Tag Archives: voice your verse

GIRLS WHO ROCK 2012: Are You Pumped?!

GIRLS WHO ROCK 2012 is finally here! I’m sure you’ve been hearing about this from all over the Internet, Twitterverse, blogosphere and your Facebook newsfeed and can’t wait to see what it’s all about. So here we go:

This amazing concert will bring together the freshest minds in technology, entertainment and the nonprofit sector to fundraise for girls’ sponsorships in India through She’s the First. The concert will be held this Friday, May 18 at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. It’ll be a jam-packed night full of remarkable female artists including American Idol Season 10 finalist Haley Reinhart, whose debut album Listen Up! will be released on May 22nd; Sarah Gregory, of Brooklyn’s Sarah and the Stanleys; Jessica Latshaw, who soared to fame after a video of her performing on the subway went viral; Shin-B, a hip-hop artist who made the world’s first music video with QR codes within the storyline; and mash-up artists The Jane Doze along with emcee Michael Thurber. The evening will feature a special performance by girls at the Park Slope Rock School; under Thurber’s guidance, they composed and recorded an original song dedicated to their peers at Shanti Bhavan.

Thanks to title sponsor umojawa, 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to sponsoring girls at Shanti Bhavan. We’ve gotten to know some of the girls at Shanti Bhavan fairly well in the past 3 years. Jancy, who is now a senior and will be graduating in June, judged the Cupcake T-shirt contest in November 2011 and wants to be a fashion designer. Shilpa Raj is a Shanti Bhavan alum who graduated last year and decided to stay on at the school to teach and work on her memoir The Elephant Chaser’s Daughter. Catherine credits Shanti Bhavan with having taught her how to dream big. All of these girls have bright futures ahead of them, futures they would not have had without the help and support of generous donors.

Through hearing these girls’ stories, it becomes apparent just how important the work done by She’s the First and GIRLS WHO ROCK is. Here is an opportunity for you to get together with your friends, rock out on a Friday night and do something GOOD.

Will you be there? Will you be there to come through for girls like Vyshali, a 5th grader at Shanti Bhavan who contributed the poem featured below to She’s the First’s Voice Your Verse poetry campaign? Will you be there so there are many more girls like Jancy, Shilpa and Catherine, who are able to realize their dreams?

I will be. And I hope you will be too! Get your ticket here to make a difference.

I am…

I am clever, funny and helpful.
I wonder whether I will go to outer space.
I hear my classmates screaming after they finish graduating from college.
I see myself getting medals in my job for doing well.
I want my dreams to be fulfilled.
I am talented, generous and talkative.
I wonder if there is life on Saturn.
I hear the piano playing.
I see myself passing school.
I want to get more knowledge.
I pretend I am an Indian Administrative Services collector.
I wonder whether I will fail.
I cry when I get screamed at.
I am energetic, thoughtful and caring.
I understand others’ feelings.
I say there is God.
I dream of passing school and going to college.
I hope to get more money.
I am hard working, happy and sleepy.

Vyshali
5th grade, Shanti Bhavan Children’s School, India

 

 

Posted in GIRLS WHO ROCK | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Portland State University Gets Involved!

[Editor's Note: Text and photos from Andrea Hope]

Ariel Young (Atma Foundation PSU), Meg Waldron, (Portland Poetry Slam), Andrea Hope (Portland Poets Exchange)

In honor of National Poetry Month and girls’ education, slam poet Andrea Hope and Ariel Young, President of Portland State University’s Atma Foundation, hosted an open mic to benefit She’s the First! The ladies wanted this event to be free, so as many students as possible would attend to learn about the importance of girls’ education globally. To raise money, they decided to follow many She’s the First supporters and sell cupcakes.

The Atma Foundation lovingly baked dozens of cupcakes, while Andrea Hope got to work making flyers and inviting friends from the local poetry community. In addition to letting poets sign up for the open mic on facebook, Meg Waldron, from Portland Poetry Slam’s National Team, agreed to be the dynamic headliner of the night. The wonderful “Voice Your Verse” event was held at Portland State University on April 25th at 6PM and raised $241! They decided to put the money towards sponsorship of a girl at the Arlington Academy of Hope in Uganda.

Shiva, a volunteer, sells cupcakes!

Posted in Voice Your Verse | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Voice Your Verse: Our Vision Came True at Poets House!

On Tuesday, April 17, the Voice Your Verse Team and She’s the First supporters gathered together to fill the walls of the Poets House in Battery Park with sweet verses of poetry and music, to sponsor girls worldwide.

A night full of good conversation, delicious Georgetown cupcakes, the sultry chords of singer-songwriter Diane Birch, and a variety of poetry presentations fueled the crowd, climbing towards a goal of raising $10,000 to sponsor girls during National Poetry Month.

Host Azure Antoinette drew the group close, weaving together award presentations to two young world shakers—Jade Iovine & Bosilika An—and introducing impactful speakers, such as Karen Karpowich, Chairwoman for She’s the First, and Monique Coleman, star of Disney’s High School Musical and “first” ever UN Champion for the Youth. Special performances were given by the girls of the Young Women’s Leadership Network School of Astoria. They gave life to the words behind our young poets from India and winners of the Zinch.com contest.

Hannah Brencher, Director of the Voice Your Verse Campaign, introduced Tina Chang to the stage. Chang, the “first” female Poet Laureate of Brooklyn, delivered a poem inspired by her own daughter and the mission of She’s the First.

At the 8pm hour, the guest moved upstairs for a concert performance by singer-songwriter Diane Birch. There was also the chance to participate in the raffle and silent auction and purchase a Voice Your Verse Anthology. Submissions for the anthology came from a pool of more than 7,800 entries from individuals all over the country, spotlighting stand out work from the Zinch.com contest and poetry from our partner schools in India, Sudan, and Nepal.

A special thank you goes out to Ryan Maguire’s, Georgetown Cupcakes, Bodegas Riojanas, and Cowgirl Seahorse for the food, wine, and cupcakes throughout the night. Perhaps the biggest thank you of all goes to our participants and presenters through out the night and the Poets House for allowing us to host at their venue (recently spotlighted in the Wall Street Journal! Hoorah!)

Didn’t get to attend the event?

There is still time to be a part of the Voice Your Verse campaign and help us reach our 10K goal! Purchase an anthology just in time for a Mother’s Day gift, or check out the live stream of the event to see all the action from the night replayed!

Check out Kate Lord’s photos from the event here!

Posted in Voice Your Verse | Tagged , , | Leave a comment