Amala Foundation

A Thriving Community

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:04:32 +0000

We are a thriving community! And it’s because of you.

Your commitment to making your community and your world a better place has allowed us to grow our programs and further the impact they are having on the amazing youth we are fortunate enough to serve.

We’re just a little over a month into the new year and our 2012 calendar is already overflowing (in the best way possible) with opportunities for service, growth and connection. Last year ended on such a sweet note with youth and volunteers from our Young Artists In Service program painting a beautiful mural at the Austin Children’s Shelter (please check out the story and video below). Big gratitude to JP Verdijo for all the love and devotion you put into making that program a reality. And thanks to all the youth and volunteers who used their talent and love to create a piece of art that will comfort, inspire and impact many. The Young Artists in Service now offer free art classes for kids at the Amala Foundation every other Sunday.

This year is already shaping up to be a beautiful one for the One Village Project. Last month, in partnership with the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association and Austin Parks Foundation, youth and volunteers from the One Village Project spent a morning cleaning up Bouldin Creek and the Greenbelt. On February 25th, for the fourth year in a row, the One Village Project will be serving the hungry and homeless at A.R.C.H. On March 17th, the youth and volunteers of the One Village Project will be painting a mural as well as planting the spring garden at the Amala Foundation community center. Both events are open to the public (for more information, please see details below).

We are also excited to announce that REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the 2nd Annual San Quentin Peace Walk which will take place inside San Quentin Prison on June 10th. The Peace Walk will benefit both the 6th Annual Global Youth Peace Summit in Austin as well as the first ever Global Youth Peace Summit in Northern California (Summer 2013). To register for this transformative and one-of-a-kind event, please click here. To find out more information and how you can get involved, please visit our Peace Walk page or find more details below.

Thank you to each of you, for all that you do for our community. Your work in the world, whether noticed or unnoticed, is appreciated… and it is making an impact.

Registration Open for 2nd Annual San Quentin Peace Walk

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:46:37 +0000

when: June 10th, 2012
where:San Quentin Prison, Bay Area
what: 2nd Annual San Quentin Peace Walk benefiting the Global Youth Peace Summit.

Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual San Quentin Peace Walk. The Peace Walk will benefit both the 6th Annual Global Youth Peace Summit in Austin as well as the first ever Global Youth Peace Summit in Northern California (Summer 2013). To register for this one-of-a-kind walkathon, please click here. Please note that registration for the Peace Walk ends on March 31st or when all participant slots have been filled.

To find out more information about the Peace Walk and how you can get involved, please visit our Peace Walk page. The Peace Walk will be taking place on June 10th, 2012 inside San Quentin Prison in Northern California.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 512.476.8884 or email Heather Brovsky at heather@amalafoundation.org.

One Village Service Project at A.R.C.H.

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:30:19 +0000

When: Saturday, February 25th, 1pm – 5pm.
Where: A.R.C.H., specifically the big parking lot across the street – 500 East 7th Street at Neches
What: One Village Service Project – Serving The Homeless & Celebrating Community

We are extending an invitation to each of you. This is an invitation to unite as a village in service to the whole, to celebrate being alive, to act from a place of love and to grow as Leaders for Peace. On Saturday, February 25th, we will serve the hungry and the homeless at A.R.C.H. (Austin Resource Center for the Homeless). The One Village Project has been serving this community now for 5 years…many of you have been a part of this journey. Whether this is your first or twentieth time to serve in this way, it’s always important that we continue to ask ourselves, “Why am I really doing this?”

In response to this self-inquiry, one youth shared her answer with us. She said, “I feed the homeless because I long to meet that hungry part of myself and tenderly nourish it, because I yearn for the face-to-face meeting of my own vulnerability, because I feel a completeness, a wholeness when I offer back to life what I have been so graciously offered, because standing shoulder to shoulder with my village in service to another part of the village feels strong and sweet, because I choose to celebrate this season in a way that feeds my soul.”

In our choice to feed the hungry, may we share the deepest of all gifts – LOVE. May we give RESPECT and dignity to all walks of life. May we see each other as family, and may this act of service not be about pity or obligation, but about the family sharing what it has with each other – this is the quality of being that feeds everybody. May we know the HONESTY of authentic giving. May we have the courage to initiate and to make important the investigation within. May we cultivate a posture of communion… of love, with the sense that there is no separation. May we bring COMMUNITY to those who need it most. And may this season reveal the opportunity to open our hearts to the beautiful reality that we are all ONE VILLAGE.

We will be serving a hot meal, strawberry parfaits and hot chocolate to our brothers and sisters at A.R.C.H. We will also be offering warm clothes, coats and blankets for those in need. If you happen to have any of these cold weather comforts you’d like to donate, please bring them with you to the event. Also, please feel free to bring any instruments you may have to share for a community music jam.

For more information about the event, you can contact Veronica at veronica@amalafoundation.org.

We look forward to sharing this experience with you.

