Annual Report 2012
BuildaBridge International Annual Report 2012
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Annual Report 2012
BuildaBridge International 205 West Tulpehocken Street Philadelphia, PA 19144 215.842.0428 www.buildabridge.org
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Annual Report 2012
Table of Contents Organizational Review
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Community Programs
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Institute
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International Programs
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Countries Served in 2012
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Alliances & Goals for 2013
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Financial Report
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Staff and Board Members
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Annual Report 2012
Organizational Review BuildaBridge was founded in 1997 out of the community work of Drs. J. Nathan Corbitt and Vivian Nix-Early. It was incorporated in June 2000 as a 501 (c) (3) arts education and intervention organization. BuildaBridge accomplishes its work through three programs: Community, International, and Institute. The Community program provides direct service to vulnerable children and families in Philadelphia. The Institute is a research and training academy for community leaders, youth workers, ministers, teachers, and artists who want to integrate the arts effectively in community-based service. The International program organizes, leads, and provides overseas service opportunities for sustainable arts relief intervention and restoration, and for training. BuildaBridge maintains its services with the help of two full-time staff, one part-time staff member, eleven contracted part time employees, several seasonal employees and ten regular volunteers. A twelve member professional and diverse board oversees the work of BuildaBridge. An independent financial audit is conducted each year, which provides transparency.
Mission To engage creative people and the transformative power of art making to bring hope and healing to children, families and communities in contexts of crisis and poverty. BuildaBridge accomplishes this mission through direct arts-based after-school and summer and education and therapeutic intervention programs; and through training artists in the “BuildaBridge Classroom� a trauma-informed, hope-infused, childcentered replicable model for working with at-risk youth in non-school hours.
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Annual Report 2012
Vision We envision a world where all children are resilient, experience self-efficacy, and have a vision for their future. BuildaBridge dedicates its resources to building the capacity of creative adults and local communities to fulfill this vision. BuildaBridge values:
Developing the whole child Nurturing the Creative Spirit Learning and innovation Volunteering and sacrifice Sustaining long term relationships Crossing boundaries to build community Speaking Blessings
Motto Our motto is Speaking a Blessing into the Life of Every Child Everyday through art making. We define a blessing (a universal principle of good will) as affirming and recognizing a child’s gifts, potential and resilience through spoken words of truth, picturing a special future, meaningful touch and commitment to the relationship.
Core Philosophy Since its founding in 1997, BuildaBridge has developed a personal and social change model (The BuildaBridge Classroom Modelsm) that is implemented in all activities and programs: the model has been tested and used both here in the U.S. and in six countries internationally (China, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Haiti, Kenya). Our work is: Child-focused and arts-integrated Relational Holistic and collaborative Purposeful and intentional Restorative Contextual Hope-infused Trauma-informed
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Annual Report 2012
Community Programs BuildaBridge Community provides arts-integrated intervention and education to children and families in under-served communities in Philadelphia. In collaboration with local schools, community centers, transitional homes, and religious congregations, BuildaBridge Community delivers creative arts educational experiences, and therapeutic intervention through art-making to teach life, social, character and academic skills. Committed to principles of love, compassion, justice, reconciliation and service to others, BuildaBridge offers unique programs featuring cross-cultural perspectives and arts-integrated approaches that are child-centered, trauma-informed and hope-infused. There are three Community Programs: Artology, Discovery and Healing. BuildaBridge is excited to now add the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative as part of its Community Programs
Goals for Community Programs Provide children and youth with: The critical elements needed for healing from trauma due to violence and abuse in order to break the cycle violence Experiences that foster healthy development and hope for their future Experiences that develop academic, social, artistic-expressive skills and experiences that foster character development Experiences that allow development and rehearsal of skills for living as responsible, contributive and empathetic citizens.
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Annual Report 2012
Discovery BuildaBridge's Discovery program offers after-school and evening arts-integrated education programs to children and youth living in emergency homeless shelters and transitional homes in Philadelphia. Discovery connects compassionate, talented teaching artists with interested, creative children in need. This year, BuildaBridge provided after school programming at six partner sites: Dignity Housing, Jane Addams Place, People’s Emergency Center, Woodstock Family Center, Women Against Abuse (WAA), and Interfaith Hospitality Network of Northwest/east Philadelphia (NPIHN). A total of fifty-nine children participated in various art forms including visual arts, dance, photography and spoken word. Due to changes made to the Discovery’s School District funding for the fall, BuildaBridge only offered afterschool programming from January to May.
