bridge builders debrief april

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debrief an online publication of Bridge Builders® Alabama In the Kitchen Make Art, Not War april 2011 TALKING ‘BOUT MY GENERATION Pancake Breakfast & Book Festival events pg. 4

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Page 1: Bridge Builders debrief april

debriefan online publication of Bridge Builders® Alabama

In the KitchenMake Art, Not War

april 2011

TALKING ‘BOUT MY GENERATION

Pancake

Breakfast

& Book Festival

events pg. 4

Page 2: Bridge Builders debrief april

april read all about it

3 Thoughts and RamblingsBy Josh McFall

4 Pancake Breakfast & Alabama Book FestivalUpcoming Events

5 In the KitchenWith Bridge Builders Alabama

6 Make Art, Not WarBTW Makes a Difference

7 COMpensation By Tiegen Kosiak 8 ...the Choice is YoursBy Catie Malone

9 “I’m not trying to get the broader picture. I’m trying to get what I want.”

By Jacob Call

10 #HelpingBy Andrew Szymanski

11 Poetry Workshopand Slam Competition

12 Easter Egg HuntVolunteers Needed

2

®

In last month’s issue, senior Bridge Builder and MEF steering committee member Erica Ware was said to attend Robert E. Lee High School. Miss Ware actually attends Jefferson Davis High School. Our apologies for the misprint, Erica!

Page 3: Bridge Builders debrief april

Thoughts and Ramblings by Josh McFall,

Bridge Builders Alabama Director

Thoughts and Ramblings

Summer Conferences Dates

Junior Conference for the Class of 2013 - June 13-17, 2011 @ Huntingdon College

Senior Conference for the Class of 2012 - June 20-23 @ Children’s Harbor / Lake Martin

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Josh

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EVENTS CALENDERaprilThursday, April 14, 21 & 286:00 – 8:30 p.m.BB/MMFA Poetry Slam Workshop & CompetitionWith Slam Champion, Tiegen Kosiak@ Montgomery Museum of Fine ArtsBlount Cultural ParkEARN 1 CREDIT for each workshop you attend, or just show up on the 28th and support your BB buddies at SHOWTIME!

Friday, April 22 (Good Friday)10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.AUM American Humanics Easter Program@ AUM Taylor Center

Tuesday, April 266:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Class of 2011 Party!@ BB Headquarters

SENIORS ONLY

Saturday, April 303:00 p.m.

Bridge Builders GraduationClass of 2011

@ Ligon Chapel, Huntingdon College

Our spring semester is drawing to a close. Thanks to all of you who have given so generously of your time and talents to serve the organizations of our area. Please remember to submit any service you have done outside of Bridge Builders on the “Community Action Form” on our website. We want to know how you’re serving.

This issue of Debrief focuses on how our generation is shaping our nation. There are some great articles written by our staff. Make sure to take the time to read them.

I want to invite you to attend our graduation on Saturday, April 30th at Huntingdon College Chapel at 3pm. We will honor our graduating seniors and hear about all of the great community projects they’ve been working on. Seniors, remember to invite your families. Look for your formal invitations in the mail.

Hope to see you all soon!

3 p.m.Huntingdon College, Ligon Chapel in Flowers Hall

Please invite your family and friends

RSVP by Friday, April 22

*Students wear colored Bridge Builders® shirts

04.30 .11Graduation

bridge builders®

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AMBUCS Pancake BreakfastSaturday, April 167:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.@ Applebee’s3195 Taylor Road

We currently have 6 volunteers signed up, which is more than what AMBUCS asked for! So thanks in advance to Caroline, Madeline, Doriann, Taylor, Nichole, and Justine who will all receive plenty of pancakes for their services. However, the rest of y’all should certainly come out and indulge as well. Tickets are $5.00 and will be honored 8-10 a.m. See you there!

Saturday, April 16@ Old Alabama Town,next door to BB Headquarters

CHOOSE YOUR VOLUNTEER SHIFT:8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

You must register on our website as well as the event’s: http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/volunteers.html. Please sign up for a time and an assignment. Once you register on both sites, email the time you’re volunteering to Catie at [email protected] so she can make sure a staff member is there to supervise you. You can only sign up for a maximum of 2 shifts.

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On Saturday, March 12, Bridge Builders Alabama brought its culinary talents to the west side of Montgomery. We stuffed peppers, gutted turkeys, wrapped cakes, and Forrest washed dishes the entire time (it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it)! For our services, the wonderful folks at Friendship Mission offered us many thank you’s as well as Mars bars... No, Friendship Mission, THANK YOU! Established in 1996, Friendship Mission provides food, shelter, clothing, spiritual guidance, medical and social assistance, and other physical needs of the poor and homeless in the Montgomery area. For more information on the shelter and their continuing volunteer opportunities, please visit their website: http://www.friendshipmission.org/about-fm.html. Thanks again for coming, Bridge Builders! I think it was one of our best events yet!

