SARA HOLBROOK COMMUNITY CENTER

Mentoring BBQ

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Here are some photos from our 1st annual Mentoring BBQ to kick-off the summer!

Congrats to Leisa!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Our very own Executive Director, Leisa Pollander, alongside Vicky Smith and Mary Alice McKenzie, Executive Directors from King Street Youth Center and Boys & Girls Club, were presented with the Queen City Police Foundation's Medal of Honor for their work with youth in the community. Check out the story here.

Festival of Cultures

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:07:00 +0000

On Saturday, April 4th the Center hosted the fourth annual Festival of Cultures event. The day was a huge success with nearly 1200 attendees! The Center raised over $4000 in the Silent Auction alone.

Once again, thank you to all of our sponsors, Silent Auction donors, staff and volunteers that helped make the 2009 Festival a success! You can find more photos over on our website at www.saraholbrookcc.org.

Festival of Cultures! Saturday, April 4th

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:07:00 +0000

February Vacation Camp

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:08:00 +0000

The K-5 group was kept busy during February Break at the Sara Holbrook Community Center with loads of field trips, outdoor activities (we braved the cold weather!) and arts & crafts projects at the Center. The kids enjoyed music by Gary Dulabaum, who visited on Monday, February 23rd. Gary will also be joining us at the Festival of Cultures coming up on April 4th! Other trips included ice skating at Leddy Park Ice Arena, bowling at Champlain Lanes, an outing to the Majestic 10 to see "Hotel for Dogs", sledding at Catamount and BINGO at the Center!

Festival of Cultures

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:06:00 +0000

The Sara Holbrook Community Center announces the 4th annual Festival of Cultures taking place on Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 10am -4pm. The Festival will transform the Dudley H. Davis Center at the University of Vermont into a travel adventure around the globe. The Festival is a day long celebration showcasing unique ethnic foods, dance, art and music. From African drum groups to belly-dancing to traditional Vietnamese songs, performances highlight the cultural diversity of Vermont. Festivities include vendors selling arts and crafts, ethnic foods, henna art tattoos, face painting and hands-on activities for kids and more!

Performances begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.. Please stay tuned for our updated Performance Schedule.

Open to the public, admission to this family-friendly event is by donation. A silent auction at the Festival will be held to support the Sara Holbrook Center and its children's programs. The auction offers an enticing variety of items such as a family membership to Shelburne Museum, passes to Mad River Glen, a chocolate gift basket from Lake Champlain Chocolates, or brunch for two at Leunig's Bistro!

Performers & Vendors Include:

Aikido of Champlain Valley • Face Art by Sara Glasgow • Gifts & Treasures to Buy • Viet Ngu Vermont School • Ethnic Foods • Ngoma Ya Kwetu • Heartfire Henna • Art for Kids • Sambatucada • Burlington Taiko Youth Ensemble • SHCC Circus Act • Nepalese Dance • SHIDAA • Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Theater • White Deer Spirit Drum • Traditional Belly-Dancing • Children's Music • Ethnic Foods

Please stay tuned for more performance and vendor updates! To learn more about participating in this event or sponsorships, please call the Center at 862-6342.

Creating Connections Mentoring Program

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:59:00 +0000

The Sara Holbrook Community Center kicked off its new mentoring program on January 16th with pizza making & games at the Center. Currently, we have eight matches to date and 19 kids waiting for mentors! This winter, mentors and mentees have gone sledding, to the movies, to the Fletcher Free Library, baked cookies, hung out at Pizza Putt, played board games and much more. On February 10th, mentor matches were invited to the Baird Center for a potluck. Everyone left with full bellies!

Fire Safety Week

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Check it out! The SHCC preschoolers paid a visit to our local fire station on North Avenue in Burlington.

Upcoming Soup Supper Event

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Please join us for our annual Soup Supper event on March 12, 2009 for savory soups, scrumptious salads and sinful desserts! This year the event will be held from 5:30p.m. - 8:00p.m. at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center, located at 130 Gosse Court in the New North End of Burlington. Tickets are $25.00 per person. Children 14 and under, accompanied by an adult are free.

Please RSVP by March 1st to (802)862-6342. Please note that special guest Gigi Weisman will be performing during dinner!

And the winner is....

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:36:00 +0000

Emily Ax! Emily won the Sara Holbrook Community Center's Holiday Appeal Card contest this year. This card is sent out to over 3500 people during the holiday season! Emily designed and drew the winter scene that was selected as this year's contest winner all on her own. On Friday, November 21st, Emily was awarded a small gift bag filled with art supplies and a $100 gift card to Borders, which was generously donated by Chittenden Bank.

The Center couldn't have completed the mailing with out the help of several kids in the after-school program. Seven kids helped stamp & seal the 3500 envelopes that were sent out. Staff and kids celebrated all the hard work everyone had done with ice cream sundaes!

What We've Been up to in....Preschool!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:20:00 +0000

The Preschoolers have been busy...enjoy!!!