Healing Creative Arts Therapy provides safe avenues for youth to express their feelings and enable them to cope with and recover from traumatic or tough experiences. BuildaBridge provides creative arts therapy in local transitional homes and service sites in the Philadelphia region. This year, the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative (PRMHC) continued for a second year offering two classes a month to refugees in South Philadelphia. A total of fifty-eight children (thirty-three Burmese, twentyfive Bhutanese) and nine adults were served with the assistance of twenty-one artists. Dr. Vivian Nix-Early, Co-founder of BuildaBridge and board certified music therapist, continued with classes at our partner site, Women Against Abuse (WAA). Music therapy classes were offered twice a week, one class for pre-school age children and one class for mothers and their babies focused on strengthening maternal bonding and attachment. A total of one hundred and nineteen (119) children were directly served through programming offered at WAA.
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Annual Report 2012
Artology Artology, an art and biology summer program, sparks students’ curiosity through a curriculum that integrates natural sciences, the arts, and environmental responsibility and utilizes Philadelphia's vast natural splendor as a vibrant and evolving classroom. This year’s theme for Artology was Fire and Ice (Hot and Cold). Art projects, science lessons, and field trips all reflected this theme. Staff: 4 full-time, 2 part- time Volunteers: 3 Children served: 34 Female: 50% Male: 50% African American: 94% Students coping with homelessness: 26%
This year, Artology had one five week session for two age groups. Children in grades fourth through fifth and sixth through eight participated in Artology all five weeks rather than following the four week/three week pattern of years past. Led by an entirely new staff, Artology formed a new partnership with the Violette de Mazia Foundation and also maintained the relationship with both Second Baptist Church of Germantown, which houses the program, and with the Bridging the Gaps medical interns program of Drexel University. Each week, a new sub-theme of Fire and Ice was introduced, which included: the five senses, our surroundings, space, deep sea, and survival. Artologists took field trips three days a week to local museums, aquariums, science centers and parks. Some favorite trips were the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, Camden Adventure Aquarium, the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Cliveden Park. BuildaBridge continued to collect accurate and significant data about increases in science and art knowledge and continue to refine the measurement of changes in attitudes and beliefs. Pre and post test results showed a 47% positive change in science knowledge and 32.5% positive change in art knowledge. Results also showed that 75% of students demonstrated overall positive change.
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Annual Report 2012
Institute The BuildaBridge Institute is a training and applied research academy
designed to prepare artists, youth workers, community and congregational leaders, teachers, social service professionals, and nonprofit organization personnel to integrate the arts effectively in education, social services and community development. The Annual Institute is a five day residency that occurs the first week in June each year. It includes two simultaneous tracks: a Foundations track for first-time participants and an intermediate track for second time participants. First track courses include Foundations for Arts in Transformation; Arts, Creativity and Human Development; Arts in Education; Art and Spiritual Development; Organizing for Community Arts including collaborative work and fund-raising. Second track courses include Arts in Healing, Arts in Social Services, and Leadership Practicum. The 11th Annual Open Institute commenced at Arcadia University on June 6 and continued until June 11. Twenty-three participants from eight states and four countries gathered together to take part in a week of intense learning about the transformative power of the creative art-making. Participants came from states including Florida, Maryland, California, Louisiana and Georgia and others from as far as Canada, Haiti, Israel and Singapore. With a faculty of twenty-five professional artists, therapists and professors, students took part in five days of classes, which included Skills Development Workshops in the evening and two days of live Methods Labs taking place in the community. An additional fifteen people arrived to take part in the one-day Arts Relief course and the recently added Introduction to Restorative Practices course. In addition to those in attendance on the ground, lectures were joined by people from around the world and around the U.S. who tuned in to watch live broadcasts of fifteen sessions for the first time in Institute history.
