Poetry in Motion

In April of this year, the “Make Noise Compton” Peace4Kids Poetry Team traveled to New York to participate in the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry festival. The members of the team had an amazing time meeting other young writers and artist from around the world, and set a goal to participate again in 2007! Next year’s competition is due to take place somewhere on the west coast, so the team wanted to get an early start fundraising and planning so that even more members of Peace4Kids could travel to the festival this time around. One of our own volunteers, Lisa Cron, answered the call of the team and helped them produce an amazing benefit that was a stark departure from the traditional poetry slam concept they were accustomed to.

The Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood played host for an evening benefit of storytelling done artfully by our teens in the form of written essays. The Poetry Team packed the house for two shows on Sunday night September 24th, and took the audience on a personal journey, which gave them a rare authentic look into their lives and the influences that make them so special. There was drama, laughter, and incredible insight! In fact, our teens had so impressed the audience that many of them stayed after the show just to ask them to autograph their programs. One of the audience members expressed, “I just wanted to get their autograph before they are all known internationally as artist and writers, just so I can say I saw their first performance.” Well she may not know how prophetic she really was…
 
The Peace4Kids Poetry Team is now currently featured on the Huffington Post online at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/becoming-fearless/.  They were the cover story through Friday, September 28, 2006, but you can still check out the Huffington Post Becoming Fearless blog at your leisure and search for any of the Poetry Team members stories by clicking on the following links: (Deisy Rolon, Christopher Smith, Khalyssa Marshall, Trayvon Johnson, Richard Fuller, and Lauryn Fuller). There is currently a video of the show that is being edited so that everyone can get a chance to see their amazing performance first hand (details will be made available via the website in January 2007)

If you would like to make a financial gift to the “Make Noise Compton” Peace4Kids poetry team, please send your contributions to the Peace4Kids office @ 1315 N. Bullis Rd., Suite 6, Compton, CA 90221, and put Poetry Team in the memo section of your check.

Please take a moment and consider making a gift to Peace4Kids. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us work closer with foster and at-risk youth, and guide their journey into adulthood. It is the only way we will be able to expand and sustain our programs.