diploma program. MPS also has two International Baccalaureate Middle Years sites – Rufus King International School Middle Years Campus and Wedgewood Park International School – as well as an “IB Primary Years Programme” at the Academy of Accelerated Learning.
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In separate rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report, King and Carmen High School of Science and Technology, a charter school authorized by MPS, are ranked #2 and #5 in Wisconsin. MPS’ Milwaukee School of Languages ranked #25 in the state.
U.S. News’ rankings examine: whether students are performing better than statistically better than expected based upon the state average, factoring in the percentage of economically-disadvantaged students; whether the least-advantaged students are performing better than average in the state; and college-readiness performance as measured by Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data.
“We’re always excited to be recognized for the strong options we provide our families,” MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton said. “We’re equally excited about the significant academic reforms we’ve implemented across the district to ensure all of our graduates are college and career ready.”
Those efforts include stronger graduation requirements and expanded access to advanced coursework.
More than 4,000 MPS students are taking an advanced academic studies course – Advanced Placement, honors or International Baccalaureate – this school year. Between 2009-10 and 2012-13, MPS grew the share of students taking an Advanced Placement course by four percentage points.
More news about MPS is available at mpsmke.com/news.

author: Milwaukee Public Schools


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UCC honors current and future leaders | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
United Community Center
April 23, 2013
The United Community Center (UCC) is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Friends of the Hispanic Community Awards, which recognize individuals that have made immeasurable contributions to the development and well-being of the community at large. Honorees will be celebrated at UCC’s 43rd Anniversary Celebration. This year’s award recipients are Dr. Mary J. Meehan, Dr. Larry Pan & Dr. Paula Papanek, and Bob & Phil Perkins.
Ms. Mary J. Meehan, PhD. – Alverno College
Dr. Mary Meehan assumed the role of Alverno College President on June 1, 2004, marking a new era at Alverno as the first lay president to lead the college. Dr. Meehan brought with her extensive leadership experience in the areas of education, health care, and administration. Consistent with the mission of the School Sisters of St. Francis, Dr. Meehan exemplifies the dedication to the area’s underprivileged citizens. Alverno proportionately provides higher education opportunities to more Hispanic women than any other institution in Wisconsin. Alverno’s Latina population is now 15% of first-year students, experiencing a growth by more than 100% over the past ten years under Dr. Meehan’s leadership. Alverno has been the educational institution of choice for a number of Bruce- Guadalupe Community School alumni—including eight BGCS alumni who are currently enrolled—and several members of UCC and BGCS staff.
Mr. Lawrence Pan, P.T., PH.D., F.A.P.T.A. & Ms. Paula Papanek, PhD., M.P.T., ATC/L, FACSM – Marquette University
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As faculty of Marquette University, Dr. Pan and Dr. Papanek together have provided educational opportunities in the health sciences for more than a decade. In 2006, they brought their expertise to UCC through a federal grant opportunity funded by the U.S. Office of Minority Health. With the aim of supporting low-income minority youth in comprehensive programming centered on academic achievement, personal development, cultural awareness, and career exploration, Drs. Pan and Papanek have helped more than one hundred BGCS students set a course for lifelong success. They now lead the national evaluation of nearly twenty programs across the country that demonstrate success with minority students who are challenged by a number of barriers found in their low-income urban neighborhoods. As the Director of the Health Careers Opportunities Program at Marquette for over two decades, Dr. Pan and Marquette University offer a wide variety of pre-college and summer programs designed to educate and retain disadvantaged students in physical therapy.
Mr. Bob Perkins & Mr. Phil Perkins – Perkins Malo Hunter Foundation
Mr. Robert Perkins has been an education philanthropist for twenty years. He is driven strongly by a personal conviction that solving social problems will be best achieved by providing inner-city kids with a solid elementary school education. Mr. Perkins founded Perkins Investment Management LLC, Chicago in 1980 and set up the Perkins Malo Hunter Foundation to fund educational initiatives shortly thereafter. Following in his father’s philanthropic footsteps, Mr. Phil Perkins operates as the foundation’s Executive Director. The Perkins Malo Hunter Foundation has provided operational support for Bruce-Guadalupe Community School for a number of years through its affiliation with Schools That Can. In part through the network and evaluation system created by Schools That Can, the foundation’s support has affected more than sixty elementary schools nationwide.

author: United Community Center


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Milwaukee Rep connects students to their neighborhoods through arts | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alex Perry
April 24, 2013
The Milwaukee Repertory Theaterhas engaged middle- and high school-age students at 15 area schools and community organizations in a program called “Our Neighborhoods: Past Present and Future.” The 25-week, 50-hour program was inspired by the Rep’s productions of “Raisin In The Sun” and “Clybourne Park.”
Taking a cue from the plays’ theme of neighborhood diversity, the students are studying the history of the area in which they live and go to school with the hope of positively influencing the future of their neighborhood.
“We wanted to give the students a sense of empowerment that they can actually make a difference in their communities,” said Jenny Kostreva, the Rep’s education director.
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“We tell (them) the story about the fair housing marches that happened in the ’60s and that (were) led by the NAACP youth council and they were all these kids’ age. And that was an enlightening fact for them to realize, ‘Oh, actually, maybe I can make a difference.’”
Students study their neighborhood as part of a Milwaukee Repertory Theatre program. (Photo by Alex Perry)
Working closely with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s theater department and Milwaukee Public Schools, the Rep project places teaching artists in 14 MPS schools, including North Division High School, 1011 W. Center St., where students learn photography and playwriting as well as the power of spoken word. The students are using these skills to interview people who live in their neighborhoods for raw material they will craft into poetry and theatrical pieces.
North Division students saw the Rep’s productions of “Clybourne Park,” by Bruce Norris, and “Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, as part of the Our Neighborhoods program. They studied “Raisin in the Sun” in depth, reading and discussing the play in school.
“I wish I would have had this program at my school when I was growing up,” said Lindsey Schmeltzer, the Rep’s teaching specialist at North Division. Schmeltzer added that she feels honored to introduce the students to her life’s passion, live theater.
“It’s their first experience so they don’t know really what to expect,” she said. “Most of them, at least my classes, have come out raving about it: what a unique experience (it is) and how much they’ll remember their first theater experience.”
Troy Freund, a local professional photographer who teaches the students camera skills, said that his life’s work is more than creating pictures. “You can do a lot with photography. You can learn about the world, you can learn about yourself.
“A lot of people need a little more introspection,” Freund added. “Photography can serve that really well.”
North Division students learned to create stories and poetry from their own lives in a Milwaukee Repertory program this spring.
[read more]
Community Night at North Division High School revealed students’ perceptions of their neighborhood through spoken word poetry.
[read more]