Amala Mural & Garden Day – One Village Project

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:53:31 +0000

When: Saturday, March 17th, 10am-3pm
Where: Amala Foundation
What: Amala Mural & Garden Day – One Village Service Project

Come join us as the One Village Project beautifies our community center. All are welcome. In addition to planting our Spring garden, Young Artists in Service will also be facilitating the painting of a mural right outside the Sanctuary. Be sure to bring clothes that can tolerate paint and dirt. Water and snacks will be provided. Feel free to bring gloves, tools, or paint brushes. If you have any plants, flowers, veggies starts, compost, mulch, paint, or paint brushes you can donate, please email Jonathan at jonathan@amalafoundation.org.

If you have any questions, please contact Veronica at veronica@amalafoundation.org. Look forward to a magical day!

One Village Harvest Day at Urban Roots Farm

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:06:12 +0000

When: Saturday, April 28th, 9am – 12:30pm
Where: Urban Roots Farm – 7651 Delwau Ln, Austin, TX 78725
What: As a village, we will gather to learn about sustainable agriculture as well as work on the farm and help harvest vegetables that will go to feed those in Austin who are in need of food.

Urban Roots is a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture to transform the lives of young people and increase the access to healthy food in Austin. Urban Roots provides paid internships to Austin youth, age 14-17, to work on their 3.5 acre urban farm in East Austin. Each Fall, they hire 24 youth Farm Interns, three youth Assistant Crew Leaders, and three youth Agriculture interns to work with them for the upcoming program year.

During the 25 week spring and summer program, youth get essential life and job skills while growing food for the community. Urban Roots donates 40% of their produce to local soup kitchens and food pantries and sell the rest at farmers’ markets and farm stands in Austin. Additionally, they provide their youth with a variety of workshops in order to ensure a well rounded education on food, agriculture, and serving their community.

Over the years, the Amala Foundation and Urban Roots have had a beautiful partnership, impacting many youth in Austin. Each year, Urban Roots sends several youth that the work with to the Global Youth Peace Summit. Peace Leaders from the Summit have also joined the Urban Roots program after hearing about their amazing work at the Summit.

The Urban Roots farm is located in East Austin near the intersection of Bolm Road and 183. We recommend following the driving directions below as Mapquest and Google Maps often have trouble with the location of the farm and the fact that 183 is a split highway. (The land where the farm is currently located has been called Oasis Gardens and Hands of the Earth in previous years)

Address: 7651 Delwau Ln, Austin, TX 78725

For a map to the farm, please click HERE.

For Driving Directions to the Farm, please click HERE.

Nourish Thyself

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:08:52 +0000

Nourish Thyself is a weekly vegan lunch that is served at 1pm every Wednesday at the Amala Austin Community Center . Each meal is vegan/gluten free, lovingly prepared by a community member for donation. Come be nourished by Amala, community and wonderful food. For more information, please call the Amala Foundation at 512.476.884 or email events@amalafoundation.org.

Thank You Generous Art & Annie Simpson

admin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:06:34 +0000

The Amala Foundation received a beautiful surprise in the mail this past week. It was a donation from Generous Art. For those of you that don’t know; Generous Art is an Austin-based online art gallery dedicated to raising money for nonprofits and artists. It envisions art purchases as community-oriented transactions – rejecting the idea that art collection is a selfish endeavor or an isolated event. Generous Art replaces time-consuming auction fundraisers with a purchase process that simultaneously funds the artists, a nonprofit and the mission of Generous Art.

GenerousArt.org is an e-commerce site featuring one-of-a-kind original works of art made by local artists. When site visitors purchase art, they may select a nonprofit organization to support from a list of beneficiaries or supply an alternate nonprofit.

We are extremely grateful to both Generous Art (thanks Jennifer!) and artist Annie Simpson for their generosity and the beauty they bring to the world. If you’re looking for amazing art and want an easy way to support the Amala Foundation, please visit www.generousart.org. Be sure to choose the Amala Foundation as your non-profit organization of choice.

Generous Art is hosting a studio sale on February 5, 2012 to present the work of Emily Moores. Emily is a recent graduate from the Cleveland Institute of Art where she majored in Painting with an emphasis in Visual Culture and Theory. Emily has exhibited her works at the Dougherty Art Center, Pump Project Art Gallery, Morgan Conservatory, Zygote Press, and The Cleveland Foundation. She lives in Austin, works at Whole Foods, and is a member of the Women Printmakers’ Association.

The studio sale will help Emily raise money to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in March. Keeping in line with Generous Art’s mission, 40 percent of the proceeds from the sale will also benefit a charity of the buyer’s choice. Her drawings and prints can be viewed on GenerousArt.org from January 21 through February 12. Guests may purchase art online before the event or can wait to see the art live on February 5.

When: Sunday, February 5, 2012 from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Where: Texas French Bread

2900 Rio Grande St

Austin, TX 78705

Entry: The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided at the event.

