Congratulations to 5th Grade Graduates

“I am incredible!”

On Friday, June 12th, I sat in the auditorium of John Tyler Elementary School and listened to the 5th grade graduates shout these three words at the top of their lungs.  The graduation speaker used “incredible” as an acronym for success, each letter standing for a different trait that would make these students successful people.  I doubt that any of the graduates remember the words in the acronym, but I bet they remember the main message: they are incredible young men and women, born to do incredible things, and no one should tell them otherwise.

10 of those graduates are Little Lights students: Bobby G., Demontr’e C., Mark H., James G., Terrence J., Isaiha J., Jalone K., Makalia V., Bryant W., and Queshawn W.  We are very proud of our incredible graduates and excited to see the joys, challenges and growth that will take place for each of them in middle school!

Mark, James & Terrence enjoying their big day

(written by Kati Leone, staff)

Author Visits Homework Club

Recently, Older Kids’ Homework Club had the opportunity to meet a real life author by the name of Aaron Harris. Mr. Harris grew up in Detroit and writes books geared toward other young men and women growing up in the inner-city. Harris’s method of writing seeks to encourage these youth by including the Gospel message and by stressing the need for a constant dependance on God in his books. To top it all off, he incorporates superhero powers inspired by video games he has come to love into his writing.

The students were very happy to have Mr. Harris visit them, and were inspired by his story and work.  We thank him very much for taking the time to come speak to them. (You can learn more about Aaron Harris at http://www.miracleverse.com.)

First Lady of Korea Visits Little Lights at Potomac Gardens

On Monday, June 15, 2009 we were very honored to have the First Lady of South Korea and other distinguished guests come and visit us at our Potomac Gardens units. 

It was an exciting time for both students and staff as we were able to share some of the things that we love to do here at Little Lights.  During the visit the First Lady enjoyed a song by the LLUM Gospel Choir, played a game of foosball with some of the boys, and talked with volunteers and former students.

It was a great honor to have her as our guest and we were very blessed by her kind encouragements.  She stated that, “I know that God is present here.” The First Lady also donated a Samsung Flat-screen TV and Little Lights uniforms to support the cause.  A big thank you to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea as well as all the other students, volunteers, and staff who came out to welcome the First Lady! And of course thank you to First Lady Kim Yoon-Ok who took time out of her very busy schedule to come and see us! 

Potomac Gardens & Little Lights Community Day and Talent Show

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This past Saturday, June 13, the Potomac Gardens Resident Council and Little Lights hosted a community day and talent show at Potomac Gardens.  It was a huge success!  We were thrilled to have the opportunity for Potomac Gardens residents, Little Lights staff and volunteers, and other members of the neighborhood to come together and enjoy themselves.  Ms. Melvina Middleton (pictured below with Steve), president of the Resident Council, collaborated with Little Lights directors and other Residence Council members (including Senior Residence council president Ms. Bea) for the community day, bringing in everything from a moon bounce to snow cones, cotton candy, face painting, bingo, and a hoppin DJ.  Our wonderful volunteers and donors provided hot dogs and hamburgers, and spent several hours cooking for the many people in attendance.  Several churches, other non-profits, and local leaders provided much needed support and resources. 

Perhaps one of the highlights of the day happened when the Board Chair of DC Housing Bill Slover, Principal Terry Dade from John Tyler, Housing Commissioner and Potomac Gardens resident Aquarius Vann Ghasri, Steve from Little Lights, and many of the residents and volunteers were line dancing to the beats of the DJ.  It was great to see the community at large gathering together to support the residents and youth of Potomac Gardens. 

After a day full of fun, food, and dancing, the audience was treated to a fabulous talent show.  Little Lights students, as well as other members of the Potomac Gardens community, shared their various gifts, including spoken word poetry, singing, drumming, drama, rapping, and more.  It was a harmonious scene where diverse people came together to fellowship and enjoy each other’s company. 

Thank you to all who helped make this day possible (you know who you are!).  Without the dozens of volunteers and supporters who gave their time, money and effort, this would not have been possible.  We look forward to doing it again in 2010!  (To see a slideshow of the day, go to our Community Day Slideshow.)

Volunteers! We need your feedback!

Please take a few minutes to help us improve our programs to better serve our students and volunteers. All surveys are annonymous!