author: Alex Perry


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Adam Carr
April 23, 2013


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April 23, 2013


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College Possible students spring into action | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
College Possible
April 25, 2013
(Photo by College Possible)
(Photo by College Possible)
College Possible students are joining with others across the nation to celebrate Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the nation and the only service project dedicated to getting youth involved in their communities. Projects included cleaning riverbanks with Milwaukee Riverkeeper, cleaning up a local YMCA, and partnering with Hunger Task Force to assist with the Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
This past Saturday more than 500 students from College Possible Milwaukee’s 10 partner high schools engaged in community service projects to improve their communities. It was their way of giving back in recognition of generous community support that makes their participation in the college preparation program free. Each College Possible student receives a total of 320 hours of after-school curriculum during their junior and senior years of high school.
“The generosity of our supporters is a significant part of what makes our program successful,” said Executive Director Edie Turnbull. “Participating in Global Youth Service Day is a way for our students to give back to the community and say thank you for community member support. It’s also a way for us to stress the importance of service.”
College Possible makes community service a key component for students participating in the organization’s program. By encouraging students to develop an ethic of service, College Possible helps them see their own potential for making a difference in their communities while developing valuable leadership skills. Each student completes a minimum of 16 hours of community service throughout the course of the two-year program.
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“I’ve done some other community service in the past and a lot of it has been with College Possible,” said Martha, a College Possible senior at South Division High School. “We definitely talk about the importance of service and are encouraged to continue helping in the community as much as we can.”

author: College Possible


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Adam Carr
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Adam Carr
April 25, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 25, 2013


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Adam Carr
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Community honors professor’s memory at South Side clean-up | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
April 25, 2013
Francisco Garrett and Leonor Rosas, older brother and mother of Tomás Garrett-Rosas and (right) Kimberly Bonk, Francisco Garrett’s fiancée. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
As an adolescent growing up in Clarke Square, Tomás Garrett-Rosas dropped out of high school and joined a gang. When he died this year at 38, he was a professor with a doctorate in urban studies and a tenure-track position on the faculty of UW-Whitewater. Along the way, Garrett-Rosas empowered many in his community and many students growing up in circumstances similar to his own, said his academic mentors at UW-Milwaukee.
“Tomás Garrett-Rosas was an amazing young man. In my many years at UWM I have seen very few young men with such intelligence, not only in terms of academics, but in terms of relating to people and helping people. In social intelligence he was a unique individual and was able to inspire people, especially young people,” said his longtime mentor, UW-Milwaukee Sociology Professor William Vélez.
Garrett-Rosas was both the embodiment of the community’s aspirations and a passionate advocate and facilitator for education and social justice, his mentors said. By all accounts he was a larger-than-life figure who remained true to the family, friends and community in which he was raised. For all of these reasons, Garrett-Rosas’ suicide Jan. 6 hit his community hard.
Volunteer Joseph Abraham (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
That community honored Garrett-Rosas’ memory at its annual neighborhood clean-up recently. The Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative and Garrett-Rosas’ family and friends also dedicated their efforts to the memory of “all who have departed before their time.” Journey House Executive Director Dr. Michele Bria said a fundraiser was held for a scholarship to benefit a Journey House GED recipient’s higher education.
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Friends say Garrett-Rosas’ mother, community activist Leonor Rosas, strongly encouraged him to pursue community organizing and to further his education. After studying community organizing at the Center for Third World Organizing in Oakland, Calif., he returned to Milwaukee and earned a GED at Journey House. While studying for an undergraduate degree at UW-Milwaukee, he tutored and mentored students and worked with first-time juvenile offenders at Journey House, Bria said.
Garrett-Rosas earned a master’s degree at the University of Illinois-Chicago and then entered a Ph.D. program at UW-Milwaukee. He graduated last spring.
“As a result of who he was and his story and the things he accomplished, he received a very competitive national fellowship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation,” said UW-Milwaukee Professor René Antrop-González, another of Garrett-Rosas’ mentors.
He worked with Vélez and Antrop-González on research into educating underprivileged minority students. His dissertation research involved high-achieving African-American and Latino students at Rufus King High School, Vélez said.
Among those whose lives were changed by Garrett-Rosas is Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reporter and Marquette University graduate student Edgar Mendez. Mendez met Garrett-Rosas while working with his brother Francisco Garrett in a plastics factory. Garrett-Rosas saw potential in Mendez that Mendez did not see in himself. Garrett-Rosas started pushing Mendez to go back to school, eventually going with him to UW-Milwaukee to hand in an application. He later introduced him to colleagues in the McNair Scholars Program, a scholarship program for underprivileged youth. Mendez eventually followed Garrett-Rosas into the program and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and journalism in 2009. Mendez said Garrett-Rosas helped many people in the same way.
Community clean-up volunteers listen to a memorial tribute to Tomás Garrett-Rosas before beginning work cleaning up the neighborhood. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
“When we were coming up, we didn’t have social and professional networks of people in positions that could help us. He created one with all the people he brought along with him, that he showed the way to. That is his legacy,” Mendez added.
Garrett-Rosas’ influence lives on. “He keeps me going on the days when I get home tired of all the struggles and I remember him and he inspires me,” Antrop-González said.
The McNair Program named a scholarship in his honor. The first Dr. Tomás Garrett-Rosas Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Award winner was announced recently.
Other local organizations sponsoring neighborhood clean-ups included: Safe & Sound, 27 Street West Drug Free Coalition and Hmong American Friendship Association in Washington Park; Urban Ecology Center and Menomonee Valley Partners in Silver City and the Menomonee River Valley; Walnut Way Conservation Corp. in Lindsay Heights; Safe & Sound, Next Door Foundation and Building Neighborhood Capacity Program in Metcalfe Park; and College Possible students and AmeriCorps members partnering with Milwaukee River Keeper, Hunger Task Force, and the Parklawn YMCA to clean the river and the YMCA and volunteer at Hunger Task Force.

author: Andrea Waxman


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Adam Carr
April 24, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 24, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 24, 2013


