During the past few weeks, I’ve been volunteering as a writing mentor for the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. The experience has been no less than amazing.

As many of you know, I’ve been actively vocal about AWWP, featured an interview with founder Masha Hamilton last year and re-posted (with permission) “I Am For Sale, Who Will Buy Me?” – one of the most fascinating, real stories I’ve ever read.

This is part 2 of that story, re-published with permission from Masha Hamilton and the AWWP team. Please also take the time to read the amazing words from the AWWP members on the site.

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I Am For Sale, Part II

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Many of us have heard of the organizations that are working tirelessly to make change happen. The ones that often make the headlines are global nonprofit organizations that are breaking down barriers across cultures to promote social justice and human rights.

But we often forget that right next door – in our neighborhoods – is where change can happen and is happening right this minute. Through a close friend,  I recently had the wonderful opportunity to connect to Colin Smith, CEO of NYC-based nonprofit Change for Kids.

Change for Kids partners with New York City public schools to empower underprivileged children by providing them with a broad range of innovative literacy, arts, and music programs. I was eager to find out from Colin’s perspective about his perspectives the most invigorating parts of running – and seeing results – from making cultural change happen.

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Laura: Amazing work that you’re doing at Change for Kids. What’s the most exciting part of it for you?

Colin: The kids are obviously amazing – it never gets old seeing a child who otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity for music education stand up in front of their school and their parents, play fantastically well, and walk from the stage beaming.

Really, though, the entire experience of helping to build a growing organization has been rewarding. Our current leadership team began working together in the fall of 2008. We had thousands of children depending on us for many of their educational opportunities, and we had to ensure funding in some of the most difficult macroeconomic circumstances in recent history.

However, over the past year our team has been able to launch a flourishing volunteer program, quadruple the programming we provide, build a broad community of supporters, upgrade our website and refine our evaluation techniques. It’s been tremendously exciting, and I can’t thank our Board and community enough.

Laura: You’ve created so many fabulous and unique programs – which one is your favorite and why?

Colin: Ha, I don’t think I can answer that question. You’ll have a long conversation on your hands if you get our partner principals started on the music programs. Mr. Majid and Ms. Ai, our violin and piano instructors, truly change their students’ lives.

The Story Pirates are some of the best guys you’ll ever work with, and it’s exciting to see how rapidly the program is growing – they’re in over 70 schools now and are expanding to Los Angeles. The artwork coming out of our Bronx Museum collaboration is incredible. I saw a replica sculpture of Yankee Stadium from a 9-year-old that would have put anything I’ve ever produced to shame.

But the program that’s growing most quickly and that I think best connects our community members is the literacy tutoring. We started the mentor program a year ago by partnering with Fordham and Baruch Universities, enabling 10-20 of their students to provide individual mentoring to elementary school students at our partner schools. It’s inspiring to see the difference the mentors are already making in engaging their mentees and acting as role models.

The other day our Program Director, Mike Quinzio, was in one of our classes when a student raised his hand, asked a question, and wrote notes on the teacher’s answer. The teacher stopped Mike after the class with tremendous excitement to say: “that was so amazing: he’s never asked a question and I’ve never seen him as engaged as he is now.”

Over the next year, we should be working with nearly all of the major universities in New York and targeting high school and corporate partnerships, as well. The response has been overwhelming.

Laura: What’s some of the feedback you’ve received from parents and the community about the impact of the program?

Colin: We recently sat down with our partner principal at P.S. 73 in the Bronx, and one thing he said really struck me: “I hear all the time from happy parents, ‘only in a private school do you get these kinds of services.’” Despite the great efforts being made, there is a real gap in the opportunities available at different schools in our city. To the extent CFK can change that for one school, then four schools, then more, equal opportunity goes from being a goal to a tangible change.

Laura: What’s next for Change for Kids?

Colin: For over a decade, we’ve provided art, music and literacy enrichment so that our students receive the same opportunities as those in more affluent neighborhoods. In fall 2010, fund raising willing, we’re planning to add a fitness and nutrition component to our programming. We’ve seen that at our partner schools, students can go an entire semester without receiving any fitness education.

In some cases, budget gaps and overcrowding are even leading to fitness facilities instead being used for storage. Given the health and wellness problems facing our broader community, that’s just not something we should accept.

We’re holding an event specifically supporting health and fitness programs for our schools: Run for Kids on the evening of May 6^th, a 5k in Riverside Park. Runners who are interested in participating can register or get more information on our website: www.changeforkids.org or follow us on Twitter.

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Many moons ago, I worked as a community educator at a domestic violence center. I spoke to female and male prisoners, young teens and police officers, sharing stories about the dynamics of domestic violence, spreading the word and searching for advocates.

These conversations changed me for life. No class in college could ever teach me what I learned during these years.

After I left, it was extremely important to me to continue to educate myself on the topic even after I’d left the job – from books, movies, talking to people – and found Anna Quindlen’s Black and Blue through my research.

Domestic violence is a serious topic that deserves much attention. And even though the book is fiction, Quindlen keeps it amazingly real.

I’ll keep it too a simple truth, a key lesson from my reading that only reinforced what I’d learned through my teachings, the one fact I know to be true.

Domestic abuse is not someone else’s problem.

Quindlen’s masterpiece of a novel features Fran, a motivated young woman married to an initially captivating man, but ultimately abusive violent husband. After numerous, horrific events, she leaves him, starts a new life with her son, changes her name. I’ll leave it at that – as you can imagine, the increasing anticipation of ‘what’s next’ and the ultimate denouement pump the reader full of adrenaline.

Most of us are fully aware of the male/female dynamic of domestic abuse. But it’s important to remember is that domestic violence can take many forms. It can be between siblings, it can be wives abusing husbands, it can be adult children abusing their more helpless, aging parents.

The thread between them all is that there exists a guise of intimate connection that should presuppose kindness and security, but ultimately is a lie. It’s a dynamic of power, plain and simple.

Many often ask, “Why doesn’t she/he just leave if they’re being abused?”

I always challenge those individuals to research the topic a bit more before they judge. It’s actually never that simple.

I’ll leave it at that – this isn’t meant to be a downer of a review, but every once in a while, we need to recognize the books, articles, whatever, that educate us in a more serious way. They’re just as important as the ones that make us smile.

Just speak up.

There’s no shame in talking about topics that are not OK. There’s no shame in having a voice.  Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner are two women who have inspired me to keep my voice alive about this topic. Friend Kelly Diels started a massive conversation on violence, sex and power – she spoke up, speaks truth, stays real.

Fifteen years ago, we did not have the power of the Internet, blogs, Twitter to spread ideas like wildfire. In many countries, people still aren’t able to speak up. Use these privileges for good. Speak up for yourself, speak up for others.

Is there a social or political cause about which you feel passionate? Let’s keep the conversation going – post a comment – use your name or stay anonymous – take a stand. What you have to say means something and helps us keep it real.

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