Have You Seen Hope?

Okay, so my post title is just a little corney, but nonetheless, I think you'll get my point after reading the entire post. As we round out the year, I have to tell you it's been a bit of a roller coaster for AWOL. With an ailing economy knocking on the front door at the beginning of the year, it was evident that all NPO's would be in great need in 2010. As donations declined, and some grant request came back denied, the beginning of the 4th quarter looked dismal to say the least. Since AWOL's inception, me and Tony have always been in the business of providing HOPE, when there seems to be none in sight. But this time, we were the one's actually in need of a little "hope" lol, and just like that, good ole HOPE can marching through the door.

I don't know if you have ever seen hope before, but it can come in many different forms. Sometimes its a person you know delivering a few kind words on a rough day, sometimes it's a person you don't know letting you use their Kroger plus card to get the discount that enables you to buy some grocery, and sometimes its and event you go to where the speaker delivers a gut wrenching tear jerking speech that sets your mind and heart on fire. Hope is a funny thing, you never know where or when or how it will show up. So by now your wondering who, what, when and how did "hope" come for AWOL this year.

Hope came in the form of a small creative business owner (and a few others) who decided that instead of send out a holiday card to clients and go home for turkey, they would instead conceptualize, develop and launch a major fundraising campaign for AWOL and all within about a 3 week timeframe! Yes, I thought they were nuts too!

Paragon Design Group has been AWOL's Hope this year. With a simple phone call, and one meeting to ask us if we would be okay with it (pause...really? they wanted to know what we thought about them leading a fundraiser for us....lol), we were off and running down the 2000 Strong, I Change Lives Campaign track. Not only did they bring their own creative juice to the table, they even enlisted the help of two other firms, HT Creative and Banker Optical Media. And when I told a friend about this amazing turn of events, all of a sudden more HOPE came marching through the door with two anonymous film professional donating their time and expertise to shoot a high quality PSA for the campaign. Wow! Check out the PSA below.

While I can't say that stuff like this never happens to AWOL (all things about AWOL have been serendipitous and just plain magical), I can say that its truly the first of its kind. In a year when our budget is going to take a 40% dip, our minds have been filled with ways to fill the gap and still meet the needs of the hundreds of Savannah youth that need a safe, creative and nurturing environment to go to during after school and evening hours.

This post is suppose to be about soliciting your help for the campaign, but I think it should be more about saying, thank you to Susan, Andrew, Phillip, James, Heather and Kevin (and my two incognito film makers) for giving us our MOJO back! I wish that I could design a super hero poster with all 8 of you in it, but uhhh..my photo shop work is a little lack luster, smile. We are humbled, tearful, and full of joy to know that a few like minded individuals care just as much about the youth of our community as we do. Not only that, you show it by actually DOING something to fix it.

So if you want to read all about why you should join the 2KStrong Campaign, you should check out Paragons Blogpost and visit the website at http://www.2kstrong.org

Wake Up! It's Time to Make the Change!

Well, once again my grueling but rewarding schedule is well under way for the 5th time. AWOL has been producing the annual Hip-Hop History production for 5 years now.Our theater education program was the first tool used to "Make the Change" for youth. The kids have been auditioned, enrolled, and are now in the very first stages of becoming a "family". I can't tell you how much I love this time of year, despite the fact that me and Tony end up working nearly 10-12 hour days! Recently, we had a very funny thing happen to us. In a meeting with representatives from the City of Savannah, we were discussing our 2010 request for program funding. We have been very fortunate to have been a vendor for the City for the last 4 years, a relationship that has allowed us to engage several hundred youth on so many levels. So you can imagine our surprise when the City rep incorrectly assumed that from the looks of our grant application, me and Tony were getting 2 full time salaries, but only working 3-4 days per week for only 3 hours per day! lol.

