Time to be thankful!

As Thanksgiving approaches, we find ourselves reflecting upon the last year. In The Center, we have many things to be thankful for!

We are thankful for…

·  Sport + Spine, out of Overland Park, for sponsoring our Holiday Gift project. Every day, Center youth ask if they can take art supplies home. They love to create and want the opportunity to continue HALO Center projects at home. Because of Sport + Spine, we will be able to provide each HALO Center youth a ‘portable HALO’ holiday gift (markers, crayons, colored pencils, water color paint, paint brushes, and a pad of paper).

·  The Yards Athletic Club, Mid America Arts Alliance, Ali Saucier’s Holiday Party, and Cassie Marshall’s daughter’s 10 year old birthday party for hosting art supply drives to help us rejuvenate our current inventory.

·  Reach, spoken word and hip hop artist, leading our first HALO Center Apprenticeship with Monte. You should mark your calendars for February 25^th – on this day, Monte will be headlining his first ever hip hop performance.

· The 222 HALO Center volunteers that have helped us host 157 workshops which have served 309 at-risk youth in our community since opening The Center in April of 2010.

· The numerous generous HALO Center supporters who have donated sewing machines, sewing supplies, art supplies, computers, a drafting table, wood, tools, food, frames and much more.

· 3 incredible HALO Center Interns that have helped us expand our programming to more fully reach our mission.

· The support and guidance of Rebecca Welsh – HALO’s Founder and CVO, Lacy Voight – Program Director and Nicole Gerken – Operations Director.

· The HALO Center’s Dream Team and HALO’s Ambassador Board members who have helped recruit workshop hosts and HALO Center volunteers.

We are thankful for all of you! With your help and support:

·  Master inspired his peers with a super-hero jump declaring he will help youth worldwide.

· Kayondez, whom was the most reluctant at the beginning of the ‘decorate shoes for HALO supported youth in Mexico’ project, was the first to shout that all money made from the art gallery showing should be donated to Mexico.

· DeShawn has been so engaged that she take projects home to work on.

· Austin is so excited to come to The HALO Center, he is always the first into The Center because he runs full speed from the van.

· Veronika has won the ‘Leadership Award’ for always helping and standing up for younger youth and the ‘Most Dedicated Award’ for working out her schedule so that she can still attend HALO Center programming even though she graduated from her agency.

· Amyah is so excited for our Jr. Apprenticeship program to begin shadowing doctors since she isn’t quite old enough for our Apprenticeship program.

· Jared frequently suggests that each workshop should last all night long, rather than for just 2 hours.

·  Marjai, at 10 years old, is serving as our first ever Jr. Volunteer to help guide our younger youth through each project.

· And, Monte will headline his first hip hop performance in February 2012.

What wood you do?

What "wood" you do if you possessed an extreme talent to transform pieces of wood into fine pieces of art? If you are Martin Ratermann, you would dedicate one weekend a month to direct your talent and passion toward teaching Kansas City's at-risk youth the basic steps toward learning your craft.

We have been extremely honored to have Martin's dedication over the past few months. Take a look at what our youth have been able to build with Martin's help:

Started this past Saturday, by four Niles Home for Children boys, 

this nightstand is on its way to someone's bedside.

Built by reStart youth, this table is being used to store some art supplies.

The first thing ever built by HALO Center youth was this work bench.

This table is utilized in every woodworking workshop.

A bench for sitting. Extra seating is always needed in The Center...

because sometimes our chair fall apart. Like this chair, which 

had broken into six different pieces. Martin taught HALO Center 

youth how to repair broken furniture. This chair is 

now the sturdiest seat in the house!

Join our team!

The HALO Foundation is very unique in that all of our programs are run by volunteers. It is the countless hours and undying passion of our dedicated volunteers, who help us every single day, that allows us to reach our mission, both locally and internationally.

In The HALO Learning Center, all of our art supplies and equipment have been donated or bought with grant money. All workshops are taught and facilitated by volunteers and all apprentices are mentored by volunteers. We are so fortunate and honored to have the help of passionate Kansas City artists, educators and community members, whom we rely on, to help affect of 200 KC youth.

If you are interested in becoming a key role in helping to provide an opportunity for exploration and creativity that will open doors for homeless and foster youth in our community, we have two very important roles you may be interested in. Please click here to learn more about our Apprenticeship Coordinator internship opening and here for our Workshop and Volunteer Coordinator internship opening.

Join The HALO Center in helping our youth realize that, "I am the difference between dreams and reality."

Dia de los Muertos

 

Holiday season provides a good opportunity to learn about other cultures while celebrating their traditions. With the holiday season just beginning, we took a dive into the Mexican culture to learn more about Dia de los Muertos - the Day of the Dead. Both reStart's Youth Emergency Shelter and Front Porch Alliance youth learned about the history of the holiday, as well as both traditional and more recent ways to celebrate and honor those who've passed.

To see more photos like the one above, as well as our pumpkin decorating shots, click here.