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Increasing job readiness at SDC | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
April 25, 2013
The Social Development Commission (SDC) is gearing up its new computer-based testing center to train and test residents for different educational and employment opportunities.  The new services at SDC’s Richards Street offices include administering a variety of work-related licensing tests such as those needed for certification as real estate brokers, nurses’ aides, and appraisers.
“The testing center enhances and expands SDC’s long standing job-readiness and education programs,” said Hannah C. Dugan, SDC’s Interim CEO. “Besides licensing tests, the state-of-the-art center allows the agency to offer computer-based GED tests in addition to its traditional GED preparation programs,” Dugan explained.  SDC, a quasi-governmental agency serving Milwaukee County, is the largest anti-poverty agency in Wisconsin.
SDC staff showed off the testing center to members of the agency’s Board of Commissioners following their April Board meeting. “The staff is completing the work needed to allow the facility to meet the strict standards required to become a certified Pearson Vue Testing Center” remarked Board Chair Kris McHenry.  “When it attains that status in the near future, it will become only the second such facility offering GED testing in the City of Milwaukee”.
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SDC Program Services Director Jan Stenlund says the testing center will allow residents to earn their professional licenses and certificates and thus place them on their way to improving their employment.  The center can also become a venue for web training as well as a more efficient way to administer GED testing.
For decades SDC has offered class work and testing for the traditional GED.  It is the only such agency offering the Competency Based Diploma Program in Milwaukee County, a program designed for adults with special learning challenges.  The next GED and Competency Based graduation is scheduled for May 23 at the Richards Street National Guard Armory.  The graduation is expected to recognize well over 60 graduates from the two programs, making the current academic calendar year the most successful in terms of the number of graduates.  By earning their diplomas, the women and men completing the coursework and testing are taking steps on the pathway to employment and success for themselves and their families. Because the SDC programs are offered in collaboration with MATC, all of the SDC graduates also will be able to participate in the 2013 MATC spring graduation exercises.
The new SDC testing center is part of the agency’s Economic Advancement Pilot Program.  That effort is bringing together a variety of resources and agency programs to increase the opportunities for low-income residents to meet SDC’s mission of empowering people to move out of poverty.  To learn more about SDC’s programs that include the GED and the Competency Based Diploma Program, visit the agency website at      www.cr-sdc.org/index/Programs–Services.htm.

author: Social Development Commission


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SDC Commissioner CJ Kim learns about the new testing center from SDC staffer Jake Gorges.-April_Mtg_41813_027_fb | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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LISC, police department create director of community safety position | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
April 29, 2013
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and Leo Ries, the executive director at LISC Milwaukee, discuss the need for a director of community safety at the community safety forum and happy hour. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
A new partnership intended to marry the economic development efforts of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and crime reduction efforts of the Milwaukee Police Department was unveiled recently during a forum and happy hour event at the Urban Ecology Center.
The partnership takes the form of John Connelly, LISC‘s new director of community safety, who has begun to spearhead collaboration among organizations, the police and district attorney’s office to reduce crime and address public safety challenges in the neighborhoods served by Milwaukee’s LISC.
“If there is a troubled hot spot in a particular neighborhood, have (the stakeholders) come together, talk about it, see what the issues are and work collaboratively to come up with a combined solution,” Connelly said.
Connelly was hired two months ago through a memorandum of understanding between LISC and the police department. The police department will pay $50,000 and LISC will pay the rest of his salary.
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John Connelly (right), the new LISC director of community safety, listens to the presentation at the Urban Ecology Center. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
“Day to day (we) are out there working with (our) communities to create sustained neighborhoods capable of sustaining civic life. That’s our mission,” Police Chief Edward Flynn said. “We start with community, because that is our purpose, to create strong communities.”
Connelly works in LISC neighborhoods Lindsay Heights, Washington Park, Clarke Square, Harambee and Layton Boulevard West.
“Crime and the feelings of disorder really get in the way of creating safe, attractive and nurturing neighborhoods,” said Leo Ries, the executive director of Milwaukee’s LISC. “So we need to get more deeply involved in the community safety work.”
Connelly is a longtime city resident who has had stints in the mayor’s and the city clerk’s offices. The 32-year-old also worked as a staffer for the police department’s Community Prosecution Unit program, which brings together crime fighting efforts by the police, district attorney and community members.
“The police department can’t arrest itself out of crime and can’t arrest the problems away in a particular neighborhood,” Connelly said. “There are times you need that traditional law enforcement role … but there is a whole host of other public safety and crime issues that haven’t been dealt with successfully by traditional enforcement methods.”
Prostitution in the Washington Park neighborhood along Lisbon Avenue is one such public safety issue. Prior to Connelly’s arrival, the police department, district attorney’s office and community groups and organizations such as Washington Park Partners, the United Methodist Children Services and the Benedict Center developed a diversion program.
“The women (who) agree to participate, (don’t) end up getting charged with the offense,” Connelly said. “The recidivism rate is much, much lower for those (who) go through the program.”
Connelly also is focused on bringing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) training to Milwaukee. Police and community members will learn how to make changes to neighborhoods’ physical environments to make them more resistant to crime, according to LISC.
Cooperation among the police department, community organizations and residents has begun to reap benefits from this type of collaborative work in the form of funding. The city, with the police department, LISC and Safe & Sound as grantees, recently received a $600,000 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation 2012 grant from the Department of Justice.

author: Brendan O’Brien


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Adam Carr
April 28, 2013


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Adam Carr
April 28, 2013


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Neighborhood House families celebrate Earth Day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 1, 2013
Residents of the Concordia neighborhood gathered at Neighborhood House of Milwaukee recently to observe Earth Day and participate in the community organization’s latest outdoor environmental education project.
Neighborhood House is collaborating with local muralist Andrew Parchmen to design a room on its top floor as an interactive educational environment highlighting the earth’s tropical and temperate climate communities. The room comprises 3,000 square-feet of naturally lit, open space and is known as the “Tree House.”
“The goal of this project is to engage our students in learning about several natural environments,” said Niki Espy, outdoor environmental education coordinator at Neighborhood House. “Children will be able to compare and contrast the different features of our planet, including plants, animals and climate patterns,” she added.
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The outdoor environmental education program is Milwaukee’s oldest community-based green program and is integrated into all Neighborhood House programs. It integrates field experiences with classroom lessons through partnerships with Milwaukee organizations including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, Urban Connections and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources/Lakeshore State Park.
Muralist Parchmen, current resident artist at Milwaukee Public Theatre, is aided by participants in Neighborhood House programs, including urban youth ages 2-18. He has designed and supervised the painting of a number of murals in Neighborhood House’s building at 2819 W. Richardson Pl.
On Earth Day, Parchmen and neighborhood youth painted a tree-themed mural on the walls of the Tree House. There will be an unveiling and gallery event in June.
In addition to a Community Paint Day, Neighborhood House’s Earth Day event included a neighborhood clean-up, clothing exchange, gardening, duct tape wallet-making, a rummage sale and a workshop on recycling and water conservation.