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Annual Report 2012
Bogota, Colombia - Pictured above are the participants and newly trained community workers alongside BuildaBridge Artists-on-Call. The mural pictured behind was the work of the teen art class during the arts camp week.
International Programs BuildaBridge International travels the world to restore hope and healing to communities affected by cultural and religious conflict, environmental catastrophe, poverty, illness, and social injustice. Through its specialized team service projects and arts intervention programs, BuildaBridge International promotes dialogue, understanding, healing, reconciliation, capacity building and community development with partners throughout the world. We accomplish this through Arts Relief and Development, and Diaspora of Hope. Arts Relief and Development is a volunteer
Diaspora of Hope began as a one-week camp in
program that engages of art therapy professionals, artists, and community service workers trained in emergency relief and artsbased therapeutic intervention. The Arts Relief and Development program focuses on education, healing and creating safe places for children. Since 1997, our services have included creative arts camps; extended internships; special arts-based projects in all art forms; creative arts therapy; consulting; and training in education methods, therapeutic art and psychological first aid; and arts-based community development.
2008 that engaged local and global artists in a collaborative effort to bring hope and healing to children through therapeutic art-making in several countries simultaneously. This included children’s programs in refugee camps, informal settlements, and other places where children are suffering from trauma as a result of extreme poverty, violence, or catastrophe. During each Disaspora, at each location, BuildaBridge strengthened alliances with local organizations by providing them with the necessary training to sustain the work begun during the week.
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Annual Report 2012
Countries Served in 2012 Colombia - In August, BuildaBridge traveled to Bogota, Colombia where twelve trained Artists-on-Call conducted a three day training for community professionals. Both BuildaBridge and the local community artists then collaborated to offer an arts camp for children in one of Bogota’s poorest communities. Children experienced various art mediums (visual arts, dance, music, drama) using the BuildaBridge Classroom ModelSM. A neglected space filled with trash was d graduate students enrolled in the Community Arts concentration of the Master’s Degree in Urban Studies; atransformed into the mural and clean play space pictured on page 6. This trip was in partnership with Eastern University annd Artist-on-Call with Communidad Viva. BuildaBridge’s volunteer program that connects artists with needs domestically and abroad.
Dominican Republic BuildaBridge Artist-on-Call Kelly Finlaw traveled to the Dominican Republic for four weeks in the summer to work with The Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, helping to implement an educational program for children ages five to eight living in the Bateyes just outside the city. Kelly assisted staff in assessing the students, training staff in the BuildaBridge Classroom ModelSM, and creating a curriculum fusing art with academic subjects. Kenya - In April, BuildaBridge Artist-on-Call Kaylie Sauter, through a BuildaBridge alliance with Kenya’s Inspiration Centre, led two weeks of arts camps, one in Kiberia and the other in Kawangare. Twenty-five artists were first trained in the BuildaBridge Classroom ModelSM, followed by the arts camp which offered five classes to children: drama, dance, mural making, creative writing, and fashion. The theme throughout the camp was “Love”. Over two hundred children took part in the arts camps.
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Annual Report 2012
Haiti In September, three certified BuildaBridge Trainers, Jamaine Smith, Amy Tuttle, and Laurie Williams, headed to Haiti to lead trainings for youth workers in three separate communities. Trainings were offered in Jacmel, Port-au-Prince, and Gonaives. Over the course of six weeks, a total of ninety community workers were trained in creative arts intervention methods through three BuildaBridge courses: Program Development, Creative Safe Spaces, and Arts for Transformation. This project began in 2011, when UNICEF Haiti requested BuildaBridge International to present a proposal to train ninety community workers in Haiti as part of their global child protection initiative. Initially conceived as a train-the-trainer program for fifteen “animators” selected by UNICEF, it was later changed to a direct training program of ninety select participants from organizations affiliated with UNICEF. Upon acceptance of the proposal, BuildaBridge developed the “Community Arts for Children” training series. BuildaBridge’s goals for the training in Haiti included helping workers: 1) Create safe places for children to play, live, and learn; 2) Promote resilience, healing and education for children living in transitional environments (shelters and residential care institutions); and 3) Build project sustainability and the capacity of local organizations. The training curriculum was developed by BuildaBridge staff and used throughout the six weeks of training.