In the Kitchen with BBAL!

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Senior Bridge Builder Taylor Washington headed up the Make Art Not War project for Booker T. Washington Magnet High School. On Wednesday, March 30, senior and junior Bridge Builders alike descended upon Carver Elementary Arts Magnet School, Dannelly Elementary, and MacMillian International Academy to show the young students how to harness their energies into art instead of violence. The playful rotation stations included dance, drawing, poetry, and music among others. The elementary schools were so appreciative and a great time was had by all. Great job, BTW!

Make Art, Not WarBTW Makes a Difference!

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Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Rhythm, the Land of Rhyme,there lived a little girl with her eyes on the prize. Mama was a sailor, Daddy was a storm,Baby is a swimmer with her sights on the moon.

And she ain’t scared of nothing.

Like a bloodhound she followed her nose to the deep deep South. It smells of cologne in Gumptown, and in her bones she knowsthings ain’t right, but she’ll stay the nightfor a year or more because something brought her here,something bigger than her car.

Perhaps it’s fate.

Baby don’t believe in that. She’s Catholic, but that don’t mean much. Goes to a Methodist church, digs the music:“I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned...” Baby sings the lyrics, but doesn’t mean it, though she wants to,wants so many things—her own home, a clean kitchen,vacuumed living room, manicured yard, husband,or anyone strong enough to try to lovethe blowing wind between his hands. She is too fast.

But confederate or not, she cares for all injured soldierswho wander onto her battlefield. This is real, she thinks, this time, but she’s wrong,and the road is long to her next stop. Good thing she’s got a lead foot and a wooden heart, so ready to burn. So she sings with the windows down,“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

COMpensation

My mind has lately been crazy consumed with thoughts and plans for the upcoming poetry slam. I want you all to know that the writing, discussion, and art-infused workshops will be nothing like your English Lit classes. They will be filled with sass, rawness, and real life. So if you’ve got opinions to share or stories to tell, I urge you to participate, and not just because I want to up the attendance. I want to share something with you that I truly care about, want to help you believe in yourself beyond a shadow of a doubt, and mostly I want you to learn, once and for all, that what you say has value!

Consider my poem as an appetizer, a pre-cursor to what you will see and do with me in April. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to see you very soon. Love,Tiegen

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We go by many names: Generation Y, the Millennial Generation, the Facebook Generation. No matter what we are called, we are still the future. Our generation holds the future doctors, lawyers, teachers and governmental officials of this country and of this world; such great expectations for some of us who are still in elementary school. All of these expectations and yet we are still described as lazy and overly reliant on technology.

As the largest generation on the planet at the moment, about three times larger than our immediate predecessors Generation X and about 30% larger than the Baby Boomer Generation, we have the potential to have the largest impact on government, nonprofit organizations, and the corporate world. Our impact has already begun to be seen in the worldwide popularity in social media venues like Facebook and Twitter. But what does this all mean? We hear all the time that we hold all this potential for change, but how can we maximize our potential to accomplish all of our goals? Now I’m not going to suggest that we all convert our Facebook and Twitter pages to ones that work toward saving the planet from pollution, politics, and poverty, but I am saying that there is something that each of us can do to make a difference through social media. Think about how many people, followers

and followers of your followers, have seen your most recent tweet. Now think about how many people see something that is trending and think it’s funny, cool or weird and decide to include it in one of their tweets. 140 characters can reach an ENORMOUS audience just because one person thought they needed to be tweeted.

We hold the power to reach thousands and potentially millions of people with the words we use online. It may sound cliché, but as our good friend Spider-Man said, “With great power comes great responsibility,” and it’s true. One hurtful, offensive, or obscene word or one tweet based in anger can send our ability to influence so many people in a downward spiral. We must all make the choice to be productive, positive, and influencing members of our communities.

When my mom would do the morning announcements in middle school she would always say, “Make it a great day, or not. The choice is yours.” So I present you with a very similar choice. You can become an influential user of social media who works to make a difference in their community, or you can use your social media influence to post about the mundane issues of your personal life and leave the true influencing to everyone else… the choice is yours.

…the Choice is Yoursby Catie Malone

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This is my new favorite quote. It comes from a 16 year-old girl who was so exceptional, so extraordinary, she was invited an international convention on how the internet was transforming news media. Despite being a leading member of a cutting-edge generation, this girl is also your stereotypical teenager.

No offense to you teenagers out there; in truth, I was a teenager once myself (no doubt this is hard to believe, but I have proof ). As far as seven-years of time go, it is far more preferable than Egyptian famine or being in Tibet. It was definitely better than my seven years of college.