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Adam Carr
April 30, 2013


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First Public Allies conference helps alumni, nonprofit leaders evolve | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jennifer Reinke
May 3, 2013
Public Allies Christina Felski and Corey Tucker practice Tweeting using a hashtag (#), a skill they honed in a social media workshop at the conference. (Photo by Jennifer Reinke)
After four years of work in the nonprofit sector, Public Allies Milwaukee Fellow and Alumni Outreach Coordinator Alisha Klapps Balistreri said she was burnt out and knew she was not alone.
“So often, nonprofit professionals are giving to others and seldom pour into themselves,” she said.
Tasked with engaging Public Allies Milwaukee alumni, Klapps Balistreri was determined to give nonprofit professionals an opportunity to invest in themselves. What emerged was the first-ever Evolving Leaders: Professional Development Conference for current Public Allies, alumni and other community workers.
Public Allies is a national organization that seeks to develop new leadership to strengthen communities, nonprofits and civic participation.
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“By practicing self-care and investing in myself, I have better energy so I’m better able to serve others,” Klapps Balistreri said.
The conference also provided a strategy for involving the diverse network of alumni from the Milwaukee program, which is approaching its 20-year anniversary said Nikotris Perkins, Public Allies Milwaukee program manager and director of recruitment and alumni engagement.
Klapps Balistreri said this was the first Public Allies alumni conference in the country.
It was organized to tap into the assets of Public Allies Milwaukee alumni and respond to areas of growth nonprofit leaders want to expand on, she said. Executive directors, founders and public officials are now counted among the organization’s alumni, Perkins noted. Alumni facilitated five of the day’s six workshops, and three of five panelists were alumni of the program.
Alisha Klapps Balistreri, Public Allies Milwaukee fellow and alumni outreach coordinator, announces a drawing winner at the conference as Nikotris Perkins, Public Allies Milwaukee program manager, looks on. (Photo by Jennifer Reinke)
“Reciprocal is the way to describe the relationship we want to foster with our alumni,” said Public Allies Milwaukee Executive Director LG Shanklin-Flowers.
Klapps Balistreri counted 60 people at the conference. A quarter of the participants were Public Allies alumni and 10 percent were current Allies. The remaining participants were members of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) Greater Milwaukee Chapter and other nonprofit professionals.
“The participants are making a statement about the need for professional development as young leaders and about their commitment to their own development and belief in life-long learning, which is a core value of Public Allies,” said Shanklin-Flowers.
“The panel is talking about a hot topic in Milwaukee,” Perkins said. Opportunity youth, or disconnected youth, are the approximately 6.7 million Americans aged 16 – 24 who are neither in school nor working.
“Public Allies’ main focus is targeting young adults,” Klapps Balistreri said. About one-third of the participants in each Public Allies Milwaukee class are between the ages of 18 – 24. “To expand on the importance of engaging young people is at the forefront of our minds,” she added.
Julio Guerrero, a Public Allies Milwaukee alumnus in his final semester at UW-Milwaukee, attended the conference and found it to be different from previous alumni engagement efforts.
Rather than just asking alumni for contributions of time and money, Guerrero appreciated the “effort to put some resources into giving back to the alumni community,” he said.
Elisabeth Vink, program specialist with the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders attended through the YNPN and was exposed to Public Allies for the first time.
“I’m still relatively new to the city so it was great to be able to network with people who are doing nonprofit and community service,” she said. “It’s nice to go to a first annual (event) that is going to have a second.” Next year’s Evolving Leaders Conference will take place March 22.
Current Public Ally Syd Robinson found BoardStar’s workshop on board service particularly useful.
“It was helpful to know that it’s normal to question what your role is…but you can still make an impact and you’re still valuable despite that uncertainty,” he explained.
Current Public Allies Christina Felski and Corey Tucker said a key take-away for them was the importance of identity and personal branding.
“I don’t know how to help the community unless I know who I am,” Felski said. “It’s about knowing what I want and who I am so I can use those tools to give back.”
Tenth District County Supervisor David Bowen, who was both a Public Ally and second-year fellow, participated in the panel alongside fellow alumni Lashawndra Vernon and Elysse Wageman, State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa and American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Director of Youth & Programs Emilio De Torre.
“I have a vested interest in making sure Public Allies continues to thrive and engage young professionals in this community,” Bowen said. I’m glad I’m able to contribute to that as an alumnus who has experienced the impact of what Public Allies can do…I was honored to be on that panel with distinguished guests who are doing great things in the community.”
The conference was held at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Continuing Education, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave., in collaboration with BoardStar and YNPN.

author: Jennifer Reinke


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Adam Carr
May 3, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 3, 2013


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Study analyzes quality of Milwaukee after-school programs | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 6, 2013
COA Goldin Center’s after-school program includes physical fitness, sports, homework help, computer and art classes, community service and cooking and nutrition education among other activities. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
A Public Policy Forum (PPF) study of eight central city Milwaukee after-school program sites found that those with strong connections to schools and surrounding neighborhoods were best positioned to meet the needs of parents and students.
The analysis is part of a larger study examining the quality of hundreds of Milwaukee after-school programs and investigating policy barriers to quality improvements, according to Anneliese Dickman, research director at the PPF. Parents of children who participate or have recently participated in after-school programs were concerned about safety, convenience and the availability of engaging and structured activities, according to the report.
The report also states that parents who viewed their children’s after-school programs as low quality felt there needed to be better training for program staff. According to Quentin Prince, coordinator of the Community Learning Center (CLC) at Longfellow School, his staff is continuously trained as rigorously as a teacher would be.
“They receive professional development training throughout the year,” said Prince.
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Community Learning Centers is a program of the Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Recreation & Community Services.
The next phase of the study will look at professional development opportunities for after-school staff, according to Dickman. The study found that most parents were pleased with the quality and amount of programming available at the after-school sites located within five Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) neighborhoods including Harambee, Washington Park and Clarke Square. LISC is a national organization working to revitalize distressed urban areas.
The CLC site at Longfellow Elementary School offers academic enrichment, arts and music, drug and violence prevention and other programming.
Many parents said the programs had helped their children improve relationships with friends, social behaviors and self-confidence. The after-school programs studied included Community Learning Centers operating in partnerships with community organizations and district-operated or school-based programs.
Seventy-two percent of the after-school participants at the surveyed sites were African-American and 21 percent were Latino. Seventeen percent of the students were Spanish speakers. Forty-three percent of the students in those programs lived within walking distance of the sites.
Parents at South Side sites said the best aspects of those programs were their proximity and convenience, while North Side parents were more likely to consider quality of programming as the programs’ greatest strength.
Parents of middle and high school students cited a lack of safe and engaging after-school programs available to their children. Specifically, they said programming should include activities that were interesting to older students, but would also help them develop job and life skills.
Other concerns included costs. Parents felt strongly that after-school programs should be affordable or free. They did not think that costs for quality improvement should be passed on to parents, though nearly all parents surveyed said they were not being charged for the programs.
Parents also said that after-school programs should be more structured in order to improve student behavior. One factor that might influence children’s behavior, they said, would be an increase in communication between the day schools and the after-school programs. Parents said communication between their children’s classroom teachers and the staff at their after-school programs was almost non-existent. Tracking of homework assignments and goals for the tutoring component of the after-school programs sometimes relies on students rather than on coordination between program employees and teachers, parents said.
Longfellow’s CLC program does combine day school and after-school programming, according to Prince.
“We see our program as a continuation of the school day,” he said.
His staff works with teachers to create a pacing guide that ensures the lessons taught during the day are reinforced after school, he added.
Overall, parents see a strong correlation between the strength of relationships between schools and after-school programs and their children’s academic progress.
The study remarks that any changes to after-school programming should carefully consider affordability, convenience, safety and transportation to increase their appeal to parents of Milwaukee-area youth.
The next phase of the PPF study will look at supply and demand. We already know, Dickman said, that location is a big factor when choosing a program. “Most parents said they did not consider more than one program.”


