MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER
 Newsletter May 2021 PROGRAMS  Fuse Fest 2021 CELEBRATING URBAN LIFE, IGNITING HOPE, HEALING & POSITIVE ENERGY THROUGH ART, MUSIC, CULTURE & INTERACTIVE ZONES FOR ALL GENERATIONS. Fuse Fest at Purpose Park is a community event created to bring community members together, fusing to be stronger, healthy, and happy. FUSE Fest celebrates the heart of St. Paul Community in Norfolk through this inter-generational, transformative festival. FUSE Fest stronger bonds between every segment of the community to help increase peace, harmony and health through this year’s theme Hope, Healing & ART! Saturday, May 22nd starts at 3 P.M. Festival organizers, African Drummers & Dancers open the festival at Purpose Park and walk from MLK Plaza to the main Stage. (Corner of E. Olney and Church Street). Register for the event below:Register Here        The month of April was Earth month, with Earth Day being, Thursday, April 22nd. Globally, this year’s theme is Restore the Earth! On Tuesday, April 13th, Teens With A Purpose’s H.I.P. terns, along with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation planted 13 trees in our Safe, Space Community Garden (Purpose Park). The HIP terns planted roses bushes, peach, fig & magnolia trees in the garden. In celebration of this event, TWP held a fish fry in the park with live music. The H.I.P terns also hung bird feeders & birdhouses up in the trees. Special thank you to Bank of America!for proving sponsorship providing additional resources to expand the Horticultural (H.I.P tern) program.April’s Collaborative HIPterns partners include: Crestar Health, Archie Boone and Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the ongoing support of Tidewater Children’s Foundation    H.I.P TERNS  In 2017, TWP started H.I.P terns, Teens With a Purpose Horticultural/Agricultural Internship Program for Teens – Teens With a Purpose believes that “LEARNERS ARE THE CO-CREATORS OF KNOWLEDGE”. Along with the beautification of a blighted community, HIP terns become teachers, leaders, and learners modeling the power of collective work, shared resources, and the importance of valuing every person as essential to the health and well-being of the body known as humanity. This program creates pathways for youth to shift from consumers to PRODUCERS able to effect change in their community and in the world, creating much-needed beautiful spaces, cleaner air, food, peace, hope, and inspiration as they gain opportunities for prosperity and personal transformation. Most recently added is The Herban Project a new endeavor where HIPterns supply fresh herbs, flowers & produce to a local farm-to-table restaurant and bring surplus produce, not consumed by the community, to area farmers markets. Upcoming, the H.I.P terns will work with Bank Of America to open their own personal savings accounts!!! Much more photos HERE!       HAMPTON ROADS YOUTH POET LAUREATE Teens With a Purpose (TWP) is the gateway to the National Youth Poet Laureate Program for all of Southeastern Virginia. It is our pleasure to introduce Reed Williams as the winner of the 2021 Hampton Roads Youth Poet Laureate contest and the three runners up as Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador for their cities: Yunseo Chung of Yorktown; Ayana Askew of Norfolk and Trinity Allen of Portsmouth. The 2021 Hampton Roads Youth Poet Laureate Reed Williams of Virginia Beach is a transgender poet studying Politics and Women, Gender, and Sexuality at the University of Virginia. Born in South Carolina, later transitioning at age 12, gender identity shaped much of her childhood. From memories of bullies to the fetishization of trans beauty/cis-heteronormative conformity, her poetry covers a wide range of topics and encompasses her journey to love herself. Not only are her poems timely, but they also expose a very vulnerable aspect of who she is with the hopes that vulnerability and sharing can change the hearts of those averse to trans existence. Reed is a graduate of Kellam High School. To watch the Youth Poet Laureate Performances click HERE!  With a legacy of environmental injustice still continuing to plague marginalized communities like ours across the country, Teens With a Purpose created a safe creative community space garden in reply. TWP Youth Poets write and perform as features in the stand-up comedy “Ain’t Your Mama’s Heat Wave” produced by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100%, which is filmed at Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre. This stand-up exposes the truth about the #climatecrisis through comedy.     PROGRAM SCHEDULE Purpose Place – Youth come to VCM Teen Center and receive educational support and mentorship throughout their virtual learning day. Monday – Thursday 7am-3pm  Monday – Thursday 3pm-5pm Teen Gatherings – For Purpose Place Participants. Make new friends, develop your talents, become a leader. Join TWP each Monday for this free gathering. Participants receive incentives for volunteerism and community edutainment. Monday Youth Circle – Circle conversation, meal, music, games and interactive activities Tuesday Just Aart is an arts and technology component of TWP. Learn to create positive music, rap, poetry and videos as both a performer and the engineer behind the technology that makes it all happen.Create – Visual Arts projects, mural art and more!  Wednesday HealthE Living Move your body with Yoga, dance, cycling and fitness workouts. Field trips to Parks and other local destinations. Thursday Teens get H.I.P to plant care, urban gardening and more through the Horticultural Internship Program. Now excepting 757 Teen Connect Radio Show Production – Teen broadcasters and journalists create a show for teens, by teens  Saturday YOGA for Everybody Movement and Yoga for beginners 10:30am-11:15am Teens get H.I.P to plant care, urban gardening and more through the Horticultural Internship Program 9am-12pm Contact Us TWP Pop-Up Shop |