I almost choked when she said that! We looked back at her and kindly informed them that the Jordan's have got to be the two hardest working non-profit professionals in town. She had made this determination based on our program hours and not our "office hours". So just to clear things up, we decided to paint for them a very vivid picture of what a day in the life of the Jordan's looks like. I then thought to myself, why not let the world know what it's like to have a burning desire in your heart to help young people succeed. I can remember quite clearly that when we embarked on this mission, we were very clear that the notion of running a youth program and going home everyday at 5pm, was not going to work. In fact, we felt strongly that this mentality, was a part of Savannah's youth crime problem, not enough activities available during the hours most relevant to youth, after school and at night. So let's look at the standard AWOL/Jordan Family Schedule and you let me know what you think.


AWOL/Jordan Family Schedule

Alarm goes off at 6:00am..."Time to Make the Change"

By 6:30am, Tony "Super Dad" Jordan is headed to our 7 year old Autistic son's room to wake him for school (but not before his he makes his daily Good Morning Facebook post...no kidding, you can check it if you don't believe me)

6:45am-7 year old is in the shower, Tony's ironing school uniforms for both boys (ok, so I'm still asleep...gotta get my beauty rest.lol)

7:20am-Now I'm up and headed to kitchen to make breakfast for boys and help 7 year old finish up any unfinished homework

7:40am-Tony is about done getting the oldest boy dressed and I'm screaming for him to come eat, we also wake the 2 year old from his beauty rest to come eat breakfast with his brother.

7:45-8:15-Its breakfast and homework and ESPN blaring in the background while Tony irons his cloths and sometimes mine too...yeah..he's actually pretty domestic, don't you just love that in a guy? smile

8:20-Bus arrives, 7 year old grabs his book bag and heads out. Now it's time for me, Tony and the 2 year old to get ready...

Usually we are out the door by 9:30 if I'm lucky.

10-10:30am-We arrive at the office (PAUSE..quick note, my office is really at the house, so I may stay home to work, just depends on how much paperwork, grants, reports, ect I need to work on)

So from 10-3:30pm we are busy with admin duties, social marketing, taking calls, giving tours of our facility, and smoozing potential donors for money..yeah..this is hard work, ask any non-profit leader in town and they'll tell you.

So 3:30pm hits and its time for one of us to head back home to get the 7 year old off the bus from school, then head back in town to pick up the 2 year old from daycare, then we head to evening program sites to work with teens.

5:30pm-Arrive at program sites, Tony usually hangs out with the Sound Design kids, while me and our 2 boys hang out at the St. Pius Family Resource Center with the Theater kids. So that makes, 15-20 youth at one site, and another 65-70 at the other, totaling a possible 90 youth! WOWZERS!

7:30pm! SNACK TIME! Time to make sure all the kids get a quick bite before finishing of arts based training for the night.

8:30pm-Time for parent pick up at both sites

9:30pm-This is the time when most of the kids are all finally gone, always a few slow parents for whatever reason, sometimes they simply work late, but we never leave kids alone

9:45pm-(are you tired yet just from reading this?...i know, imagine how we feel..lol) So by 10pm we are back at home, our kids are of course exhausted, they are put right to bed, sometimes they are a little hungry, since they usually eat dinner around 5pm, so I may have to whip up a little meal.

11:00pm-Long Yawwnnnnn---Me and Tony are finally in bed, usually clicking away on our laptops, doing our nightly Facebook, Twitter blogging and checking emails.

12-1am-Lights Out! Time for some much deserved sleep

6:30am-"TIME TO MAKE THE CHANGE AGAIN" LOL

So now you know, this is what it means to dedicate your life to youth. At least for us it does. Most of the time we give our horrendous schedule little thought. I figure, God has blessed us with the strength and the resources to do it and a community of people who support what we do. So when I'm dog tired, and my eyes are heavy, I'll mosey on back to the gymnasium at St. Pius to see all the bright shining faces up on stage, laughing, dancing and learning. The kids give me so much strength, that at the end of the day, I'm always clear about why we are here doing what we do. Its for them, the kids, besides they are all that really matters anyway.

