Tuesday, February 22nd, CAFE Founder and Executive Director, Lorna Green, sat on a panel with three other exceptional nonprofit managers for a discussion with Public Leadership Students at the University of Maryland College Park. One student felt so strongly about some of the panelists comments, that she was compelled to “blog” about it on the class blog. She states in her post , “I like the picture that Kristen Campbell and Lorna Green presented to us yesterday on a panel in class, of people giving of themselves rather than just of their pocketbooks, and of people spreading their passion for their cause.” Congratulations to Lorna Green for being an inspiration and to the College Park students who are taking on the duty of learning about being philanthropic. Click here to read the full “Giving Ourselves” post and comments at the collegeparkphilanthropy blog.
News
The Cultural Academy For Excellence is a recent proud recipient of a special University of Maryland grant initiative, aimed at empowering middle school youth. ”During a December 9th award ceremony on campus, the students announced grants to two nonprofit organizations in Prince George’s county that work to empower youth through innovative educational programs: Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection and Cultural Academy for For Excellence (CAFE).
The event highlighted a semester-long journey for the Maryland sophomores enrolled in the College Park Scholars’ Art and Science of Philanthropy course – the capstone for the Public Leadership undergraduate honors program. At the beginning of the semester, they learned about the theory and practice of philanthropy, developed their own mission and values, and sent out a request for proposals. Once applications began pouring in, the students realized that the line between theory and practice had disappeared. CAFE and Hillside, the eventual grant winners, were not the initial front-runners. However, their consistently impressive performance throughout each stage of the process persuaded the students that they were well-deserving of the grants.
This evening, with several parents and CAFE instructors present for support, CAFE high school students went up against DeMatha Catholic High School for thier 3rd Mock Trial match. Although this was our student’s 3rd trial, it was their first time pleading their case for the defense. It was a tough match with great attorneys and witnesses on both teams. Our students ultimately won the case but lost the match to DeMatha by only a handful of points. We are so proud of all the progress our Saturday Academy students have made so far and are very eager for the next match. As one parent stated after the match this evening, “They are still winners to me”.
The next match is at Gwynn Park High School. Hope to see some of you readers there!
Check out this photo of CAFE’s Program Director, Malika Coletta with Bassist/Vocalist, Esperanza Spalding – winner of the 2011 Grammy Award for Best New Artist! Malika performed with Spalding at a concert featuring the young Grammy winner’s music arranged for steel band.
Spalding beat out the likes of Justin Bieber, Drake, Mumford & Sons and Florence and the Machine! Spalding’s win is creating buzz in the Pop world as the spotlight shines on this uniquely talented young lady.
Over the past two weeks CAFE has been blessed to have local professional photographer, and long time CAFE friend, Leslie Robertson, lend her services in an effort upgrade our PR and marketing materials. She featured a photo of our CAFE students for her “Photo of the Week” Blog. Check out the photo, her insightful comments about CAFE and her work.
“As a photographer, an artist, I embrace the privilege of documenting many stories. My love for photography started in 1996 with the gift of a 35mm point and shoot camera. Since that time, I’ve satisfied my shutterbug habits in a few corners of the earth – especially in my beloved Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). With my photos I hope to capture the beauty, vitality and wonder that is T&T carnival, my people, my heritage”
Leslie Robertson www.studiolafoncette.com
The CAFE Mock Trial Team racked up Victory #1 against Suitland High School. Next on the horizon is DeMatha High, Feb 15!
Here is a message from one of the CAFE Mock Trial Coaches, Joseph Green:
“STUDENTS, congratulations on a job well done and the victory tonight, we’re very, very proud of you, and more importantly, you have to be very proud of yourselves for competing and winning against a team that has been in the Mock Trial program for several years. I look at last week’s effort against Flowers as our “scrimmage” since we had not ever been in a mock trial “courtroom” before, so you all really improved your game from the first match.”
Recap of Mock Trial CAFE vs. Charles Herbert Flowers HS
February 3, 2011 CAFE students went up against Charles Herbert Flowers HS. After over an hour of both teams putting forth a tremendous effort to plead their case, mock trial veterans Flowers HS ultimately became the victor. Congrats to Flowers HS students as they also continue on in their path towards excellence.
