I am a living human being with a great future ahead of me
My name is R and I’m from here
And I’m 14 years old and what…

What am I?
I’m a kid and a person that cares about
My health and my education and I am a very
Helping person…
I’m a person that is trying to get
Along with everybody…

How Am I?

I’m a kid that needs to have a good life
And I’m a somewhat fun and caring kid
And I try to help as much as I can
And learn as much as I can.

I’m smiling now (and admittedly, a little teary) as I think about those faces……..the smiles from a previously shut-down 14 year old, the “all right Leann……I’ll see you next time” that accompanied a hand shake from a student who reportedly had a hard time building relationships…..  

I was going to spend my time writing about a specific experience with one of my most recent art groups, but I keep hearing pieces of a conversation I had with my field faculty from the U of M.  I was speaking to her about how much I love my position at The LAB.  She smiled and shared that she had had a moment in which she realized the profound effect of understanding that those things she needed to do in order to do her job well were the same things she needed to do in order to live her life well.  I completely understand her moment and I am so happy to be better at living my life.

I come here to show people what I can do and what I have to say.
I come here to be me and only me.

I come here to be myself
I come here to be someone

I come here to express myself
I come here to be all I can be

I come here to make something out of my thoughts
and write them down on paper

I come here to be my best and
to say that I have no fear of what comes near.

I have been volunteering at The Lab for over a year now

I love the change that takes place from when these youth first walk into the Lab to the moment they leave to go back to school. When they get in, they have heavy feet and are low on energy. During the groups, they lighten up and turn into total kids, exploring their creative and artistic sides, even if at first they thought they could not do it! By the time they leave the classroom to go back to school, they are carrying with them their final projects, whether this is in their hands or in their minds! I love that transformation, because they stop being “EBD kids” for a minute, and turn into just kids…

Every time I am at The Lab sitting in the auditorium while one of the artists is performing, I look at the group of youth around me and I always wonder what is going on in their lives and why they ended up in the EBD program.  I look at them and I think about the way our society works, about the inequities that exist in the world, and about those who are most affected by these injustices.  At The Lab, all of these inequalities disappear and the youth are able to explore themselves and fulfill their potential, along with the tools and guidance they might need.

I love volunteering at The Lab because they are at least given a chance to do this! At The Lab, it doesn’t matter what your label is, where you come from, what your race is, or what other people think about you. At The Lab youth can be themselves and explore different ways of expressing themselves in happy and healthy ways. Hopefully these morning enrichments will have a lasting effect on all of them… I know they do on me!

Paola Brigneti

These two performers have been working with us at the Lab for several years, and we are grateful for their inspiration and ability to work with Lab students in our Enrichment program.  They will work with students in writing groups and encourage students to put their own stories into poetry, both for the page, and for the stage.

Read on to check out these cool organizations.  Maybe you will find yourself volunteering at The Lab, or one of these other great organizations.  You will be among those people working to make a difference with art at the heart.  

1.Free Arts Minnesota: http://www.freeartsminnesota.org

Free Arts Minnesota helps children heal through the power of artist expression in a safe, caring and loving environment provided by over 300 Volunteer Adult Mentors.

Here is their Facebook link:  http://www.facebook.com/freeartsminnesota?ref=ts

2. Rock Star Supply Company: http://www.rockstarsupplyco.com

Engaging Creative Arts and Community Leaders to Improve Educational Outcomes for Teens.

This is a new fabulous tutoring program in St. Paul, putting creativity and (obviously) music at the center of  learning.

Here is their facebook link:  http://www.facebook.com/RockStarSupply?ref=search&sid=555440748.2604702281..1#!/RockStarSupply?v=wall&ref=search

3. COMPAS: www.compas.org

COMPAS strengthens people and communities in Minnesota by engaging them in creating art.

Here is their Facebook link:  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1366310627&ref=ts#!/profile.php?v=wall&ref=ts&id=1366310627

4.  The Canvas: http://www.myspace.com/thecanvas651

The Canvas is an arts based teen center developed by local youth in the Saint Paul area. It’s located at the Hancock rec center at the corner of Snelling and Hubbard. Workshops on DANCE, RAPPING, SPOKEN-WORD, PHOTOGRAPHY, FICTION and more soon!

Here is their Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Paul-MN/The-Canvas/103192607493?ref=mf#!/pages/Saint-Paul-MN/The-Canvas/103192607493?v=wall&ref=mf

5.  Arts Us: www.arts-us.org

The work of ARTS-Us nurtures a supportive and enriched environment for east metro area youth — particularly for those of African descent – by combining academic, enrichment, cultural, and recreational activities to guide learning and engage youth.  ARTS-Us is a community-based 501(c)(3) organization located at 1221 Marshal Ave in St. Paul Mnnesota in the Duning Rec. Building.

Wow, today is another chance to bring the best out of him/her; Today is another opportunity for me to help them discover that they have so much more inside of them even than the poem that they are writing or the rap that they are saying over the mic.

With that train of thought, as I see their smile for the first time that day, I know it won’t be the last because I will use this time to encourage, uplift and esteem this expression of talent.  
The reward is priceless but there is also something more on my mind and that is to make sure they know before this project is done, that the same pride, confidence, willingness to improve and the ability to take direction from someone who can make them better can all be applied to life outside the recording studio as well as the art of poetry.

These things that I hope to teach and bring out of them can be applied to the art of life and if I can get them to see even a glimpse of that truth, they will be able to do anything they set their minds to. After all, you can teach just about anyone willing to learn how to rap and write but if our kids became the best rappers and writers but still felt as if that was the only thing they could do well or if they some how fail at succeeding in a particular field that life is over, I would feel as if I failed to accomplish my real goal which is to make them feel good about who they are and the possibilities of ALL they can be.  That’s my dream anyway.