People...the Real AWOL Capital

But what I most want the community to know is that while me and Tony get lot's of attention and the admiration of our colleagues, it's not only what we do that makes AWOL run. It is the dedication and hard work of our modest staff of only 3 persons, 2 of which work other full time jobs during the day and then come to AWOL at night, and have done so for over 3 years now. Lloyd and Patrick our Sound Design teachers are the best in the world as far as I'm concerned. They are both outstanding men who behind the scenes have mentored and supported dozens of Savannah's most high risk youth. Our newest staff member Lakesha, has taken our Theater program to new heights and works nearly night and day, not to mention she also wears the hat of Executive Assistant when she's not being a Theater Director.

Our partner arts organization, Abeni Cultural Arts has provided our young people with high quality dance instruction, and all while dragging their 3 kids to practice nightly as well. My hats off to Muriel and Darowe for also being outstanding people of exceptional quality and most of all reliable. Our newest choreographer, Lady Mahogany of 94.1 The Beat radio has become a true dance "Drill Sargent", and we are humbled that she has taken time out of her busy schedule to spend a few nights a week sharing her awesome talent and doing what matters the most, saving lives.

Ladies and Gents, making the change is not accomplished by one. It can only be accomplished by "some". Will you help us make the change for Savannah's youth?

Poverty and Youth

AWOL Fall Enrollment 2009!

Well just in case you missed it, AWOL auditions went down at the Black Box earlier this month. And wow, was it a success. With our new Theater Director, Lakesha Green on board, the auditions were as smooth as a babies bottom! Lakesha is a SCAD and Alabama State grad packing not one but two degrees in Theater! AWOL's Hip-Hop play has now grown into a full scale Theater & Performing Arts program, with an advanced curriculum that follows National Arts Education Standards. And the program has a new name that fits along with the other AWOL program name themes, which usually at first send a negative message that we then make positive. The ACT UP! Theater Program is committed to doing exactly what the name says, teaching kids how to ACT UP!

This years fall enrollment audition totaled a whopping 80+ youth! One youth was so excited about being in the Sound Design program that he arrived late, after auditions were over and auditioned in the Black Box parking lot in his socks! His cousin had previously auditioned and afterward decided to stop by and let him know about the program. The aspiring rapper jumped at the chance, and that type of energy and enthusiasm from young people makes us very proud and excited to teach them.

So this past week we headed over to our old stomping ground, the St. Pius Family Resource Center and started practice. It....whoops..pause. I almost forgot some other exciting news. Dan Perez of Dan Perez Films was in town during the auditions to start a documentary film project about AWOL. Dan is going to be following us throughout the year and documenting the exciting life of the Jordan's as we use art and hip-hop culture as a tool to transform the lives of young people. Big ups to the Inn at Ellis Square for offering discounted room rates for his stay, but now we need a little help from you. In order to tell this story, we'll need some cold hard cash to support the project and in kind donations of restaurant gift certificates and free or deeply discounted hotel stays. Don't you want to see your company name in the credits when this film hits HBO and Sundance? Of course you do! Email me if your interested in helping out, djordan@awolinc.org.

Okay, back to St. Pius where I left off. So we started this week and things are already looking good for the 5th Anniversary of the Hip-Hop play. This year our young people are doing a modern day version of Shakespeare's timeless love story, Romeo and Juliet. The story has been modernized and is set in Savannah, GA. Can't wait to see the final product, the script is ...well..I'm not going to spoil it for you. Just be sure to get your tickets early, since this show sells out every year!



And to add to the excitement the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authorities annual summit hosted Grammy award winning recording artist Antwan "Big Boi" Patton of the group Outkast. Now, the kids were already just excited to see him in person, but for him to give them a SHOUT IN HIS SPEACH! LOL. I don't have to tell you that if they had not already drunk the AWOL kool-aid, they were sold after that! And what a great self-esteem boost for Savannah's young people. Big Ups to Zadonna Slay and the folks over a YFA for bringing down such a cool speaker that the youth could relate to. And most of all, thanks to Big Boi and the staff of Big Kidz Foundation Jennifer Lester and Joi Edwards along with Savannah's own Kareem Hill for making BIG things happen for AWOL kids.



You can also sponsor a child in AWOL for just $40 bucks per month! Wow! A high quality arts education program like this for such an affordable price? This has got to be the best thing since sliced bread! Click here to print the Sponsorship Form and send in your first payment.

