Peace, Love, and Grant Street

We had an awesome time last week at Peace, Love, and Grant Street!  A lot of people came to enjoy all the different things we had to offer.  West Side Youth Development Coalition and David Rivera's office provided candy and refreshments, the county sheriff's office stationed their horses outside the center along with two of Buffalo's finest food trucks (The Whole Hog and The Roaming Buffalo), WEDI's ENERGY afterschool program came to sing lovely carols, and we had plenty of activities going on inside!

Check out some photos that Emily took!

December Fun!

Hi all!  We have a lot of programming happening this December.  Due to holidays, we will also have a few extra closings and early closings as well.  Here is what's happening this month:


Thursday, December 6th:

• "TechArts for Girls" from 4pm to 5pm: We are working with Squeaky Wheel to host a digital media program for girls, where you learn how to use Photoshop and how to make your own images using the computer.
• "Peace, Love, and Grant Street" from 5pm to 8pm: Grant Street business owners are promoting local shops for the holiday season!  Our Center will be open as a rest stop, with information and refreshments.  We will have children-friendly activities and movies going on.

Thursday, December 13th:

• "TechArts for Girls" from 6pm to 7pm

Thursday December 20th:

• "TechArts for Girls" from 6pm to 7pm

Friday December 21st:

• PUSH Holiday Party from 5pm to 8pm: We have outgrown our location at the Center and will be holding our annual holiday party at the Loretto Center on 172 15th Street.  There will be food, music, prizes, and tons of fun!

Closings:

• Friday 11/30: Closing early at 5pm
• Tuesday 12/11: Closing early at 6pm
• Friday 12/14: Closed
• Thursday 12/20: Closed
• Friday 12/21: Closed at 271 Grant Street, party at Loretto Center!

Welcome back with Halloween photos!

Hi!  We haven't posted here in a long while but there's been a lot going on since the end of the summer.  We reopened about halfway through September and it's been busy and filled with a lot going on, from starting Girl Talk again, working on our upcoming art project, playing video games, and of course, our Halloween Party a couple weeks ago!

So here are some photos from the party and comments from our members on what they liked.

Fardosa and Jamila posing for a photo

Jamila: "I like the game, I like the dance, I like the monster.  I like when me and Emily was taking pictures."

Saadiya and Boncko posing for a photo

Issa and Bethany looking creepy

Janice: What did you like about the party?

Issa: "We broke the pinata and everyone was jumping and dancing.  Then we all tackled Eric and punched the pinata and then we all left."

Shy looking colorful with Igow

Sam looking fierce as a hockey player

Boncko with her little nephew

Boncko, Anais, and Saadiya running the sign-in table

People lining up for spooky punch and cupcakes

It's Ibrahim!

We were visited by a creepy monster (who made many young children cry!).

Levi gets taken in by the monster!

Jesska and Mimi smiling for the camera

The mummy wrap!

Twin Maka and Muna are a two-person mummy

Oh no!  The monster's got Steven!

Daudi is very scared while Abass is unfazed.

Arturo y Moises con el monstruo.

Some other comments from attendees ...

Emily: "Did any of your friends come to the party?"
Jamila: "YOSS."


Janice: "Did you like dancing?"
Esha: "No."

Ibrahim: "Everything, it was fun.  I met new people."

West Side Open Mic II on August 16th!

After the huge success of our first West Side Open Mic back in February, we have been working on figuring out when to have our next one ... and that's gonna be next Thursday, August 16th at 6pm!

(thanks to Emily Sahm for the awesome poster)

If you're interested in performing, check in with us sometime this week so we can help you out with your performance.  You can also sign-up during the event.  Any kind of performance is welcome, whether you want to play an original jam, sing, dance, read a poem or story, play a song -- anything!

We also will have a special appearance from Buffalo's own Push-Up King, Jeff Warrick.  Don't know who he is?  Come find out next Thursday!

Make sure to join the event on facebook too!

Music Trivia: Who said it?

Building up towards our Open Mic, which will be next Thursday, August 16th starting at 6pm, our theme this week is all around music.  For this week's challenge, we have a lyrics quiz.  Whoever gets the top score wins a prize.  The challenge will end this Friday.

... So you think you know your hip-hop?

Take the quiz!

Challenge: Memorize and Perform a Monologue!

This Friday at 5:00 you can show off your talent by performing a short Monologue from your favorite movie or book.

Check out these examples:

This first one is a monologue from the movie "Never Been Kissed"

This one is from the book "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

Ready to do one yourself? Talk to Megan, Janice or Keith and we'll help you pick out a monologue. Then you'll have to memorize and practice it for Friday.

-Megan

Storybird Challenge

Looking for something to do?   
Try this week's challenge!  Everyone who completes the challenge will get a prize at the end of the week (Thursday).