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Adam Carr
May 6, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 6, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 6, 2013


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Affordable Healthcare Act and its impact on local residents | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
May 7, 2013
It will be here before you know it.  Enrollment in the Affordable Healthcare Act begins October 1, 2013 with benefits starting January 1, 2014 but there is some confusion about how it will affect residents. Information sessions will shed light on the new healthcare program at the Social Development Commission’s (SDC) 7 Annual Spring Job and Resource Fair.
The daylong fair will be held Saturday, May 18 from 10 am to 3pm at Greater New Birth Church located at 8237 W. Silver Spring Drive.  It is designed to offer a wide range of services and opportunities at one location for residents.  A representative of the Wisconsin Division of Public Health will be on hand to present afternoon informational workshops on how the Affordable Healthcare Act will impact local residents and how the public can register to participate in it.
In addition, the SDC Spring Job and Resource Fair will provide employers seeking workers and employment training programs for residents who are looking for work.  Child Support Debt Reduction Assistance workers and staff from Driver’s License Recovery will also be on hand.  Other resources available will include health screenings, financial education, housing resources, education, and public safety.
The fair is free and open to the public and is offered by the Social Development Commission and Greater New Birth Church.  To learn more about the day, visit the SDC website at www.cr-sdc.org.
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College Possible seniors anticipate graduation at year-end celebration | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 9, 2013
College Possible seniors (from left) Pa Nou Xiong, Peter Khanthavong, Darneisha Virginia and Nury Plascencia attended the Milwaukee 2013 Year-End Graduation Celebration at UW-Milwaukee. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
This is the second in a series about four college-bound high school seniors who are participating in College Possible, a program that provides students from low-income families with coaching and support to get into college and earn a degree. NNS will check in with these students during their transition into college and throughout their freshman year.
Back in early March, high school seniors Darneisha Virginia, Nury Plascencia, Pa Nou Xiong and Peter Khanthavong worried about getting into their first-choice colleges. They worried too about receiving enough financial aid to go to college. They were excited about the possibilities and nervous that their dreams might never be realized.
Now, with graduation just a few weeks away, financial aid packages offered and college choices made, worry is beginning to take a back seat to excitement.
“I’m most excited about meeting new people, being in a bigger environment, gaining my independence and becoming my own person,” said Pa Nou Xiong, who will receive her high school diploma from Milwaukee School of Languages on June 11.
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St. Joan Antida senior Nury Plascencia echoed Xiong’s longing for independence. “I’m excited about living on my own without my parents guiding me through everything,” she said.
The four recently joined the rest of their College Possible class, 173 seniors from 10 Milwaukee high schools, at a year-end graduation celebration on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Juniors who spent the year preparing for standardized college admission tests and sophomores just entering the program also participated.
College Possible coach Erin Bennett (left) addresses graduating seniors from St. Joan Antida High School on the stage in the UW-Milwaukee Theatre Building. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
Xiong, Virginia, Plascencia and Khanthavong all have been admitted to the college they most want to attend and all have been awarded the financial aid necessary to complete four-year degree programs.
Xiong has decided to attend Marquette University. In addition to the physician assistant program the university offers, Xiong chose Marquette because “I really love the environment. I love that it is downtown but maintains its own sense of community despite being in such a large city,” she said.
She is waiting to hear the results of some scholarship applications but she will be able to pay her tuition with scholarships from Marquette and the federally funded Educational Opportunity Program. She will take out loans to cover part of the cost of room and board.
Plascencia and Virginia will both go from St. Joan Antida to Mount Mary College.  Plascencia knew she wanted to follow her older sister to Mount Mary, where she received a Caroline Scholarship for full tuition, room and board for four years.
Virginia was undecided in March but now says that Mount Mary is her first choice. She has received a Grace Scholarship for new undergraduates from Milwaukee who demonstrate financial need. It will cover 85 percent of tuition. Virginia, who is also waiting for results of a number of scholarship applications, said she plans to take out loans for the balance of her tuition and for room and board if necessary.
She said she is most excited about graduating from high school and having the opportunity to go to college. She is also thrilled to be going to a small college, with small classes, where she expects to receive individual attention. Proximity to home is another positive aspect of Mount Mary for Virginia. “I’m excited to get in and jump into a career that I really am passionate about,” she said.
Khanthavong, who will receive his diploma from Alexander Hamilton High School on June 8, will attend UW-Milwaukee. Both Carroll University and UWM offered him good financial aid packages, which will cover all but about $5,000 of his expenses per year. If the other scholarships he applied for do not come through, Khathavong will take out loans, he said.
Along with the excitement, each student expressed some anxiety about academic challenges and the new social scene.
Recognizing this, College Possible will continue to offer support through the students’ freshman year. Coaches will check in regularly with students, and are available to help when asked. During the summer, a one-day program will help prepare students for the transition. It focuses on finding campus resources and adapting to college life and work, according to Xiong.
“Although I’m excited about making new friends, I’m really nervous about it,” she added. Xiong considers herself a shy person and worries that her reserve will be misinterpreted by fellow students.
Virginia expressed another fear that many college freshmen feel. “I’m scared that the classes are going to be extremely hard and I’m going to fail. You never really know what it’s going to be like until you’re in the door.”


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Adam Carr
May 8, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 8, 2013


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Job posting: Pearls Development Director | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Pearls for Teen Girls
May 9, 2013
Pearls for Teen Girls, an organization that encourages self-development, is seeking a full-time Director of Development.
In collaboration with Chief Executive Officer and the Board, the Director of Development oversees the strategic and day-to-day fundraising production for PEARLS.  80% of the operating budget is a direct result of philanthropy and federal grants.  The position will develop and implement fundraising strategies that will be donor centric, entrepreneurial and accountable for gift production to PEARLS priorities.
For more information, applicants should contact Danae D. Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Pearls For Teen Girls, Inc. at danae@pearlsforteengirls.com.
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author: Pearls for Teen Girls