In the meantime, please do Join our Facebook Fan Page. The widget has been added to the blog site and don't forget to Follow us on Twitter at

http://www.twitter.com/awolinc

http://www.twitter.com/awolincceo

Also don't forget to Follow Big Kidz at

http://www.twitter.com/Big_Kidz

Fall is Upon Us! Time to ACT UP!

That's right people, AWOL has finally dubbed the hip hop play with a real program name, ACT UP! We also have a new bad chick to run this thing, Ms. Lakesha Green our new Theater Director. This is going to be an awesome year. This program in particular (Theater and Performing Arts) is near and dear to us. The TP program was the program that enabled us to get our first contract with the City of Savannah (Big Ups to Mayor Johnson and the City Council) for $43,000 bucks!

Prior to that contract we were armed with a $850 dollar GAP (Grassroots Arts Program) grant from the Cities Cultural Affairs Department. With that small investment we were able to create an entire youth theater empire right here in Savannah, GA. I would also add, this was our very first grant award. Boy were we excited, $850 DOLLARS! WOW!

Hay, don't laugh! Before that grant we were accustomed to doing something with nothing, so that $850 bucks went a along way folks. Me and Tony even matched it with a nice donation of $1000 or our own dollars. yeah...this is the life of non-profit leaders. lol. But when you are determined to make something happen, you will let nothing stand in your way. Especially not something as simple as money.



So, to see what we have matured to is absolutely amazing. I mean come on folks, we are about to take it to another level this year, the kids will be performing Shakespeare! At the close of 2005 AWOL had roughly $2 dollars in the bank, lol. Today we have managed over a half a million dollars and encountered thousands of youth through our arts and technology programs and community performances. Amazing what a little determination and elbow grease can do. Check out the Press Release below and video clips from past performances and rehearsals.

Also please help spread the word as this is going to be our 5th Anniversary show so teachers need to sign up now to reserve seats to the school show.


For Immediate Release:

More Info:
LaKesha Green
kgreen@awolinc.org
912-303-4987

All Walks of Life Inc Announces Start of 5th Annual Theater Program, Invites Young People to Act Up
This year's production will be a hip hop-themed adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Auditions will be Sept. 17-18.

September 1, 2009 (Savannah, GA) - AWOL's theater program, known as Act Up, will celebrate its fifth year this fall with open auditions for its annual production, which will be a hip hop-themed adaptation of Shakespeare's timeless story of star-crossed love Romeo and Juliet. Auditions will be held September 17-18 at the Black Box Theater (9 W. Henry St.) from 6-8pm. AWOL's theater program regularly attracts nearly 100 youth who gladly show off their skills as actors, dancers and singers.

The production, titled Choices: The Romeo and Juliet Story, will be presented February 5-6, 2010 at the Lucas Theater. There will be one daytime show presented to students of schools from around the region, and two nighttime shows open to the general public.

"I'm excited about Romeo and Juliet because Shakespeare's play is so universal that it can be adapted into any cultural setting or historical period," says Green. "Love is a universal theme and it will help introduce some of these kids to Shakespeare in a way that is much more accessible for them."

The goal of the Act Up program is to engage young people in positive, creative activities during evening hours when youth are statistically more likely to get into trouble. The program teaches them important lessons about theater combined with positive conflict resolution workshops, giving students the opportunity to pursue their talents while showing them ways to promote positive behavior. It costs one tenth as much to keep young active in programs like AWOL's, designed to keep them out of trouble, then it does to keep young people locked up after they've already gotten into trouble with the law.

Entering it's fifth year, this will be the first year that AWOL's theater production hasn't centered directly on hip hop history. In year's past, the play has discussed the origins of hip hop in New York City, the relationship between African culture and hip hop, the cultural evolution from the Civil Rights Generation to the Hip Hop Generation, and paid homage to the artistic accomplishments of the Harlem Renaissance and its influence on hip hop. The adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which was written by Theater Director, LaKesha Green, will modernize the language of the original, as well as inject music and dance into Shakespeare's classic love story. The production is scheduled for February 5-6, 2010 opening on the 5th with a 10:00am school show. Teachers are encouraged to reserve seats now as the school show sells out every year. Cost of attendance is only $3 per child and includes a free curriculum guide based on the Georgia Performance Standards for the study of Shakespeare.