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Annual Report 2012
Alliances and Volunteers Bridging the Gaps Community Health Internship Program (BTG CHIP) Eastern University Second Baptist Church of Germantown Inspiration Center (Kenya) Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (NPIHN) Lutheran Children Family Services ECS St. Barnabas Mission Project Rainbow International Ministries People’s Emergency Center Nehemiah Center (Nicaragua) Communidad Viva (Colombia) Art-Reach Dignity Housing Practical Compassion (Haiti) NightLight (Thailand) UNICEF-Haiti
Women in War Zones (Democratic Republic of Congo) School District of Philadelphia Philadelphia Museum of Art Refugee Family Services (Atlanta) Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association Lutheran Settlement House/ Jane Addams Place Woodstock Family Center Women Against Abuse Danzante, Inc Amity Foundation (China) Strategies for Transformation (Kenya) Violette de Mazia Foundation Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative Nemours Pediatrics Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and Council Nationalities Service Center Belmont Behavioral Health Clinic
Total number of volunteers (since 1997) 985 Total number of hours 91,773 Estimated Value $2,031,854.22
Goals for 2013 Since publishing our Strategic Plan 2012-2015 earlier in the year, we are proud to say that we have already begun working towards several goals. The current Strategic Plan distinguishes four framing principles that help to identify BuildaBridge’s strategic emphases. These framing principles include: telling the story, engaging creative people, integrating technology and education for transformation. Specific initiatives are laid out to help achieve the strategic emphases. We are happy to report that over half of the twenty-one initiatives are already underway, some of which include online curriculum development, accreditation, increasing number of registered trainers and faculty, and a signature annual event. BuildaBridge hopes to work towards completing many of these within the next year, focusing on increasing the financial and functional sustainability of the organization and increasing efforts to complete curricula as well as an Arts in Transformation Diploma. 13
Annual Report 2012
Financial Report Expenses = $398,403
Income = $427,362 Contributions - 9% Program Income - 36% Trip Income - 4% In-Kind Contributions - 22% Grant Income - 25% Registration/Rentals - 4% Net Assests Released from Restrictions - 19% Misc. - 0% 0%
7%
7%
16%
3%
Fund Raising - 9% Program Expense - 84% Management & General - 7%
9%
30% 21% 84%
19% 4%
Top Grants and Contracts Received in 2012 Foundations
Government
Lindback Foundation
$3,000
Department of Behavioral Health
Douty Foundation
$2,000
Philadelphia Cultural Fund
$5,000 $5,000
Support Community Outreach Programs (SCOP) School District of Philadelphia
Meacham Family Foundation Inc. Lincoln Financial Foundation Corporations
$13,206 $9,065
$4,500 $50,000
Churches/Other
Lincoln Financial
$5,000
UNICEF
IKEA
$8,000
Wayne Presbyterian Church Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial Fund
$82,019 $4,000 $3,000
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Annual Report 2012
Contributions - $36,838 BuildaBridge would like to sincerely thank the following individuals and agencies for their financial contributions to our programs and operations during the 2012 year. With their support, BuildaBridge is able to use the transformative power of the arts for those in the greatest need.
