The MGR Foundation

Next semester– the fall of 2013– I have decided not to audition for show but instead to focus on an internship and my own research.

At the suggestion of my advisor, I have been looking at the MGR foundation. As per their Mission page on their website, the "Marilyn G Rabb Foundation is committed to overcoming social and economic barriers and creating innovated programs that positively impact our communities. [It] is a... not-for-profit organization whose main purpose is to serve and educate communities in need, both locally and throughout the United States". To achieve these goals, the MGR Foundation has home bases in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Twin Cities, and Las Vegas, that address the areas of Health & Well Being, Environmental & Social Justice, and Arts, Education & Youth Development. While each programs in every area is not active is all of the cities, Pittsburgh has all three Arts, Education & Youth Development programs: MURALS, Willpower, and PeerCorps.

• • •

MURALS provides the opportunity for students to explore through "drama, visual arts, music, movement, and media." Students get to work with local teaching artists to explore social issues and to create a safe environment to share and learn, touching subjects such as violence, emotional expression, cultural sensitivity, and cooperation.

Meredith Hoppe is the MURALS program director, and can be reached at meredith@mgrf.org.

• • •

Willpower combines peer theatre and sex education to create a unique and powerful teen pregnancy prevention program. Improvised, mini-skits are performed by for the students, and they have a chance to alter or correct negative sexual behavior portrayed (sounds similar to Theatre of the Oppressed!). These skits are supported by factual information and discussions, helpful for processing, understanding, and community strength.

4 Basic Components:
1. teen ensemble
2. program facilitators
3. program evaluator
4. community educators

The contact info for Willpower is info@mgrf.org.

• • •

PeerCorps is a national, youth-targeted version of PeaceCorps, dedicated to pairing a college student or  adult volunteer with a student at a detention center, an at-risk high school or elementary school, or in the juvenile justice system. This relationship is a 2-year commitment of mentorship and guidance, and as the two people are carefully matched together, the pairing aims to result in reduced violent behavior and better academic success.

• • •

As for my own interests, MURALS would end up being my first choice, due to its varied art components and program goals closely related to my own aspirations. As much as I would love to be involved in PeerCorps next semester, I could not start until my senior year because of my plans to study abroad in the spring of 2014 (participating in PeerCorps my senior year or the year after I graduate is something I would totally consider doing). Willpower, while it sounds like a fascinating and rewarding program to be involved in, might not be suited for me since I personally never had a teenage pregnancy; I wonder if perhaps that might create a distance between the girls and myself.

• • •

All of the Staff contact info is below. I include this because I will probably need to contact a couple of these people in order to obtain the information I need:

Phil Koch, Executive Director: phil@mgrf.org • Becky Flaherty, National Development Director: bflaherty@mgrf.org • Meredith Hoppe Murals Program Director: meredith@mgrf.org • Dana Dutcher, Program Coordinator: ddutcher@mgrf.org • Bridgett Williams, Director, MGR Charlotte: bwilliams@mgrf.org • Darrell Kinsel, Program Coordinator, Public Ally: dkinsel@mgrf.org 

MGR is based in Chicago with offices in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, and Twin Cities.

In the next couple of weeks, I will get in contact with a person from MGR and get the ball rolling on a potential fall internship!

Phone Call with Rachel Cohen

Today at 11am I had a phone interview scheduled with Rachel Cohen, the Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager at Heritage Community Initiatives. She has worked with Heritage since October, so she is still new to the community; she is full of life, though, and seems to love her job.

Our conversation began with me telling her a bit about myself, my interests, and what I am currently working on, research/academic-wise. She then told me more about Heritage-- what a great organization!

The following information is from my transcription of our phone interview:

Heritage began more then 25 years ago as part of the Heritage Health Foundation. Eventually, though, it branched off to other needs of the Mon Valley community.
The Mon Valley is the area around the Monongahela River. In the wake of the post-steel mill era, all 37 communities crashed into a state of starvation. This is the story of Braddock, yes, but also the multiple communities of the Mon Valley.
So, Heritage now looks to see what the gaps are in these areas. The organization has three main areas: transportation, education, and community engagement.

