See It: The Community being helped

Are you one of the students that sit alone at lunch, watching the people eat and talk to there friends? Have you ever wished you had more friends? Are you a shy person? If you have a problem talking to people and making new friends, the Social Inequality project is for you. It is a program that helps students be more social, there are learning classes that help you talk to people better, and help you to get over being shy. And in these classes you may also make new friends for life.
This program is non-profit organization-ran; so it is free.
Students will go to movies and got to other social gatherings where they are to come out of the room knowing at least one person.
This is very challenging, but the outcome is rewarding.

See It: The Community being helped

The Culture project is an idea created by a student currently attending La Salle Academy Boys High School in the East Village. The mission of the Culture Project is to help high school students currently attending La Salle and other sister schools in New York City become more culturally exposed to the performing and visual arts. The initiative is a student-run program enacted with the guidance of educators of the art and drama programs at each school. This program is directed towards the advancement of the arts for students who have not had the opportunity to do this through their educational institution, or because of the cost associated with exploring such venues.
The Culture Project will help to bridge this cultural gap through making these excursions more affordable or free to those students who are interested. The vision the creators and researchers of the project foresee for The Culture Project is to have students attend live theatrical performances, visit museums and art galleries, and other venues related to the main concentrations of the arts, namely, theater, art, and music. The initiative also strives to bring to life another dimension of our great contemporary cultural society, as it is often overlooked in our popular culture, particularly among teenagers.
Through supportive guidance by the administration and faculty of each school, students will have a full scope of educational, culturally-based learning both in and out of the classroom. We intend to achieve our directives through working closely with established cultural organizations throughout the city, and appeals to the greater corporate community for potential sponsors. At the end of the 2007/ 2008 school year, The Culture Project will release a compendium of reflections and reviews written exclusively by the students of each school. This is to be complemented by artistic works expressed by the students of each school, which will be combined to produce a product that will be distributed for all to see and read.

See It: The Community being helped

S.I.F. is a club were students meet every other wednesday, to discuss subjects of fashion. As it may seem as just a hobby club the members discuss the similarities and impact that fashion has on society. Members range from different sex and ethnicity, cutting down on the bounderies "clicks" in school have created. The bounderies include anger or hatred towards race and/or pre-judgement on dress preference. The Club is currently fundraising to hold a fashion show at the end of the school year. The fashion show is made up garments that were created by students at our school. They are also modeled by members in the club. All benefits go to helping students meet and have field trips were they get to experience new things and meet new people.

See It: The Community being helped

My project started when my band was rehearsing one evening: As usual, all of my friends came to my warehouse I rented to hear the band play. We called this little haven the "Shed Shed"; It was a safe place for my friends to be after school and a good place to have a jam room. After this particular practice, my friend Alexis asked if I could teach her how to play the drums. I taught her the basics and sure enough, she was a natural. I told her [jokingly] that if she kept up playing like that, she'd end up replacing me in the band. I never had seen her smile that big. I felt really good inside that night, and I realized that she had never known that she had a talent for the drums. I began to wonder how many people have talent, but just don't have the time or equipment to try new things. Within that week I put up fliers around the school advertising the Shred Shed. We were already a fairly well known band, and my campaign pushed into popularity. Sure enough, more and more people started to come to the Shred Shed not only to hear music, but to explore their own creativity. I provide free lessons and we always let someone stand in for a song or two. Being in the school drum line and in theatre arts, I never knew how many kids never picked a drum sticks up or expressed themselves. It's been about a nine months since I started this project, and I feel a sense of achievement knowing that I not only helped my piers explore their creativity, but provided a safe spot for us to be ourself and escape the stresses of school or social problems. Everybody seemed to belong and fit in at Shred Shed. Even though we started as just a small band, I feel like we have been creating something very special within the community. Every month, we pay the rent for the warehouse, and lately money has been scarce. We might have to close the Shred Shed if money doesn't come soon.

Abe Van Vleck