At the same time, being a teenager is hard. Always has been, always will be. From the cliques to the crowds to the friends who you aren’t quite sure about and those who act different when they are alone with you than they do at school or with a group of peers. Parents, bosses, teachers, that one annoying blond guy from BB always trying to tell you what to do, where to be, and why. And drama—oh the drama! You don’t need to take theatre or go and see a play ‘cause you can get your fill of drama each and every day. If you throw in homework and hormones and horrid hair days, life can get mighty bad mighty quick.

With all the challenges and fears, the troubles and heartache, it is easy to behave just like the girl quoted at the top. It is easy to close down your personal borders, to shrink the bubble, to limit your access to people, information, and ideas, which require work and effort to absorb. It is easy, in the midst of so many stressors, to build a protective cocoon where nothing can bother you.

Trouble is, easy roads rarely take you anywhere worth traveling. Problems force you to learn, grow, expand, and develop. Building bridges (whether metaphorical, literal, imaginary, or figurative) is hard. High school drama is hard. College classes are hard. Some days, just getting out of bed is hard. Climbing a mountain, scaling a summit, building a bridge, all of these things are hard, yet it is only at the top, after you put in all the effort, that the beautiful vista is unveiled to your eyes. The only way to get the view is to make the climb.

This last week, traveling across the expanse of Pensacola Bay and Gulf Breeze with my family, I noticed that no matter where you were, you could see the main bridge spanning the tides. It is the same with you, my friends. No matter where you are, people can see you. Please be willing to open your eyes, look out at the broader picture, and see them in return. Don’t let the trials of teendom close you off from the world, encased in a blissful bubble of “What I Want.” We need your hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and arms open to serve. We need you.

“I’m not trying to get the broader picture. I’m trying to get what I want.” by Jacob Call

Knowledge grows, skills improve, tastes refine, and conscience ripens only if the experiences bear a degree of unfamiliarity--a beautiful artwork you are forced to inspect even though it leaves you cold; an ancient city you have to detail even though history puts you to sleep; a problem you have to solve even though you fumble with arithmetic . . . You can’t mutter, “I don’t get it -- this isn’t for me.” You have to say, “I don’t get it, and maybe that is my fault.” You must change your life.

~Mark Bauerlein, Emory University

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I know I’m a 90’s kid because I watched Legends of the Hidden Temple, traded Pogs, ate Go-Gurt, and wasn’t allowed to play with Gak inside the house. A lot has changed since I grew up in rural Massachusetts. In 2011, I no longer have to spend 10 minutes waiting for dial-up internet, and Playstation has taken all the fun out of Tiger Handheld Games! We all grow up and outgrow most of the fads that were “da bomb” to us pre-high school, which means it is no longer “dope” to stay up late watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? Every year we are inundated with the newest and coolest products that malls and online shopping have to offer so we buy, buy, buy even though we know that a year from now what we buy will be irrelevant.

Luckily for all of us, there are a few things that never get old. Throughout the year we have talked about the importance of service, leadership, and working with people that are different from us. The three pillars of our program—leadership, diversity, and service—are not #trends, they are values that we believe are essential to being a positive member of society. As we come to the end of the year and as some of you graduate, don’t forget to carry these values with you and share them with others.

Technology makes it easier for us to interact with the world around us and has influenced society in many positive ways. It has made volunteering and serving the new cool thing to be associated with. Instead of Lamar Burton or the cast of Wishbone telling kids to get out and help their communities at the end of their shows, Justin Bieber and Fergie are making personal appeal messages on Facebook and Twitter! Will Smith and his wife are giving up their birthdays to raise money for charity: water. Hillary Duff is the new international spokesperson for Kids With A Cause, and Justin Timberlake supports Shriners Hospitals for Children. Helping other people is what’s cool!

Recently Harry Potter superstar, Daniel Radcliffe, was given the Hero Award by the Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting gay, lesbian, and transgendered youth. “I think that out of everything that I have done so far in my career, I think this is absolutely one of the most important, if not the most important, thing that I’m associated with.”

So it’s time to jump on the volunteerism bandwagon! Everyone else is doing it! It’s the cool thing to do! The best part is that you’re already ahead of the curve. You have been serving as Bridge Builders for almost a year or two now. We have worked hard to give you the tools, now all you have to do is get out there and do it.

#Helping is the simplest form of compassion you can show someone you don’t know.

#Helpingby Andrew Szymanski

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Volunteers needed!!!

Mission: To provide a day of special happy memories for children who have too fewopportunities for happy childhood memories.

Hosted by the American Humanics/National LeadershipAlliance students

For More Information, please call (334) 244-3350

April 22, 201110:00 am –1:00 pmAUM NursingBldg. Field

The 10th Annual Easter EggHunt