Compassion In Action: Youth Supporting Youth

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:36:08 +0000

The youth at Austin’s Paragon Prep Middle School have raised over $8,200 for the children of the Bhatti Mines School! This is a beautiful and inspiring example of youth supporting, empowering and uplifting each other. The students at Paragon Prep Middle School truly exemplify compassion in action. The Amala Foundation is extremely grateful for all the hard work, dedication and love the students at Paragon Prep Middle School have shown for kids half-way across the world. Although they may never physically meet the children of the Bhatti Mines School, there will always be a bond between the two schools, one built on love, compassion and understanding. The Amala Foundation also wants to recognize the efforts of Emily Bolt; we are blessed to have you in our community and appreciate your commitment to impacting the youth of the world. Thank you, Emily.

Here’s what the students of Paragon Prep had to say about their experience raising money for the children of Bhatti Mines:

For the last three years, Paragon Prep Middle School has exchanged art work and letters with the children of the Sri Aurobindo Bhatti Mines School. Art Teacher, Emily Bolt, introduced children to this grassroots school after meeting the founder of the Bhatti Mines School at the Amala Foundation’s Global Youth Peace Summit in Wimberly, Texas.

Paragon Prep is a private college preparatory middle school with a diverse population of students with big hearts. After learning about how Santosh and his wife established the Bhatti Mines School and learning about the challenges faced by the students who attend, Paragon students were inspired to do something: to serve others. Eighth grade student Allison McHorse said that “When Ms. Bolt told us about the Bhatti Mines School I realized that Santosh was the kind of person that I wanted to be…and therefore have a positive effect on the world.”

Exchanging art and letters has been symbiotically enlightening for Paragon and Bhatti Mines students. Yet, students and their teacher felt compelled to make a lasting difference by starting a school fundraiser for the Bhatti Mines School. In one week, the 158 students of Paragon Prep and Primary raised over $8,200 – enough money to keep the Bhatti Mines School running for a whole year! Paragon students could hardly believe their own accomplishment, “who would have though kids in Austin, Texas could help people on the other side of the world!?” said one Paragon student. Students said “this project has given me a feeling of purpose by helping others who need help and just caring for myself.” Paragon students and staff and so grateful to everyone who chipped in to help, it made a huge impact on both groups of students. “The idea that I helped other kids have a better life is the best thing I could ever ask for” said one Paragon Studen

Paragon Prep and the Sri Aurobindo Bhatti Mines School are forever “bound together by love, artwork, and the gift of education” – Sandra Webber, 8^th grade.

If you would like to help sponsor a child at the Bhatti Mines School and give them an alternative to child labor, please consider making a donation.

Next One Village Service Project

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:05:36 +0000

When: Saturday, January 21st, 9am – 1:30pm
Where: Meeting at Amala Foundation, then moving across the railroad tracks to Bouldin Creek
What: Beautifying our neighborhood including Bouldin Creek

Dear Village,

Our next One Village Service Project is just a week away. We will be gathering at the Amala Foundation on Saturday, January 21st, at 9am sharp. Please don’t be late because we will be moving across the street shortly after 9am to begin our service project.

We will be partnering with the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association, Keep Austin Beautiful, Austin Parks Foundation and Austin Parks & Recreation to clean up and beautify our neighborhood, specifically the greenbelt right across the street from Amala.

After the cleanup, we will gather in the Sanctuary for a check in and some sharing. Snacks will be provided.

If any volunteers can provide rides, please email Veronica at veronica@amalafoundation.org. Please RSVP so we can get a head count of how many people to expect. Please feel free to invite friends and family.

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Free Leaders: The Next Evolution In Youth Leadership Training

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:10:26 +0000

Introducing Amala’s Newest Youth Leadership Training Course, beginning January 2012:

FREE LEADERS™

Youth Leadership has deepened and evolved.

Free Leaders: those utilizing wisdom of foregone lessons ‐ not bound by constraints of convention, who are expansive, fresh, and effective. Free Leaders’ minds and hearts innovate and call out the best in everyone in every moment. They are free to express the entirety of their gifts and inspire that in others. Free Leaders have the strength to stand in integrity, regardless of circumstances.

Led by Kenya Masala and Source Consulting Group, the youth leaders involved with Free Leaders will develop the heart, soul, and mind for the complexities of leading in our current world. Whether they lead in their homes or community, we empower young people with leadership confidence and interpersonal brilliance.

Through direct experience, accessing Multiple Intelligences, the Free Leaders Series unlocks Eight Skills for exceptional youth leadership and empowered youth development.
EIGHT SKILLS

Youth Leaders will develop awareness in these 8 areas:
* Emotional Intelligence * Communication * Creativity
* Impeccability * Being Synergistic * Honesty * Energy
* Introspection

To register for this one-of-a-kind youth leadership training, click HERE. For more details, please visit our youth leadership training page or call 512.476.8884. ***Please note that this training is available for high school age youth.