By Floyd Jones | Project Leader
“ I’ve learned to be myself and stay true to who I am. OCU has given me the tools to not only thrive in this world but thrive by being myself. I know there is a big world out there with numerous possibilities and I’m glad that I will have my ‘Fly by Light’ family to help me. There is so much pain and violence I hope to one day use my voice to make a difference”
This is Tianna, she has been participating in Fly By Light for two years. Since then Tianna and blossomed into a beautiful, caring and adventurous young women. When first joining our program, Tianna was timid and unsure of herself. Since then she has become a beautiful artist and poet. She has been able to express herself through her poetry and share her Light with the world - and it shines bright! We know Tianna will go on to do great things and we can’t wait to go along with her for the ride!
One Common Unity is on the road to expansion to offer more diverse programing. Next month on June 7, 2016 One Common Unity will be hosting our Annual Spring Arts Showcase and Performance highlighting a select group of 50 students from our Fly By Light youth program. Working after-school with our seasoned facilitators, students find their voices and bringing awareness to the issues they face as teens in DC.
The students are able to perform in front of the audience made up of the community at large and of course their proud parents and supporters. The event also features a special guest appearance and performance by Malik Yusef. A 5x Grammy Award-winning poet, producer and songwriter who has worked with an assortment of notable artists and performers, including Kanye West, Common, John Legend and The Roots.
The Fly By Light youth ambassador program currently services all 8 Wards of the District of Columbia and emphasizes leadership, compassionate communication, conflict resolution, and self-love as pathways to personal growth, health and wellness. Music therapy and artistic expression are at the core of our instruction.
Through Fly by Light, we reach individuals, like Tianna, who, against all odds, fought for what was right and who lives inspire others to live the values of democracy, justice, hope, and love. Since launching our Global Giving campaign, we have laid the groundwork to start another chapter site throughout the city. But with your support we can take our work to the next level and directly impact the lives of communities and lay the foundation for visualizing a new generation of world changers.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