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Art picks up ‘STEAM’ at TEDxHarambee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
May 13, 2013
Speaker Jim McCarthy, a software pioneer, addresses the audience at TEDxHarambee. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
Milwaukee’s first TEDx event featured speakers from a range of disciplines who discussed using the liberal arts to address society’s most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges.
TEDxHarambee brought a cross-section of area leaders in the academic, arts and technology fields together to listen to speakers discuss STEAM —Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Music. The STEAM approach places the arts at the center of the problem-solving and innovation processes.
“Teaching students science is not going to teach them how to innovate,” said Sherri Dodd, director of educational technology at Milwaukee Montessori School during her presentation.
“Incorporating the arts in to science, technology, engineering and math will give students that creativity and provide them (with) skills that will allow them to be innovators,” she added.
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John Kowalczyk, 25, a local artist, said he attended the event because of his interest in applications for art in science and technology.
“Being an artist, I am so immersed in my creativity, but I like to see connections from art to science. It helps me broaden my reach. It’s about finding a purpose for art,” said Kowalczyk, who teaches art to adults at Splash Studio, a painting bar in the Third Ward.
The audience was limited to 100 guests who listened intently to the 18-minute presentations by 11 speakers.
Marvin Pope, the publisher of BU-Magazine, said he enjoyed the format because it treated him to an in-depth glimpse of what drives each of the speakers.
Attendee John Kowalczyk is interested in the connection between art and science. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
“It’s interesting to hear every person speak about their passions,” said Pope, whose online publication focusing on profiles of people including artists.
Although the presentations at times revolved around topics such as poverty and human rights violations, the mood was light among the speakers and attendees.
Some attendees jotted in notebooks, while others tapped on handheld devices to record the event’s most memorable and inspiring concepts and quotes.
“Imagine the world we live in if we spent more time imagining the world we could live in,” said speaker Nathaniel Stern. Stern and co-speaker Ilya Avdeev teach a class at UWM that brings together interdisciplinary student teams, including artists, to solve design, engineering and health care problems.
The event, held in the Harambee neighborhood, was sponsored by Made in Milwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Munger Technical Services and the Brady Corporation.
For Mark Anderson, who is new to his position at MSOE and who recently moved into Riverwest, the event was a chance to get to know the area.
“It was a chance to see more about neighborhood development and neighborhood transformation and it being next to my neighborhood, I thought it was a good idea to be here,” he said.
TEDxHarambee, which can be viewed here, was patterned after the popular TED Conference and TED Talks. Owned by the New York-based Sapling Foundation, TED is devoted to ideas “worth spreading.”
The original TED conference in 1987 focused on bringing together people from Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) and has since broadened to other topics.
TED produces several conferences each year, in California and the United Kingdom, where leaders of their respective fields are invited to present lectures. Capitalizing on the popularity of the brand, TEDx was created in 2009 to allow communities such as Milwaukee to use the TED format to organize local conferences.


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8731776549_76198834a8_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 13, 2013


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8731776583_940b0c1989_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 13, 2013


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SDC Trains Refugees as Business Owners | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
May 13, 2013
The Social Development Commission (SDC) has launched its first microenterprise class of refugees aspiring to become childcare business owners and operators.  SDC’s Refugee Childcare Microenterprise Development Project trains participants in business operations, financial literacy, and childcare practices.
“Training entrepreneurs to obtain a State of Wisconsin Family Child Care License and open more home-based childcare centers advances SDC’s anti-poverty mission,” explained Hannah C. Dugan, SDC’s Interim CEO. “The end result of this program is creating new businesses and future employers as well as providing desperately needed affordable child care for low-income employees and job-seekers,” Dugan added.
The project’s first training group consists of eleven women and men refugees from Iraq, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.  During a recent class, Instructor Mamadou Guisse outlined accounting and record-keeping needed to satisfy State and County childcare business regulations.  He showed participants tools they can use to monitor attendance, income and expenses, and other processes needed for a well-run daycare.  Guisse fielded questions from the engaged students through translators who were helping participants.
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Rula Ayoub, an Iraqi refugee who moved to the United States seven months ago, registered for the SDC program because she wants “to help her family become successful by starting a childcare business”.  She said the coursework she and her classmates have gotten has been “terrific for us”.  She stated, for example, learning for the first time about the American tax system was eye-opening for her and fellow class participants.
The microenterprise program works well for Ayoub because “I love children as well as teaching and interacting with them.”  She notes that when the program classes end in mid-June, she will look at possibly opening her own licensed childcare business in her home.  She added that she is recommending the program to anyone she meets as a way to become self-sufficient and contributing to the Milwaukee community.
SDC is partnering with the Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute, the Pan African Community Association, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement on the two-year project.  It is being funded by the Wisconsin Administration for Children and Families.  To learn more about the Refugee Childcare Microenterprise Development Project at SDC, call 414-906-2768 or visit www.cr-sdc.org/index/Programs–Services/Refugee_Childcare_Microenterprise_Development_Project.htm.


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Rula Ayoub (rear, right) and three classmates during a break of the SDC Refugee Childcare class.-Home_Based_Child_Care_Class_5613_034_w | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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May 10, 2013


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Amani youth art show complements Bloom and Groom | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sharon McGowan
May 14, 2013
Youth in the Amani neighborhood created a “pop-up” outdoor art show called “Dare to Dream, in conjunction with the city’s recent Bloom and Groom event.
The artwork, displayed across the street from the Dominican Center, 2470 W. Locust, represents changes the young people would like to see in their community. Milwaukee artist Vedale Hill supervised development and installation of the exhibit. Hill teaches visual art to preteens and teenagers at the COA Goldin Center, 2320 W. Burleigh St., and COA Riverwest.
Sponsored by the Dominican Center, COA Goldin Center and the city of Milwaukee, the second annual Amani event also offered fresh flowers for attendees to purchase and plant at their homes. It also offered residents an opportunity to come together to celebrate spring and discuss local issues.
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Mayor Tom Barrett paid a visit to Amani to promote the flower sale. “Flowers are brightening the area and building neighborhood strength,” the mayor wrote on his Facebook page.
Citywide, nearly 50,000 flowers were sold in 18 Milwaukee neighborhoods. The city’s Neighborhood Improvement Development Corp. worked with Lowe’s Home Improvement to purchase the flowers at a discounted price.
LeDester Tyler, Beverly Bell, Dennis Walton and Sister Patricia Rogers helped coordinate Bloom and Groom and the Youth Art Show. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

author: Sharon McGowan


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Adam Carr
May 13, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 13, 2013


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8728367691_0fddefd71b_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 13, 2013


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8729486720_aca28c43f5_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 13, 2013


