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"FUNDay" FOLK ART!  
This month's "FUNDay Partners," 13 Partnership with Children students from P.S. 3 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and volunteers from the organization High Water Women traveled to the American Folk Art Museum. Each month, during the school year, volunteers and veterans, those participating since the program's inception, give their time and personal attention to at-risk children from inner city schools. For many participants, once they begin volunteering for "FUNDays," they can't stop. As one volunteer summed up the experience, "I give some of my time and myself and the kids give me a part of themselves, what's better than that? After each event, I always look forward to the next one, always wondering what my new buddy will be like and if my past buddies still hold a piece of me like I do of them." Students served by Partnership with Children often lack adult role models in their lives. The time volunteers make for these children goes a long way to opening students' minds to career possibilities. Not only do the participants from High Water Women introduce these students to careers choices, they also serve as examples of a larger community wishing to give back and expose students to cultural offerings such as the American Folk Art Museum.
Students and their "FUNDay" buddies took part in a guided tour of the new Ancestry exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum. The exhibit displayed examples of memory artwork, creations of a representation of a moment from the artist's past. The activity concluded with the "FUNDay Partners" creating their own memory art. The outing brought smiles to the faces of the young participants, but as expressed by one volunteer, these activities provide much more then a good time. "The events themselves are fun, but nothing beats the one-on-one time." The museum served the children with a culturally enriching task while allowing them to grow with their new buddies. Click here to see pictures from last month's event! | |||||||||
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