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Thanks for a great semester!

Ice Cream Party

Summer is almost here! …which also means programs are coming to a close.

To celebrate the successes of this past semester forty-five students came through the units at Potomac Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed tubs of ice cream sundaes and hamburgers for dinner.  Everyone had an awesome time and it was a great way to kick off the summer!

Great job to all the students this past semester!  Also, a special thanks to all the volunteers (such as Ann, above, with Shanice) who helped out and made it all possible.

Bowling With Santana Moss

Special thanks to Jill Park and Dan Chun who invited four of our students to a birthday celebration and Santana Moss’s foundation fundraiser at ESPN Zone.  The kids had a great time at ESPN Zone, especially on the bowling game there.  Dontae, Terrence, James, and Bryant (pictured below) got an opportunity to tell Santana, a player for the Redskins, ‘Happy Birthday’.

Spring 2009 volunteer survey

Our volunteers are a valuable resource in many ways, one of which being the ability to give us honest feedback to improve our programs and how we serve our families and students.

Won’t you take a minute or two to (anonymously) complete the following survey about your volunteer experience this semester? Thanks for all that you do!!

Click Here to take survey

Volunteer Appreciation Party POSTPONED!

Due to rain, we will be POSTPONING the Volunteer Appreciation Party (scheduled for this evening). The make-up date is set for Tuesday, June 9th, same time and place.

Thank you!!!

Congratulations Ronada!

Little Lights is happy to announce that Ronada H., a student that has participated in our programs since she was 7 years old, will be heading off to Seton Hall University in New Jersey this fall.  Ronada is about to graduate from Duke Ellington School for the Arts, where she has worked hard at two of her passions - guitar and creative writing.  She is currently working on a novel and a book of poetry, and hopes to pursue a degree in creative writing while in college.

Ronada’s mother, Dianne, has long been an essential member of our staff.  We are so happy for her and her daughter as they celebrate this great achievement.

Thank you, DC Kickball!

A special thank you goes to Math Hero Matt Toigo and the Constitution players of the DC Kickball league for hosting an outing with 11 of our students! They had a blast getting to know their new DC Kickball friends.

For more photos of the event check out our Flickr account to the right, or here.

LLUM Gospel Choir goes to Baltimore!

It was a very special Mother’s Day for the LLUM Gospel Choir, indeed~

As a reward for all of their hard work and dedication, the LLUM Gospel Choir got to see Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, and Yolanda Adams perform at the 1st Mariners Arena in Baltimore, MD. We all had a blast! Thank you, Little Lights!

If you’d like to schedule a performance with our wonderfully talented Gospel Choir, call Linda Rice at 202-548-4772

Hope Center Transformation

For many years, programs for our younger kids have been held at Mt. Joy Baptist Church, a few blocks away from the Hope Center.  However, the movement of our older kids programs to our new units at Potomac Gardens has freed up some space at the Hope Center.

This past Saturday I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with a group from Salt and Light. We spent time turning the Hope Center into a fun and welcoming space for our younger kids. Some members of the group painted the entryway and bathroom kid-friendly colors, while others built great equipment for our kids like a junior-sized air hockey table, a lego table, and a u-shaped art table. Our younger kids have not been able to enjoy resources like this before at Little Lights.

Thanks for all your hard work Salt and Light!

(Written by Michelle)

Mayor Fenty Visits Little Lights…and Other News

What a week it has been at Little Lights. The after-school programs haven’t had a dull moment. This past week our 5th-8th graders made barbecue wings. They were delicious! This project is part of a cooking class that is offered every Monday, led by Ms. Linda Rice. Our art students also had fun being creative by painting their faces and hands. It definitely added some color to the afternoon!

To top it all off, we had a surprise visit from Mayor Fenty on Wednesday of this week. He played 12-year-old Bryant in table hockey and won 1-0 (that’s them playing in the picture below).  It was quite a treat for our students to spend time hanging out with their mayor! 

Thanks for all of your hard work, Urban Hope!

Last week we had some extra help for programs from the student leaders of Urban Hope, an urban ministry in Durham, NC. What a blessing it was to work alongside them! We had such a great time getting to know them, and they were such a blessing to our kids.

Thank you guys for all of your hard work! Hope to see you soon!