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Community Partners Director job announcement | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Safe & Sound
May 15, 2013
ORGANIZATIONAL SUMMARY: Safe & Sound develops, supports and facilitates collaborative approaches to measurably reduce violent crime by blending law enforcement, neighborhood organizing and youth development, making Milwaukee neighborhoods safe places to work, live and raise families. Safe & Sound is a community-based, community building and anti-crime strategy designed to reduce crime and violence.  It utilizes the interdependent strategies of positive youth development at Safe Places, neighborhood building and organizing through the Community Partners and Community Prosecution Coordinators, and law enforcement through the Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). It is a unique, collaborative approach to fighting crime, violence, illegal drug and alcohol sales, and other neighborhood problems. Safe & Sound’s collaborating partners empower youth and adults to work together, creating a better, safer community for all.
The Community Partners Program is one of the three prongs of the Safe & Sound Strategy and is made up of:   Community Partners Organizers, Community Prosecution Unit Coordinators, Drug Free Communities staff, and Restorative Justice staff. It is a proactive  collaborative strategy  involving the District Attorney’s Office, the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department, Probation and Parole, Department of Neighborhood Services, community-based organizations, and citizens in the Safe & Sound sectors. The program strives to reduce crime, engage our Safe Place youth, mobilize citizens, and utilize limited resources in the most efficient manner to make our neighborhoods safer.
SUMMARY:  Under the direction of Safe & Sound’s Executive Director, the Community Partners’ Director will be responsible for operation of the Community Partners’ program.  Administer and coordinate the strategy, partnerships, and collaborations, planning and supervising the day-to-day activities of the program by performing the job duties described below.
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The Director must function with the sophistication, political savvy, and community understanding  to manage a complex set of strategies in partnership with numerous public agencies such as the Milwaukee Police Department,   the District Attorney’s office, the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services as well as other partner organizations and actors such as funders, elected officials, neighborhood development organizations, youth serving groups, churches, and business people.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Directly supervise Community Partners Program staff.  Ensure that performance goals are met for all.    Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws.  Hire, train, mentor staff.
QUALIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE:
B A. in a social science area;  Master’s Degree preferred; 5-8  years related experience and/or training in a setting that demonstrates the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to perform the above tasks; or equivalent combination of education and experience.  Administrative and management experience.  Five years of supervisory experience managing several programs.  Experience in working with elected officials, law enforcement, neighborhood organizations, residents, churches.
Extensive experience in developing and leading complex partnerships
COMPUTER SKILLS:
Ability to effectively utilize job-related software including, but not limited to, Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and the internet development tools. Familiarity with social media and its uses is critical
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Ability to write reports and business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from staff, public officials,  law enforcement, neighborhood residents, youth, adults, as well as staff of various community-based organizations.  Effective public speaking and public relations skills required.  Must be able to represent  Safe & Sound to all of types of audiences.
OTHER SKILLS and ABILITIES:
Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment.  Maintain confidentiality of written or verbal information. Knowledge of community issues, the Milwaukee community, and community organizations. . Experience and ability to coordinate a large program; ability to administer a variety of projects at the same time; strategic planning in fluid internal and external environment required.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Work will be performed in an office setting, in neighborhoods, at meetings.  .  Required to work some evenings and weekends for meetings, projects to accomplish assigned tasks, and to carry out management responsibilities.
TO  APPLY:
Please submit a resume, cover letter,  at least 4 professional references and a salary history.  You must include all of these four items to be considered.
Submit them to:
Barbara Notestein, Executive Director
Safe & Sound
801 W. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, Wi  53211
Email:  safesound@milwaukeehidta.org
This position is open until filled.

author: Safe & Sound


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Three Bridges Park completes Menomonee Valley transformation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 17, 2013
More than 50 people crowded onto the 33rd Court Bridge during the naming ceremony for Three Bridges Park. The name was chosen from more than 750 contest submissions. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Debra Tuckweed, originally from Boscobel, Wis. (pop. 3,231), moved to Milwaukee 35 years ago to work as a parole officer. She remembers riding into town with her parents and seeing the blighted Menomonee Valley for the first time thinking, “This is where I’m going to live?”
Once an eyesore that split the north and south sides of the city, today the Valley has been transformed into a vibrant, thriving public space.
The new park, once a railroad yard, is being built along the banks of the Menomonee River. It will be known as Three Bridges Park, the winning name in a contest that drew more than 750 participants. The name will go before the Common Council and Natural Resources Board in coming weeks for official approval.
The 24-acre park, which officially opens to the public on July 20, is the last major development of the From the Ground Up initiative. In 2010, Menomonee Valley Partners (MVP), the Urban Ecology Center (UEC), the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, other community-based organizations and countless individuals partnered on the initiative, which resulted in improved access to jobs, outdoor education programs and recreational activities.
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The 33rd Court Bridge was one of the projects of the $26 million “From the Ground Up Initiative.” (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
The $26 million initiative also included construction of the UEC Valley Branch, 3700 W. Pierce St., the Hank Aaron State Trail and three pedestrian bridges that inspired the name of the new park.
The park will be part of the Hank Aaron State Trail and will serve as the new “outdoor classroom” for the Urban Ecology Center’s Menomonee Valley branch. It is accessible via three bike/pedestrian bridges – located at 37 and Canal Streets, 33 Court and behind the Mitchell Park Domes – that connect the Valley to surrounding neighborhoods.
Laura Bray, executive director of MVP, said the name was chosen both because it can roll off a child’s tongue and because it captures the spirit of the initiative.
“We’re bridging neighborhoods, past to future, north to south, city to nature,” Bray said.
Bray added that $22.5 million has already been raised for the initiative and that MVP hopes to complete the park by the end of summer. The park’s completion would be the last step in the valley’s transformation, according to Bray. It is expected to serve 10,000 children a year,
Tuckweed, now retired, bikes and jogs on the valley section of the Hank Aaron State Trail daily. Absent now is the stench from the nearby slaughterhouse as are the decrepit, shuttered factories that years ago made her cringe. She calls the park an added bonus to the atmosphere that already has been created in the valley, saying
“I grew up in the country so it’s nice to have the country nearby.”
Omar Bonilla-Ortiz, who works at the UEC Valley Branch and grew up just across from the long inaccessible Menomonee Valley, said he couldn’t wait to tell his nieces and nephews the name of the new park next door.
Added Bonilla-Ortiz, “They’ll be the last generation to know of the blight that was here.”


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Adam Carr
May 16, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 16, 2013


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3 MPS students win Gates scholarships covering 100% of unmet need to college of their choice | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
May 20, 2013
Three Milwaukee Public Schools seniors are among just 1,000 nationwide to be named Gates Millennium Scholars this year, an honor that translates into a “good-through-graduation” scholarship to the college of each student’s choice paying for 100% of students’ unmet need.
The scholarships also provide funding graduate school if students opt to pursue graduate degrees in computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.
All three MPS students worked with their school counselors – led by guidance directors Natalie Anderson at Riverside and Brian Schneider at South Division – as well as College Possible Milwaukee, a program dedicated to making college admission and success possible for low-income students through intensive coaching and support.
Gates Millennium Scholar Mayra Alaniz is a student at MPS’ South Division High School who will be attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Scholar Jessica Curry, a student at MPS’ Riverside University High School, will attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her Riverside classmate and fellow Gates Millennium Scholar Kali Huettl will be attending Clark Atlanta University.
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“I want to thank these students, their families, their teachers, their counselors and College Possible for this remarkable accomplishment,” MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton said. “We are proud that they are part of a growing group of college-bound MPS students.”
“College Possible is proud to have three students who participate in our program chosen as Gates Millennium Scholars,” said College Possible Executive Director Edie Turnbull. “Through their hard work together with their College Possible coaches, they are now able to attend their top choice schools without a financial burden. Kali, Jessica, and Mayra are positive role models for their families and students in the Milwaukee community.”
MPS has grown the percentage of students enrolling in postsecondary education within a year and half of high school graduation by roughly eight percentage points over five years to a rate now above 50%. The district’s college and career readiness efforts include:
The goal of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, established in 1999 with a $1 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is to “promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential.” The program provides scholars with personal and professional development through leadership programs and academic support throughout their college careers.


