Dreaming Out Loud » community

Inaugural Newsletter

Administrator — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:11:43 +0000

Hey Folks,

Thank you for reading Dreaming Out Loud’s first newsletter. We will be producing the newsletter bi-monthly and on special occasions to keep our supporter updated about what is going on and how we can work together to build a better world. We truly believe that when “Dreams Emerge, Communities Arise!” and hope to inspire your dreams, fuel hope and build a world that allows all of us to thrive. Help spread the word about our organization!

Click the link to signup to receive the newsletter and don’t forget to tell a friend! http://eepurl.com/bipF5

Warmest Regards,

Christopher Bradshaw, Executive Director

Dreaming Out Loud's First Newsletter!

Aya: Health and Wellness Market

Administrator — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:17:59 +0000

AYA: An East of the River Health and Wellness Market

On October 16th from 10am – 5pm a group of nonprofit organizations and small businesses will host AYA: An East of the River Health and Wellness Market. The event will take place at the Center for Green Urbanism, located just blocks from both the Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road Metro stations at 3938 Benning Road NE. AYA will feature:

live musical performances
fresh produce and baked goods
handmade arts and crafts
massage therapy, acupuncture and more

Groundwork Anacostia River DC and Dreaming Out Loud, Inc. (DOL) – two Ward 7 focused nonprofits – will partner with The Collective, a group of small business owners dedicated to promoting “Market Days” that provide quality products and services to enhance the mental, physical and financial development in our communities.
Through AYA the partners will accomplish the following goals: (1) to expose the community to goods and services to assist in building mental, physical and economic health and (2) provide a platform for vendors and (3) support these local nonprofit organizations.

The Collective is a group of small business owners providing quality products and services to enhance the mental, physical and financial development in our communities. This group of businesses intends to organize ”Market Days” periodically, which will facilitate and nurture the exchange of goods and services for the benefit of both the public and The Collective.

AYA is one of the symbols used in our Adinkra Symbol Ethics Mirror, DOL’s unique approach to character and leadership development. Aya, which comes from Ghana, literally means “the fern,” a symbol of endurance and resourcefulness. Groundwork Anacostia River DC is the visionary group which helped to found the Center for Green Urbanism – the first green-inspired business and art center east of the Anacostia River. The Center is an art-infused business incubator providing office space to small and mid-size companies, an environmentally-themed art gallery and demonstration model for homes and businesses in the heart of downtown Ward 7.

The Center for Green Urbanism borders the National Fort Mahan Park. Its environmental ties has attracted the attention of the national organization Groundwork USA. The Center for Green Urbanism is the brainchild of environmentalist Zandra Chestnut and Dennis Chestnut, Washington community leader and Director of Groundwork Anacostia River, DC, the center’s first tenant. The Center’s grand opening will take place on Friday October 15th starting at 2pm with a press conference and ribbon cutting. Join us for this monumental occasion and the market to kick off an incredible District institution!

Contact Tarik Lott to become a vendor — email: tlott@tea4Youdc.com or 240-289-3716
Text “DCGREEN” to 69302 to recieve updates and more information.

DOL a Changemaker?

Administrator — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:23:52 +0000

DOL submits grant to Ashoka's Changemakers

On August 11th, Dreaming Out Loud submitted a project proposal called “What do We Reflect?: A Community Conversation” to Ashoka’s Changemakers program. The competition — called Strong Communities: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change — has the aim to identify innovative projects and ideas that engage citizens to steer change and build strong communities.

Our project would take place within the context of Project Dream Green’s school year program with our charter school partners. In this project we will use the placement of interactive public art to initiate a community dialogue regarding ethics, character development and community-building. Our young people will help to plan, create and place interactive public art in six locations throughout Washington, DC. These six works of public art will be large (approx.4ft X 4ft) plaster castings of the symbols.

Each symbol asks a set of essential questions related to building sustainable, healthy and ethical communities. The public will be encouraged to contribute to a dialog generated by the Adinkra symbols using email messages, photos, drawings and other submissions. In addition, the youth participants will use MiniFlip video-cameras to conduct interviews. Leading the youth will be Intergenerational Leadership Partners consisting of a college intern and a retired professional/teacher.

A panel of independent judges selected by Ashoka or CommunityMatters will select eight finalists from all of the entries submitted in the competition. From among these 8 finalists, the Changemakers’ online community will vote for three winners. In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by a vote of the independent judges. Any person may sign into and register with Changemakers at: http://www.changemakers.com/en-us to vote.

Following our progress and Click here to read and comment on the project.

East of the River

Administrator — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:51:07 +0000

Dennis Chestnut gives reporters a tour of the Center for Green Urbanism.

In the May issue of the East of the River Magazine, Groundwork Anacostia River DC’s Center for Green Urbanism was featured as one of the Ward 7 community’s newest additions. Executive Director Dennis Chestnut gave the magazine an exclusive tour of the Center in its opening phases.

Located at 3938 Benning Road NE, the Center for Green Urbanism (CGU) is positioned primely between both Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road Metro Stations. In addition, it sits directly across from the recently completed Benning Neighborhood Library.

This summer the Center has played a central role in the implementation of Project Dream Green – the program collaboration between Groundwork and Dreaming Out Loud. With 72 youth participants reporting and working from the Ophelia Egypt Center, Ward Memorial AME Church and SEED Public Charter School the CGU provides a central meeting point.

Important program activities such as training the Team Leaders responsible for supervising the youth participants; communications and video-camera training for youth media teams; and tool-safety training have been hosted at this historic building. In the coming months, the CGU will also play a key role in hosting high-school green teams from local charter schools as Project Dream Green enters a new phase.

A view from the front.

GreenTHINK Meeting 2-28-2010

Administrator — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:56:48 +0000

GreenTHINK’s February meeting featured two great speakers and activists who reported their findings at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. After the presentations, we had an opportunity to catch up with Kari Fulton and Leslie Fields. Kari serves as the National Youth Campaign Coordinator of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative and attended the COP15 Conference, getting the direct message out through her site Check the Weather.net. Leslie Fields is currently the National Environmental Justice and Community Partnerships Director at the Sierra Club. They each brought a different perspective and vibrant energy to our monthly meeting. We were glad to welcome new members for this gathering…Maybe you can join us next time?!? Contact us for more info!