In addition, AWOL will also be holding auditions for its film making and photojournalism program, My Block and the popular sound design and music recording program, The Projects. All young aspiring artist are encouraged to attend.
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I'm Back

Hello followers. Okay I commented a hanous crime in the blog world. I have not blogged in well over 60 days! This will not happen again I can assure you. I have returned from the world of federal grant writing with much to tell. Check back soon for details.

Welcome to the Projects! Youth Music at It's Best!

AWOL's Sound Design Program, the Projects is probably our most popular program of them all. It is the crux of all things AWOL and remains a coveted program to enroll into by dozens of Savannah youth. This is now our 3rd class and we are very excited about the release of the third album, "Dirty Water". The music is all written and produced by AWOL youth with the guidance of three awesome Artist Facilitators, Lloyd Harold, A.K.A "Kid Syc", Patrick Rodgers of Press Play Public Relations and our very own former youth participant turned teacher, Quentin Smith of CCB, A.K.A "QD".

We are always intrigued by the differences in each class. The first class was a broad mix of poets, rappers and R&B artist. For us, it was a perfect first album (dubbed The Outcome) because it was a great snapshot of what we hoped was to come. All kinds of talented kids, all in the studio, writing, creating, mixing and learning how to collaborate on a full scale media production that they could call their own. Some of the members of the first class have now entered the military and other have gone to college, I can only hope that some of the skills learned while they were with AWOL have successfully transferred into life skills. What might those skills be you ask?

• Communication
• Leadership
• Conflict Resolution
• Project Management

These are just a few of the soft skills learned during the process of creating a successful album. Often time, I can see why one might think to themselves, "Awww, that's so nice, the kids are learning how to make music and staying out of trouble". But AWOL is so much more than that. The relationships created during AWOL programs are the foundations of lifelong friendships and learning how to build positive relationships. So as you listen to a few tracks from the old class, (and a few off my cousin Anthony David's old album...he's so hot, my family is full of artist, but i'll tell you all about that in another issue) please be mindful that these kids are doing more than creating music, they are drawing the blue print for a successful future.



Myspace Page for each class:

Projects 1
Projects 2
Projects 3 (under construction)

UPCOMING PROJECTS EVENT!

AWOL Lake Bash 2009 Projects 3 Album Release, "Dirty Water"
June 26th @ Lake Mayer, Savannah, GA
4-7pm FREE EVENT

BBQ in full effect, with yours truly Polo on the grill! All proceeds go to support Savannah Youth!

About the Projects

Positive Reeducation of Juveniles Everywhere Concerning the Streets

Taught through a combination of classroom style workshops and hands-on training in AWOL’s production lab and recording studio, the Sound Design program, titled The P.R.O.J.E.C.T.S, gives students an opportunity to develop their musical talents while gaining first hand experience in multiple aspects of the music industry, including talent (songwriting / producing / recording) and business (public relations / representation / marketing).

The 6-8 month program (depending on youth progress)that is designed to expand the musical literacy and personal awareness of students using lessons about music history, music theory and creative writing that feeds into a collaborative environment where students work together to write, produce, record and market an album comprised of the best student work from the class. Local artists, writers and producers, who are active in their respective fields regionally and nationally, teach small classes of students focused on learning practical lessons such as instrument identification and music analysis, as well as understanding how to use industry-standard software, including ProTools (recording), Reason (production) and Fruity Loops (production). In addition to learning the basics of each program, students learn about composition, rhythm and theory in a hands-on environment that encourages them to express themselves through their music, while working with songwriters and lyricists to craft the best possible finished product.




Disclaimer: The Myspace links of AWOL employees, supporters and friends are their personal works of art. Links to Myspace URL's are in no way an endorsement of said artist or the content of the artist work. Nor is said content representative of AWOL youth program curriculum.




Find more music like this on AWOL All Walks of Life Inc.