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Layton Boulevard West Neighbors shows off new mobile bike hub | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
May 20, 2013
Jorian Giorno (center) of Layton Boulevard West Neighbors shows a little boy the mobile bike hub during its unveiling. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
Editor’s note: This article, originally published on May 30, 2013, is one of a series profiling the finalists for Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs). Layton Boulevard West’s Mobile Bike Hub is a finalist for the PNC Bank Trail Blazer Award, which recognizes an innovative approach to a community problem.
Dozens of adults and children attended the unveiling of a new “mobile bike hub,” an adult tricycle fitted with bins full of tools and supplies intended to spur greater appreciation for bicycling and to get children outdoors and active.
The vehicle was on display for the first time in front of the offices of the Wisconsin Bike Federation, 3618 W. Pierce St., during Bicycle Fiesta, a culminating event of Bike to Work Week.
“This is awesome,” said Milwaukeean Maxwell Washington, 28, who brought his three children to the event, sponsored by Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN). “It fills a big need and it will get kids out here and interacting … and exploring the world.”
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The mobile bike hub will be operated by Milwaukeean Jorian Giorno, a long-time bike enthusiast who spent several years working at local bike shops. LBWN recently hired Giorno to be the part-time mobile bike hub coordinator.
Giorno, who graduated in 2012 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with master’s degrees in both urban planning and public administration, will ride around the neighborhood fixing bikes and promoting bike safety. For those with an old or broken bike, the hub will offer a chance to get back on the saddle for free, organizers said.
The mobile bike hub is an adult tricycle fitted with bins full of tools and supplies. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
“It’s been really well received … my expectation is that I will be busy with, at the very least, giving kids the knowledge of how to fix their bikes or get the bikes fixed,” said Giorno, who will work with neighborhood schools to get the word out about the hub.
Giorno will ring the unique-sounding bell affixed to the hub as he rides through the neighborhood, much like ice cream vendors do throughout the city.
As children and parents mingled around the bike hub, enjoying popcorn and taking part in raffles, the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin sold used bicycles across the street.
“They want to ride and they need to be physically active,” said Liz Drame of her two children as her family shopped for bicycles.
A band of volunteers, including two architects, designed and built the hub while Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin staff members lent their expertise to the project. Construction of the bike hub was completed at midnight Thursday night.
“I got a tear because, for me, it was just a moving moment,” said Jezamil Vega-Skeels, a neighborhood planner at LBWN who spearheaded the project. “It’s overwhelming. I am more than happy.”
The federation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Milwaukee, Charles D. Jacobus Family Foundation and the City of Milwaukee Neighborhood Improvement Development Corp. helped fund the hub, which cost between $5,000 and $6,000.
If the pilot bike hub project is successful in the Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods of Layton Park, Burnham Park and Silver City, it could eventually be replicated in other areas of the city, according to Giorno.
According to Giorno and Vega-Skeels, one of the project’s biggest challenges was designing the hub, which needed to be easy to ride while carrying the tools and supplies — such as bike repair stands — to make it functional.
After months of trial and error that included drawings and tinkering, the team came up with a design that features a sliding door that covers three tall bins while acting as a service table when closed.
“We’re the pioneers, so when other neighborhoods start talking about doing this, hopefully we can help them iron out those unexpected bumps that we struggled through,” Giorno said.


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Adam Carr
May 20, 2013


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Adam Carr
May 20, 2013


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Milwaukee Rep artists help North Division students find their voices | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alex Perry
May 21, 2013
Playwriting specialist Fly Steffens is working with a group of students at North Division High School. She challenges them to mine their own thoughts and life experiences for ideas that they might want to write about.
“Prostitution,” says one young woman. “Scars,” adds another.  “Sexual violence,” says a third. “Good,” says Steffens, making it clear that she doesn’t think violence is good, but “it’s a good idea to write about.”
She jots down phrases, words and feelings, finding connections among them and imposing a loose order on the seemingly random thoughts.
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Steffens is a Milwaukee Repertory Theatre teaching artist who worked with the North Division students as part of a semester-long program that used theatre to teach them about their neighborhoods. The teaching artists were placed in North Division, 1011 W. Center St., and 14 other area schools by Our Neighborhoods: Past Present and Future, a Milwaukee Rep program that ran for 25 weeks this spring.
Given a chance to express themselves, the students become caught up in Steffens’ enthusiasm, and the images and feelings that tumble forth are as real as the streets of Milwaukee.
“Arguing,” “shooting” and “drug wars” are concepts that come easily to the students’ minds but “churches,” “neighbors,” “friends” and “family” are not far behind.
Teaching artist Fly Steffens jots down students’ ideas for what they might want to write about. (Photo by Alex Perry)
Steffens is pleased but not surprised by the depth and variety of the narratives the students weave.
“Young people in Milwaukee have really interesting stories and really interesting lives,” Steffens said.
She makes playwriting an energizing group activity, unlike the image many have of the solitary writer agonizing over a manuscript. Authors can write works such as poetry and novels alone, Steffens said. “But writing plays and working on theater is really the form of storytelling that is the most communal.”
Steffens’ belief in these young people is typical of the Rep’s teaching artists.
Others, such as spoken word poet Dasha Kelly, came to North Division to share their specialty with the students. Kelly read “Where I’m From,” a gritty rendition of the urban minority experience by poet Willie Perdomo.
Perdomo’s poetry creates vivid images through direct, evocative language and Kelly used his work to inspire North Division’s students to do the same.
Just as Perdomo built his poem from the sights, sounds and sensations of life in New York City, Kelly urged the students to recall their own impressions of growing up in Milwaukee.
For Kelly, her art represents more than self-expression — it is empowerment.
“It’s powerful when you are able to command your own language,” she said. “It’s powerful when you realize that your words mean something.”
Kelly challenged the students to come up with concrete details to describe their neighborhoods. Seemingly mundane and unimportant, these details are the building blocks of what may become powerful poetry.
For Kelly, finding one’s voice is a basic human need.
“The power of the word, the power of being able to get in front of a congregation and raise them to their feet, the power of being able to inspire a group of inmates to think differently, … the power to use your words to make a change or to make a statement or to make yourself whole — we’ve needed that for a long time,” she said.
Student Georgette Moore, a fledgling poet, agreed. “It was inspiring to see that even though we live in this neighborhood, you can still get something out of it.”
Students at Milwaukee’s North Division High School are learning about themselves, their history, and visual and spoken arts, thanks to an ambitious Milwaukee Repertory Theater program.
[read more]
Community Night at North Division High School revealed students’ perceptions of their neighborhood through spoken word poetry.
[read more]


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8724382876_6ef30d6c50_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 21, 2013


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8724382876_6ef30d6c50_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 20, 2013