January 24th 2011, Washington D.C. – Students from the Cultural Academy For Excellence brought the sounds of the Caribbean, Cuba, the Americas, and beyond to a receptive group of students at Edmund Burke School. The workshops started early Monday morning as hundreds of Burke students filed the multi-purpose room and began claiming their space in the audience, on the floor, in the balconies, and directly in front of the stage to listen to Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra (PVYSO) and their Steel Pans. Students from PVYSO began by giving a history of the instrument, with an overview of its construction, and then without missing a beat, went into their first number. By the end of the first tune, the audience was hooked. After a few more tunes, several students were invited on stage to participate in a percussion demonstration before learning their first song on the steel pan. Within 10 minutes the students were playing their hearts out and enjoying themselves tremendously. PVYSO closed the show with local legends Mambo Sauce’s “Welcome to D.C.” showing that the steel pan can be used just as convincingly in hip-hop, Motown, and Classical genres as it can in Reggae and Calypso.
On Sunday, January 16th, The Cultural Academy For Excellence honored the hard work and dedication of our wonderful tutors with an Appreciation Luncheon and small token of thanks.
Saturday October 2nd 2010 Cultural Academy for Excellence (CAFE) kicked off its 15th year in operations with the fundraiser Folklore on the Greens. It was an extremely successful event that, as a board member and a 2004 graduate of the program, I am still giddy about!
The Cultural Academy for Excellence was birthed in the basement of a woman named Lorna Green who was determined to find a way engage with the youth in her community. The idea to develop this arts-in-education program stemmed from her desire to utilize the steel drum, an instrument developed in her native country Trinidad and Tobago, as a tool to help students excel in school. It didn’t take long before her idea took off; within a few years the program had grown way beyond her basement’s capacity.
With her passion, she turned what was originally a small endeavor into something that has made a lasting impact on the lives of the youth it reaches as well as the local community it serves. It was only fitting that we started our yearlong celebration of our accomplishments with such an unforgettable program.
Folklore on the Greens was held at the home of CAFE’s Executive Director, Lorna Green. It was a lovely fall afternoon perfect for entertainment and mingling with both old and new friends. The afternoon’s lineup included a diverse and absolutely amazing group of artists. Among the performances there were two that particularly stood out for me. The first was the folklores told by Dr. Merle Collins accompanied by Abby Charles with interpretive dance. Both the story and the storyteller were captivating and the dancer kept our attention with her graceful moves as she brought the story to life. The second was the performance by Akua Allrich. She literally wowed the crowd with her tributes to Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba, a South African singer.
When she was done performing, not only did she receive a standing ovation, but she was also spontaneously given a necklace by the Ambassador of Senegal to the US, Fatou Danielle Diagne, out of appreciation for the tributes to Miriam Makeba. Overall, the event was incredible. Before the night was even done, the raving reviews were pouring in.
Just like so many other nonprofits, CAFE is fighting hard to provide quality programs despite various cuts in funding as a result of the recession. Folklore on the Greens was our first attempt to truly step out of our comfort zone of fundraising through concerts featuring our very own students, particularly our award winning Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra. For me, it was extremely exciting to see how successful we ultimately were as I know it will only get better each year.
For more information on CAFE, visit our website at www.cafeyouth.org. For more information on our concerts and other events, “like” us on Facebook, check out our calendar of events, subscribe to the newsletter, follow us on twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed.
Carl
The Cultural Academy For Excellence’s Rhythm Runners Steel Band competed for the first time in the Annual Virginia Beach PANorama Caribbean Music Fest. The group, led by Jeremy Caesar and Gyasi Adams, received a Gold Medal scoring from some of the most respected adjudicators in the steel band arena. More than 20 steel bands from all over the US competed for the top spot. The group was narrowly edged out by the hosting band, Virginia Beach’s Rhythm Project, and settled proudly for the second position overall.
The Rhythm Runners is comprised of The Cultural Academy For Excellence’s intermediate music students. In 2006 and 2007, CAFE’s Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra took first place overall. The lineage of Excellence surely continues.