(1) Transportation
Port Authority cut most of the lines that ran to and from the Mon Valley. This effectively cut off most people's lifelines to work and educational resources. So, Heritage created WorkLink, a fixed-route land service, free for anyone riding for work or work-related activities such as job interviews or school. WorkLinks connects people to bus routes and Jefferson Hospital, just to name two examples, providing service to 3000 riders and 13,000 rides per month. Funding, however, was just cut for the WorkLink program, so Heritage is currently looking for fundraising sources.

(2) Education
Problem: The students of the Mon Valley were entering school behind their peers.
Response: Heritage Community Initiatives created two education programs, the 4 Kids Early Learning Center and Heritage Out of School Time (HOST).
The Early Learning Center is a government subsidized year-round program for infants through pre-K aged youth.  Reading and imagination are fostered, as well as positive attitudes and problem solving.
HOST is an after-school program for kids from kindergarten through 8th grade, where homework help is provided and creative activities are well-loved. During the summer, HOST provides summer camps to keep these same kids off the streets and in good hands.

(3) Community Engagement
This is the program where Rachel (the woman I spoke with) works. She finds individual or groups of volunteers to help with activities and events for kids in HOST, as well as to help with two main fundraisers: Chair-ity and Walk for a Healthy Community.

• • •

Rachel and I discussed working with the HOST Summer Camps this summer. "Theatre would be great," Rachel told me. "The kids love dressing up and stuff."
She is going to get me in touch with Jodi, the HOST coordinator, and the three of us will begin a conversation together about how I could be worked into the community efforts of Heritage.

Heritage Community Initiatives - Braddock, PA

On Tuesday, I emailed the following four areas of the Braddock community, requesting to speak with them about their work, my goals, and how the two may line up:
-Mayor John Fetterman
-Braddock Redux
-Heritage Community Initiative
-Unsmoke Systems Artspace

On Wednesday, I received a reply email from Rachel Cohen, the Volunteer and Community Engagement Director for Heritage Community Initiative. We will be talking either on the phone or in person later this week.

Heritage has four main programs
1. Heritage 4 Kids Early Learning Center: serving kids from 6 weeks old - five years old; these kids are "far less likely to repeat grades or to need special education once in school", catch up to their peers, have improved behavior, and learn "skills and attitudes that will provide the foundations for success in school, in the work force and in life".
2. Heritage Out of School Time (HOST): kids are taken care of "before and after school, holiday breaks, and in-service days on which the school districts are closed", where they engage in "enrichment activities focusing on different aspects of their lives".
3. Heritage WorkLink:
4. Community Engagement: a huge volunteer network in Braddock that has accomplished projects such as "KaBOOM! Braddock Community Playground; Braddock Clean-up Day; Butterfly and Vegetable Garden at the 4 Kids Early Learning Center; Building benches for Port Authority & WorkLink stops in the Mon Valley".

I noticed in the photo gallery that they also have a summer camp. During my interview with Rachel, I want to ask about that program, and if that is something I could be involved in.

Links to Braddock, PA, info

30 jan 2013

Here are some links about Braddock and the mayor, John Fetterman:

City homepage: http://15104.cc/

Braddock library: http://braddocklibrary.org/

Braddock Youth Project: http://braddockyouth.org/

Unsmoke Systems Artspace: http://unsmokeartspace.com/

NYTimes article on John Fetterman: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/magazine/13Fetterman-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


Summaries to come...

Meeting Musings

30 jan 2013

After sharing my idea of community-sustainable sets with Lisa at my meeting today, she and I had a jam session about how that could grow and develop into a multi-year massive project that encompasses youth and community action both nationally and internationally.

DreamBig Timeline We Discussed
-Put Franceypants things on the backburner
-Research Braddock, PA
-Contact John Fetterman
-Research this summer or volunteer work in Braddock
-Brackenridge Scholarship for Junior Year, re: how to create sustainable communities through art
-Start BPhil spring of Junior Year: DOING things!
-Apply for Fullbright for post-grad, continuing my sustainable communies through art project, but researching how to accomplish it abroad!

Then, naturally, I would aspire to get this movement viral and maybe a couple of lives would be bettered by it.