Diane Bjornstad, James Borling, Danielle Bossert, Broderick Byers, Leah C. Carter, Eugene and Rosa Dunkley, Monique Durso, Marlene Fabian, Wes E. Fasnacht, Marsha Fitzgerald, Karen Graham, Mia Hall, Riki D. Hobson, Ebonye Holmes, Roberta S. Jackson, Saman Khan, Tiffany King, Debby and Scott Kowit, Fritzy Laurent, Jessica Libby, Margaret Loughery, Randolph Malachi, Shari Miller, Chris Miller, Verloga Nix-Allen, Lizzie Nobis, Geri Peak, Saritha Petthongpoon, Janet Pinkerton, Melissa Rowe, Amy Scheer, Ann Seldon, Jennie Skerl, Carolyn Soley-Hoffman, Harry Stanton, Judith Stouffer, Kayon Watson, Kenneth Weinstein, Janice Winston, Diane Ajl, Kathleen Bohl Cassol, Anna Bohl-Fabian, Malcom Byrd, Debra Cesario, Birchard Clothier, Diane Devestern, Judith Helms, Kent Kissinger, Dory Knoerr, Mark Lyons, Mark Masley, Deanna Paylacka, Sarah Rohrer, Julie Rae Rosen, Rodney Ross, Amy Sadanaga, Eloise R. Scott, David Shabot, Gloria E, Washington, Lorraine F. Williams, Berner Klaw & Watson LLP, Erica Breitbarth, Doris Clinkscale, Rev. Donald Cosby, David and Joyce Crosscombe, Lucy Edwards, Nancy Elfant, Wen Fang Fang, Hogan & Vandenberg LLC, Henry J. Holcomb, Ann Jordan, Stacy Mogul, James Morris, Praticia Morris, Vivian Nix-Early, Joseph Modica, Brian Price, Robert Reed, Tom Richards, Elise Rivers, Rev. Lady Savage, H. Elaine Thornhill, Veronica Springs, Inc DBA Brewers Outlet, David Wade, Leonard H. Whitmore, Elizabeth Wyatt, Brewers Club, Andrew Crawford, Julia Crawford, High Street Christian Academy, Patricia Thompson, Karen Wiley Sandler, Tracie Blummer, Adisa Douglas, Judy Mandeville, Anselene Morris, Willie Myles, Sabah Servaes, Aleea Slappy, Karen Vaccaro, Jim Ballengee, Nathan and Vickie Corbitt, Ronald W. Hevey, Lisa Jordan, George W. Moffit, Richard and Cheryl Wade, Northwest Fund, University of Pennsylvania, Wayne Presbyterian Church, Second Baptist Church of Germantown, American Baptist International Ministries.
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Annual Report 2012
BuildaBridge Staff
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Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt Dr. Vivian Nix-Early
President and CEO, Co-founder (Volunteer) COO, Co-founder (Volunteer)
Therapists Celeste Wade
Creative Arts Therapist
Magira Ross
Danielle Joy Owen
Creative Arts Therapist
Danielle Dembrosky Sarah Rohrer
Community Programs Director/Shelter Liaison (2011-2012) Programs Administrator, PRMHC Project Manager Development Associate
Natalie Hoffman
Creative Arts Therapist
Kent Kissinger
Accountant
Teaching Artists
Ripley Robinson
Webmaster
Julia Crawford Julie Rosen
Dance Visual Arts
Tyra Jackson
Artology Administrative Coordinator
Magira Ross
African Dance
Anna Bohl-Fabian
Programs Administrator
Robert Kelleher
Photography
Jamaine Smith
Community Programs Director/Artology Education Director
Camille Edwards Tyler Kline
Creative Writing, Spoken Word Visual Arts
Maritza Ogarro
Hip Hop
Katharine Loxley
Visual Arts
Board Members Board Members Ronald W. Hevey, Sr. (2007-2014) Board Chair Artist, Retired DEC Executive
Lisa Jordan (2010-2015) Attorney Berner Klaw & Watson LLP
Cheryl Wade (2006-2013) Director for Philanthropy The Kendal Corporation
Tracie Blummer (2012-2015) Program Coordinator Philadelphia Parks Alliance
Aleea Slappy (2012-2012) Secretary Education Programs Manager The Enterprise Center
Hollie Malamud-Price (2012-2015) Executive Director Mt. Airy Business Improvement District
Charles Holmes, CPA (2009-2012) Managing Partner Holmes & Company, LLC
Saman Khan (2010-2013) Eighth Grade English Teacher World Communication Charter School
Karen Vaccaro (2011- 2014) Friends Council on Education
Elaine Ballengee (2011-2014) Teacher Frankford Friends
James Ballengee (2011- 2012) Director of Service Learning William Penn Charter School
David Knipel (2007-2013) Legal Council American Baptist Churches Interim Ministry Specialists American Baptist Churches Casey Buckley (2012-2015) Trauma Therapist, Creative Art Therapy and Child Centered Play Therapy Principals Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt (2000-Present) President/CEO and Co-Founder BuildaBridge International Professor of Urban Studies Eastern University Dr. Vivian Nix-Early (2000-Present) COO/CFO and Co-Founder BuildaBridge International Former Dean of Students School for Social Change at Eastern University
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