Teen Drop-In at the Center

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:54:00 +0000

The teens visiting Drop-In program at the Center have been busy cooking up a storm in Fire In the Kitchen, making burritos, homemade mac n' cheese, calzones, veggie lasagna, salad, mashed potatoes, and baked nachos. Each teen involved in Fire In the Kitchen chooses a recipe, shops at the grocery store, prepares and cooks the meal, and then everyone sits down together and eats.

Scrabble has become a daily routine! Staff verse teens, and keep an ongoing tally. A drop-in game invention, "Duck Duck Draw", a spin-off of the childhood game "Duck Duck Goose," has become very popular at the Center.

Tuesday night has been designated as Art Night. The Teens have been creating works of art including, paintings, papier mache, charcoal and pencil drawings. Thursday night is Ladies Night Out- the girls and female staff partake in outings together. Fridays are group field trips & outings. September and October are filled with fall festivities that include, apple picking, the haunted forest, pumpkin carving, corn maze and fall-themed teen dances.

Drop-In is held at the Sara Holbrook Center Monday through Friday from 5:30-8:30 for 6-12 graders. Sign up for a field trip, swing on by for a good meal, or make some art to take home or hang up at the Center.

First Day of Program at the Center!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:53:00 +0000

We had our first day of After-School program yesterday, as well as Teen Drop-In at the Sara Holbrook site. The kids were excited to come back- see their friends, staff (Linda's back!!!) and to just hang out. We have lots of exciting things happening here such as, board games, trips to the park, and playing outside. After-School staff will be creating a monthly newsletter for families to keep everyone up to date on important information, events, closings, and more! Our first newsletter will be released tomorrow, August 29th! You can also check out our website at www.saraholbrookcc.org to view the newsletter.

The teens will be helping Tim, the Teen Director, create a calendar of events for the month of September. After a very rainy summer, we finally have some sunshine and the group is trying to make the most of it before the cold weather kicks in.

REMINDER: The Center will be closed Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day!!! We will reopen on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Summer Exposition 2008

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:23:00 +0000

Summer Programs are over- and boy, were we busy this season! Our kids exlpored the city and beyond! From field trips to Shelburne Farms, the Intervale, berry picking, downtown, and the Fletcher Free Library during Barnes Summer World Academy, to the Alpine Slide, swimming holes, a ferry ride across the lake and fishing in the Bob & Maggie Green Youth Adventure Program, to spending a week at Shelburne Farms for New Arrivals kids- youth were kept busy with enriching activities. To see more photos, please visit our website at www.saraholbrookcc.org.

Applications for the After-School Program are now available. There are still plenty of spots open! Please download a copy of the application on our website, or stop by the Center to pick one up. Remember, applications are accepted on a first come, first serve basis- so hurry because spots will fill up quickly!

North Beach, Preparing for the Cardboard Box Parade, Hanging out at Camp and More!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Summer is in full swing and so is the Barnes Summer World Academy Summer Camp! Today begins the third and final session of summer camp. Please note that there are still a few spots available for those that are interested! The kids have been busy going to the beach Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. The weather has put a damper on the time spent at the beach, but that hasn't stopped the kids from having fun.

The kids have visited ECHO, Lake Champlain Chocolates, the Community Sailing Center, Oakledge Park, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne Farms, the Fletcher Free Library, the Intervale, Church Street (including Ben & Jerry's), and JDK Design. The kids also participated in the WigWag Festival and the Cardboard Box Parade last Thursday and Friday. After several weeks of cutting, paiting and prepping, the kids showed up as bugs, butterflies, bees, dragonflies, robots and even Champ for the Parade! Very Merry Theatre helped the kids prepare and practice for "Jungle Book" during WigWag.

We've had a good start and there is still plenty more to come in the next two weeks! Please visit our website at www.saraholbrookcc.org to see more pictures and to read the Barnes Summer World Academy weekly newsletter, which includes the following week's schedule, pictures, events, Artist of the Week and more!

Summer Camp has started!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:25:00 +0000

The Barnes Summer World Academy began yesterday, June 23rd, with loads of board games, ball games, and a (short) trip to North Beach- the group had to head back to Barnes when the thunder began rolling in! This morning, the kids started the day with games of Uno, Connect Four, Jenga, drawing and shooting hoops with staff outside.

Once again, sixty kids will be enjoying outdoor and indoor activities for six weeks during summer camp, such as arts & crafts, sports and group games, board games, playing outside and on the playground, as well as going on field trips to Ethan Allen Homestead, North Beach, berry picking, bowling, and much, much more!

3rd Annual Night Golf Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:45:00 +0000

3rd Annual Night Golf Tournament
Friday, August 15, 2008
Links at Lang Farm in Essex

Beginning at 5:00 p.m., golfers play nine holes in the daylight to get a feel for the course. After a barbecue dinner, the tournament will resume with golfers playing nine holes in the dark. Under the moonlight, teams will navigate a course lit up by glow sticks and play with a specially designed luminescent golf ball. If you enjoy playing golf, you'll love the unique experience of night golf!

Entry fees are $400 for a four-person team or $125 per person and include green fees, cart, golf balls, barbecue dinner, event gift, awards and social hour. All profits support the Sara Holbrook Community Center. Space is limited, so register soon!