What you have to do:
1. First, read these 3 short stories about friendship:

What does friendship mean? by KindleSpark on Storybird

Imaginary by FogCat on Storybird

But the Cheetah Would not Dance by rmc523 on Storybird
2. Ask Megan for your own unique storybird login. Then go here to enter your username and password: http://storybird.com/accounts/login/

3. Once you log in, click on 'make a storybird' and pick out some cool art. Then select 'start a storybird with this art.'  This will open up the page where you can drag and drop art onto your pages and add words. You can add pages at the bottom.


4. Your challenge is to create a storybird about friendship that is at least 10 pages long.

Have fun and be creative! Once you finish, you can publish your storybird and we can all read it and comment. If you don't finish in one day, that's ok! Just save it and log in tomorrow to finish it.   If you liked this, you can keep making more storybirds.

-Megan

Job Guide: Part 1

We've been working to create a simple, step-by-step guide to get our members thinking about what kind of job they want and how to get that job.  The guide is now finished and there is a survey to fill out that will help you 1) complete an application, 2) write your own resume, and 3) get ready for an interview.

This post is to help you out, but I really, really, really recommend that you read the guide first and have your completed survey next to you before you go clicking on these links and applying to jobs.  I will also have another post up in the next few days with a list of local places (different offices and businesses on Grant Street) that are looking to hire and some tips on how to approach them.

Keep in mind only larger chain stores will have online applications.  Smaller local stores and restaurants will require you to call or apply in-person.

Online applications are available for:

• Wegmans (grocery store at Amherst near Elmwood)
• Tops (grocery store on Grant at Amherst)
• Family Dollar (discount store on Grant at Forest)
• Tim Horton's (coffee/donut shop on Elmwood at Lexington)

Print-out applications are available for:

• Dollar General (discount store on W. Ferry near Grant)

Only In-store applications are available for:

• Rite Aid (convenience store on Grant at W. Ferry)

Wegmans: CLICK HERE TO BEGIN
1) Click "Apply Now"
2) In the "Job Number" box, enter "1103413"
3) Scroll down and click "Search for jobs" button
4) At the bottom, select "Cashier Part-Time Customer Service"
5) In the new page, read the description and select "Apply Online" when you are ready.  You will now have to create a login/password (write it down and remember it!) and complete the online application.

Tops: CLICK HERE TO BEGIN
1) Click "Click here for the JobsExpress system"
2) Click "Apply Now?"
3) In the new page, follow the directions and click "NEXT" to continue
4) When you need to enter information:

• Choose your state: "New York"
• Choose your city: "Buffalo"
• Choose your location: "Grant & Amherst, 345 Amherst St."
• Continue the rest of the application until you're done!

Family Dollar: CLICK HERE TO BEGIN
1) Click "Search Store Opportunities (Store-Level)"
2) In the "Keywords" box, enter "03113/W NY BUFFALO"
3) Scroll down and click "Search for jobs" button
4) At the bottom, select "NY Customer Service Representative"
5) In the new page, read the description and select "Apply Online" when you are ready.  You will now have to create a login/password (write it down and remember it!) and complete the online application.

Tim Horton's: CLICK HERE TO BEGIN
1) Click "Apply Now"
2) In the new page, start and continue the application until you're done!

my storybird story

A CARD FOR MOTHER'S DAY by aslea on Storybird This a card for mother's day.  You have to give something for your mother in mother day. You could give them flowers or something else. You could take them some where too.have a nice day. by Jamila (people call me aslea)

big steve rap

i choose this song because my rap teacher said rap about "if you die young" and what u want people to remember you as . i think you should listen to it because it asks you a question.  "what do you want people to remember you as?" listen to the rap, it tells you what i want people to remember me as.

THE RAP:
 If I die young, Everybody please remember me As a prodigy
I go through my memories, when I close eyes,
it’s like a surprise I ask the lord why
 when I see people die,  I will never lose my pride
They put me in a position; I have to face my emotions,
never want to be in penitentiary,  when I die askin’ what they did to me
 the streets are like a battle,
it’s like a broken bottle
draining dreams like a stream
you always wanna be heard, always want the fame
you enter in the game, but you can’t always win,
 feeling the pain, through my veins like a sin.
I wish I could freeze the world,
go back in time and stop all the crimes
I been through the struggles,
but if the world’s rough, I pray for a spirit from above
To keep and hold the ones that I love.
This world’s fading away
They need me to come and save the day



- steven collins

Flags GSNC Members

Our community has many different cultures and and countries. These flags represent the different people who come to our center.  (Listed in no particular order.)

We found our information and pictures from Wikipedia. (Links at end of post.)

KENYA.The red band has white border on its two sides. These three bands are horizontally equal to each other. In the middle of the flag there is a Maasai warrior shield with two spears.

SPAIN: The flag of Spain (Spanish: Bandera de España, colloquially known as "la Rojigualda"), as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name rojigualda (red-weld).

ITALY: Some have attributed particular values to the colours, and a common interpretation is that the green represents the country's plains and the hills; white, the snow-capped Alps; and red, blood spilt in the Wars of Italian Independence. A more religious interpretation is that the green represents hope, the white represents faith, and the red represents charity; this references the three theological virtues.

