Featured Video
September 15, 2010
At our last Drink and Think Happy Hour, our brilliant attendees discussed the qualities that make a strong thinker. Since then, our students have also put their strong thinking to work. They’ve compiled a written list of questions for you, and are eagerly awaiting your responses from our next Happy Hour!
In one week from today, come to JoJo’s (1518 U St NW) from 5pm-8pm to enjoy Happy Hour specials, meet great people, and make a meaningful impact on our young people. Entry is free, so be sure to bring all your smart friends!
August 28, 2010
You might have caught the recent post on Borderstan about LV’s monthly happy hour, Drink and Think.
Greg, Mo, and Lenore at Drink and Think
LV teaches thinking skills through writing to kids in under-served D.C. communities. Our Drink and Think friends, who include community members and young professionals, join us once a month to do more than just drink adult beverages. Okay, adult beverages are involved. But Drink and Think friends also join in a conversation about the questions raised by our work. Their contributions directly improve our service.
This month, we asked, “What makes someone a strong thinker?” Our Drink and Think friends said that strong thinkers . . .
* are courageous. Being a smart thinker can be lonely.
* make their own goals. They don’t let others dictate their goals to them, and can imagine themselves as successful regardless of obstacles presented.
* are curious. They have a desire to learn more.
Next month, we’ll have questions straight from the kids in our workshops to our Drink and Think friends. Your responses will be taken directly to the kids we serve. The kids will read what you think, and your conversation will help us fine-tune our curriculum and strengthen how we relate to our kids.
Ellen, Karla, and Maria at Drink and Think
Please plan to join us for September’s Drink and Think. Time and date will be announced shortly.
August 27, 2010
LV kids and Lenore at Open Source
We had a great time at Open Source, the community event hosted by the Source Theater. Community members stopped by our table and challenged us to produce poems on a huge variety of topics including a beloved pet snake, a budding romance, and a flame.
Students Jahi and Ayana, who are stand-outs in our workshops at New Community for Children, put their creative writing to work, rose to the challenge, and impressed the poem recipients with their wit. Jahi used his love of black history and hip hop to create thoughtful, poignant pieces. Poem recipients loved Ayana’s emotionally connected poems. She captured a summer romance perfectly for one couple who requested her help.
If you haven’t already, join us on Facebook, become a fan, and suggest that all your friends do too!
LV kids taking poem requests at Open Source
August 10, 2010
Raise a glass with Lifting Voices to raise spirits across D.C.
This isn’t an ordinary happy hour. Lifting Voices helps young people in under-served communities become strong thinkers. And we’ll take advantage of your presence to ask YOU what makes a strong thinker.
Join like-minded young professionals. Schmooze, schmooze, schmooze. And enjoy the happiness that comes with knowing that your opinion will make a difference for under-served kids.
Lifting Voices enables young people to transform their communities through the written word. We help young people discover and share their voices in order to grow, find joy, and accomplish change.
You can help by joining us. Have a good time for a good cause.
Where: JoJo’s, “our new neighborhood favorite” on Yelp.com
Address: 1518 U Street NW
Time: 5-8 pm
August 3, 2010
Check out this exerpt from Bisnow. It features Reba Elliott, our Executive Director.
We also ran into Lifting Voices executive director and founder Reba Elliott,whose non-profit partners with New Community for Children. The mission of the nearly 3-year-old organization is to teach young people to express themselves through writing and then share their stories (on issues like education or incarceration) with politicians to help them make better decisions. In short, “We give people the power of words and give their words to people of power.” Because
she has a staff of two, Reba tells us she relies heavily on volunteers. The volunteers write weekly reports on what they found meaningful, what went right, and w hat went wrong. Reba says it helps them see the value of their work, while providing ongoing learning. Her advice to others running a small staff is to surround yourself with smart people and listen really hard: “I know what I’m good at, and I use it to the fullest ext ent, but no one’s good at everything.”
