The Cultural Academy for Excellence Kicked Off Its 15th Year With a Bang

Me and CAFE's newest board member, Melissa Johnson
Last Saturday the Cultural Academy for Excellence (CAFE), a local non-profit, 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 (shown on the left). The second was the performance by Akua Allrich. She literally wowed the crowd with her tributes to Nina Simone and Miriam Mikeba, 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 Mikeba. (The picture to the left shows Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas, Akua Allrich, and Ambassador Fatou Danielle Diagne.) 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 or - even easier - feel free to email me!

You work in Corporate America. How could you possibly change the world?

As I mentioned before, I am taking part in the 31 Days to a Brand New Blog challenge. I joined the challenge late, so I'm catching up with old assignments as I begin writing posts for the site. This post is a combination of Day 4's assignment: Writing a List Post and Day 9's assignment: Write a "How to" Post.

If you are anything like me, this is the question that sometimes pops up like the little devil on your left shoulder in a cartoon. For those of us do-gooders out here making our way through Corporate America, there are times when you feel as though you aren’t truly committed to change simply because you don’t spend the bulk of your work week with the “right” type of organization, whether it be a social venture, non-profit, or government agency.

But the reality is that it's still possible to find fulfillment by focusing your energy outside of your 9-5 (well 9-5ish) job on making an impact in the local - or even the global - community. Depending on the amount of time you have available on evenings and weekends, there are many ways you can make a difference. Here are four that require more effort than writing a check:

Read about the issues you care most about.
Knowledge is power, and the best ally a cause or organization can have is an empowered and educated advocate. Sharing the information you acquire brings more awareness to causes and, ultimately, more support. Don’t underestimate the power in that.

Sign up to volunteer with a local organization.
Some people are often discouraged from looking for volunteer opportunities because of the level of commitment they assume to be involved. Organizations are always looking for support ranging from a few hours at an event to a few days a week for an entire year. You have complete freedom to determine how much time you are able to give. Most importantly, you probably have skills that are much needed somewhere.

With the current state of the economy, volunteers are more important than ever for non-profits that have had to cut or eliminate salaries. A recent study by the Corporation for National and Community Service estimates the value of a volunteer’s time be $20.85 per hour. This value varies depending on the state with DC having the highest average dollar value of $32.74 per hour. That’s a hefty bill for most organizations, especially those whose operations are highly dependent on volunteers.

Spearhead community initiatives for your company.
This is a great way to give back to the community while building your network at your firm and helping your company's brand. Your company may already have a strong presence in the community. If so, that's fantastic. Do some research into which organizations receive the most time and money. If none of those organizations interest you or if your company currently doesn't do much, spearhead something new! Some ideas: gather a group of colleagues to particate in a charity walk, organize a monthly visit to a local homeless shelter to serve breakfast, or raise money for a local organization (possibly getting your company to match whatever you raise).

Join a non-profit board.
There was a YNPNDC twitter chat held in June - moderated by Rosetta Thurman and Allison Jones - discussing the importance of young non-profit professionals joining boards for their own professional development. I believe that it's equally as important for those of us outside the sector, if not more, to get involved with non-profit boards so that we can remain abreast of what is going on and utilize our resources outside of the sector to resolve issues. Last year I had the opportunity to join the board of the Cultural Academy for Excellence, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.

Interested but not quite sure how to join one? Check out the recap of the twitter chat I mentioned as well as Rosetta Thurman's post on how to join a non-profit board.

For those of you in the corporate world, how do you keep yourself connected with the community? For those of you in the non-profit world, how else would you like to see individuals engaging with the community?