RWANDA: The flag has four colours: blue, green, and two forms of yellow (standard yellow for the middle band and what the Pantone system calls "sun yellow" for the sun). The blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes economic development, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The sun represents enlightenment

KENYA: The white stands for peace and honesty, the red stands for hardiness, bravery, streangth and valor,and the black stands for determination. The writing means ALLAHU AKBAR (god is great). The stars stand for the three tennents of the Ba'ath motto, which in English are Unity, Freedom, ad Socialism

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_color_of_Iraq_flag_mean#ixzz1vv7833v4

USA: The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the first states in the Union.

CANADA: The maple leaf has served as a symbol celebrating the nature and environment of what is now Canada since the 18th century

HONG KONG: The design of the flag carries cultural, political, and regional meanings. The colour itself is significant; red is a festive colour for the Chinese people, used to convey a sense of celebration and nationalism.  Moreover, the red color is identical to that used in the national PRC flag, chosen to signify the link re-established between post-colonial Hong Kong and China. The position of red and white on the flag symbolizes the "one country two systems" political principle applied to the region. The stylized rendering of the Bauhinia blakeana flower, a flower discovered in Hong Kong, is meant to serve as a harmonizing symbol for this dichotomy.

LIBERIA: The eleven stripes symbolize the signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence, red and white symbolizing courage and moral excellence. The white star represents the freedom the ex-slaves were given, above the blue square representing the African mainland.

PUERTO RICO

YEMEN: According to the official description,, the red stands for the bloodshed of martyrs and unity; the white for a bright future; black for the dark past.

The color red represents the sacrifices of the national heroes, yellow represents the country's opulencs a symbol of hope and e and wealth; the star iambition for the country. The blue field represents peace and harmony.

TANZANIA: Green represents the natural vegetation present in the country, yellow represents the rich mineral deposits of the country, black represents the skin colour of Tanzanians, and blue represents the numerous lakes and rivers and the Indian Ocean.

POST created by Riam and Theo

Kenya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Kenya
Spain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_spain
Italy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_italy
Rwanda: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Rwanda
Iraq: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Iraq
USA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_usa
Canada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_canada
Hong Kong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Hong_Kong
Peurto Rico: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_puerto_rico
Liberia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_liberia
Yemen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_yemen
Tanzania: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_tanzania

You Are Here

As the first part of two workshops, we are inviting University of Buffalo to host a project here as part of a larger series of events called Fluid Culture.  The first part will be this Saturday May 12th at 1pm, and it will be focused on our stories of displacement.  It will include a visual arts aspect through mapping as well as mixed media storytelling of oral histories (audio recording, poetry, and drawing).

The second part will be next Saturday May 19th at 1pm, and we invite everyone to see the unveiling of the project that UB graduate students in the Architecture Department have been working on.  We will also be exhibiting the work and the stories from the first workshop.

The three questions that we'll be focused on, based on the idea of where we're from, are:

• What did you bring?
• What did you leave behind?
• And what did you find?

Please talk to Janice if you're interested!

Mural ... completed!

Thanks to everyone who came out to our mural unveiling on Friday!  Feel free to stop by anytime to see the real thing:

Mural Unveiling tomorrow!

 Our members have been hard at work finishing up a 11' x 5' mural that represents our core values of creating an open, safe, and productive space.  We're holding a casual event tomorrow starting at 6pm to give everyone a chance to check it out and hear more from the people who participated and made this work of art possible.  So invite your friends and family and stop on in tomorrow, Friday 5/4 at 6pm!

See the event reminder on the PUSH Buffalo website

Check out the photos from the mural kick-off on April 3rd

For members, if you're interested in helping out, check in with Megan to see if there's work to still be done.

- Janice

Photos from Thursday mural kick-off!

We kicked off our mural project last Thursday with an awesome start.  We had over thirty GSNC members help with getting designs on the wall and even get a few designs on the wall.  The afternoon started with a discussion on our values -- not the greatest discussion, but this mural is all about creating and open, safe, and productive space, so we got right into designing and painting the different designs.

Megan was able to combine several designs into one design, which was sketched onto the wall into a 9x4 grid, made up of thirty-six 15"x15" squares.  On Thursday, people were able to sign up for their own square, sketch out what they wanted it to look like, then actually paint right onto the wall and fill it in.

We still have a lot of empty squares left and the goal is to complete the entire mural by the end of April.  Want to help out?  Just stop in and let us know!

Keep in mind: We are open this week from 12pm to 5pm because of spring break.

  

Getting all our supplies in order (thank to PUSH's Tool Library!)

Megan paints the initial design on the wall, which was a collab between designs drawn up by several GSNC members

Doing some planning and prep before the designing and painting starts

One of our volunteers, Aneka, helping get the designs started

And the painting begins! (Far to near: May'ra, Anais, Beth, Esha, and Mariah)

Theo painting in his top-right corner

Awesome turnout: At least thirty people came out to help with the mural!

$100 worth of paints = art being did

Kick-off is a success!  Theo and Ibrahim are putting the last touches before we end for the day.