To receive a registration form or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Casey Sexton at 862-6342 or email csexton@saraholbrookcc.org.

Visit our website to see a full list of sponsorship opportunities. Our team registration form is coming soon!

We've had some visitors!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:38:00 +0000

Last week both the after-schoolers and preschoolers were visited by some local artists and musicians! The Preschool class listened and danced to some traditional African drumming and song, performed by Craig Myers and his friend. Each preschooler then got a turn to drum some beats for everyone.

In the After-school program, the Fleming Museum visited as part of their after-school outreach program. Andy Goldsworthy, an artist that creates sculptures using natural materials such as twigs, leaves, grass, stones, bark, shared some of his art through a slideshow with the group. They had to guess the natural materials that each sculpture was made from- it's not as easy as it sounds! After, all the kids got to make their own sculpture using natural materials (flowers, twigs, leaves) to take home. You can see some of their fabulous artwork in these photos!

April Break

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Once again, the kids at the Sara Holbrook Community Center were busy during the April Break with loads of activities! We had great weather all week and got to enjoy many days outside. The kids visited Ethan Allen Homestead, where they explored the river, played in the trees, checked out the beginning stages of the gardens and just ran around! They also spent one afternoon ice skating at Leddy Park Ice Arena, enjoyed "Horton Hears a Who" at the Palace 9 Theater, and created handmade masks at the Fleming Museum.

We are getting ready for our summer programs, including the Barnes Summer World Academy, New Arrivals, and the Youth Adventure Program! Please check out our website at www.saraholbrookcc.org to find more information about these programs, and to download registration forms. Sign up now because spots are filling up quickly!

Festival of Cultures 2008

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:59:00 +0000

The Festival of Cultures that took place on April 5th was again a success with 700 people attending the event! Thank you to all the performers, vendors, staff, sponsors, and volunteers who helped to make our third annual Festival a success! Here are some pictures from the day of the event. Please be sure to check out our website to view more pictures of the Festival!

Festival Announcements!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:32:00 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that Tim Kavanagh, host of Late Night Saturday, will be emceeing part of the Festival of Cultures, on Saturday, April 5th! Tim will be emceeing from 10:00am to 11:30am. Mayor Bob Kiss and John Tracy, Field Representative for US Senator Patrick Leahy, will also be saying a few words as part of the Festival's Opening Ceremonies at 10:40am.

Make sure to come hungry and be prepared to try some new foods! Food Vendors include: Hong's Chinese Dumplings, Samosaman Natural Foods, Euro Restaurant, Pakistani Foods, Ming's Nepalese Daal, Ahli Baba's Kabob Shop and Ducky's Blintzes!

Penny Fundraiser!!!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Feels like Spring outside today (we hope it is here to stay)! And we all know what that means - Spring Cleaning! Do those jars of pennies keep piling up in your closet, garage or basement? Do you have pennies scattered on the floor of your car, or hidden under the cushions of your couch? Don't know what to do with all of those pennies?!

Help the kids at Sara Holbrook Community Center (SHCC) and the King Street Youth Center (KSYC) raise a million pennies! A group of kids from each site are working collaboratively to raise a million pennies or $10,000 ($5,000 for each site).
The money raised will go directly to the children’s programs at both Centers!

On Saturday, April 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., during the Sara Holbrook Community Center’s 3rd annual Festival of Cultures, there will a drop-off site run by the kids to donate those pesky pennies!

The kids will have input as to where the money raised will go to…unfortunately, it probably won’t go toward a swimming pool in the back of the Sara Holbrook Community Center! Visit the SHCC blog in the next couple days to see a video about what the kids want to do with the money.

Festival of Cultures 2008

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:48:00 +0000

Here are some pictures from last year's Festival of Cultures. Over 800 people attended the event and this year we expect an even bigger turnout! Some of the returning performances for this year's Festival include Children Gather Round, Burlington Taiko Youth Ensemble, Sambatucada, SHIDAA, and Temedee Drum Group and Jeh Kulu Dance & Drum Theater. This year, we are grateful for several more acts joining in on the festivities!

We also have amazing craft & food vendors! The Festival also runs a Silent Auction during the event. With almost 100 items, there are lots of great items to bid on, from yoga lessons at Yoga Vermont, to breakfast for four at Penny Cluse Cafe, to a week long stay for six in a Lake Champlain Cottage Rental! All proceeds benefit the children's programs at the Sara Holbrook Community Center.

To check out the schedule or performances and to learn more about the Festival and the Sara Holbrook Community Center, please visit our website at www.saraholbrookcc.org.

See you at the Festival!

Festival Of Cultures 2008: Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Beyond!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:49:00 +0000

We are getting so excited for the upcoming third annual Festival of Cultures 2008! We cannot believe how soon it is coming up: April 5th, 2008, at Burlington High School, just like last year. Here is a snapshot of the poster you will see all around the community soon! Check back for more information by the end of the week!

February Break Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (casey) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Last week the kids had a great time at the Center and around the community. Children Gather Round, a intertribal drumming group, visited the Center on Monday. The kids had a blast drumming and dancing and they look forward to seeing them perform again at the Festival of Cultures on April 5th!