Enlarge Students from St. Patrick's Catholic School and Brookstone Elementary Plant Seeds

Posted: April 2nd, 2012 Liz Barrett

The students, faculty and parents of St. Patrick Catholic School and Brookstone School, two Charlotte elementary schools of different racial and socio-economic backgrounds, are in their second year of working together to build a garden and a deeper relationship. With funding from Front Porch Grants, the schools have engaged in a series of events together over the past two years from planting, harvesting and cooking to learning about composting, nutrition, organic farming and the weather. By continuing to work together towards a common goal, the students families and staff of the two schools have been able to build a strong relationship between the diverse communities.

Most recently, third and fourth graders from the schools participated together in a seed planting event on March 14, 2012 at St. Patrick School. The students sampled fresh salsa made with ingredients harvested from their garden and spent time together planting seeds that they will grow in their classrooms. In mid-May, they will come together again to transplant the seedlings into their school gardens. Assisting with the seed planting event was Mary Roberts, an organic farmer from Windcrest Farms, in Monroe, NC.

Posted: March 24th, 2012 Carla Hough

On March 15, a group gathered at Christ Lutheran Church to participate in "Class Matters," the first workshop of a program entitled Bridges Out of Poverty.

Sponsored by Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation and the recipient of a Front Porch Grant by Crossroads Charlotte, the program is made available to teachers and those who volunteer with outreach programs that assist the impoverished.
 
The main objective of the workshop is to help these teachers and volunteers form more effective relationships by understanding more about poverty, as one of the key teachings of the course is that "no significant learning occurs without a significant relationship."

The class is taught by Amy Daniels, Director of Outreach at Christ Lutheran Church and president of McClintock Partners In Education (McPIE), a collaboration between Christ Lutheran and McClintock Middle School, a school with a 78% rate of poverty among its students. "You don't have to go to a third world country to see poverty," she says.

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Posted: March 11th, 2012 Crystal Dempsey

Winterfield Elementary’s Youth Orchestra presented a program Tuesday, March 6, that highlighted what the 65 students have been learning this year. The Connecting Families Through Music event was the second in a series that brings together students, parents and faculty at the East Charlotte school.

Among the student ensembles that performed with violinist Rosemary Furniss and Charlotte Symphony musicians were the student chorus and winds, string ensemble and the “bucket band.” Pianist Noel Freidline and soprano Dawn Anthony also performed with the youth orchestra.

The group’s final performance for 2011-’12 is set for May 1. 

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Posted: March 1st, 2012 Crystal Dempsey

Post and Photo by STACEY ROSE

As a child, I remember being awestruck by the story of Pandora’s box. I was terrified by the idea that she in her carelessness and endless curiosity had let loose evil upon the world, and mystified by the one thing left being hope. On Feb. 24 at Expressions of HeART facilitated by The Institute of Life Leadership and Coaching (ILC) hosted by the Hindu Center, I felt safely contained in hope.

The event was the brain child of Cindy Ballaro, an ILC facilitator, who received a Front Porch Grant from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation in order to produce this event and a second event that will occur in April.

The evening kicked off with an inspired talk by Chris Saade, the founder of ILC, who roused the audience with quotes from Mahatma Ghandi and poet Khalil Gibran who like Saade, is from Beruit. Saade spoke of it being a “new time” in history that calls for human beings to build bridges. “We’re either going to make it together or not make it together”, he said. His powerful speech was followed up by an activity for adults called “SoulCollage” led by Ballaro and volunteers from the ILC.

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