Elevati ng the d re ary of homelessness one pa inting at time.
A nonprofit holds a “paint your dream” event wit h children at a loc al
homeless shelter
Brooklyn, Februa r y 28, 2019– My Lighthous e of IF C held a “paint your
dream” event with children at the Tilden Hall Homeless Fami ly Shelter.
Volunteers broug ht paint, br ushe s, a nd canvase s for children of homeless
shelter to inspire them with art of painting and bring color i nto t heir
otherwise monotonous l ives.
Under the guidance of My Lighthouse of IFC highly qualified inst r uctors,
youngsters enthusiastica lly mi xed colors a nd poured thei r hearts out
646.639.2380 •
COURIER LIFE, M M BR B G ARCH 15–21, 2019 19
Inter national F riendship is a non-profit grassroots organization
established in 1996. Ou r mi ssion is to assist child r en and adults
by providing emergency assi stance and humanit arian aid, as well
a s improvi ng living conditions and social perceptions of youth
domestically a nd worldwide throu gh various educational and enrichment
programming.
During the yea rs of 2008-2010, International F r iendship participated i n
the inter nationa l festival, ”Let’s CHANGE the WORL D for the BET TER”,
which was held under t he auspic es of the UNE SCO at the chi ldren’s ca mp
“A r tek” in Ukrai ne.
The United State s tea m was repr esented by New Yorkers from
Inter national F riendship com munity. Within the festival, there wa s a
contest seg ment called “My Country” in which t he American delegation
won the first place a nd received an honorary title, “ The A mbassador of
Peace”, which wa s included in the children’s g roup of diplomats. T he
festival was very wel l represented by people from 72 cou nt ries. Over ten
t housand pe ople attende d the closing c eremony!
Currently, Int er nationa l Friendsh ip offers ongoi ng week ly free progra ms
at My Li ghthouse Youth Cent er which is located in one of the histor ical
sites in Brookly n. Our current of ferings include:
Vocal , Piano, Guitar, Accordion, Violin, Health Club , Ta i Chi, Hebrew
Langua ge, C onversational Russian, Drama, P uppet Theater, Computer
Literacy, E- c ommerc e, Middle School Mat h, Mental A r ithmetic, Creative
Thinking , D ance, Drawi ng & Painting, Creative Cra f t s & Chess.
Our curriculum is a guide d journey which is strategic ally desig ned for
youth to ga in a stron g sense of inner direction a nd to develop a road map
to ac ademic excellence. We teach commu nity bu i lding though lectu re s,
workshops, and group projects. It is a stron g bal ance of academics,
recreational , en r ichment and cultural activities th at support and
st r engthen the overall development of young people.
on c anvas. Mast er pieces were completed i n two hou rs and now proudly
displayed at the entrance of the shelter.
Ti lden Ha ll is a home to 254 chi ldren. THS shelter welcomed My
Lighthouse of I FC and of fered fu r t her collaboration on youth related
services. By the end of Ma rch 2019, My Lighthou se of IFC pla ns to hold “A
day of Music”, an event which will allow children of Tilden H all try out
dif ferent musical instrument s.
My Lig hthouse of IFC has a va riety of classes offered to it s solid
base of attendees at its Brookly n locat ion, where outreach to various
demog r aphics i s a lso prov ided. The non-profit is wel l known i n local
community and is current ly working closely wit h Commun ity Board 13 .
My Lighthouse of IF C ha s introduced itsel f to Educat ion Cou ncil District
21 and has aspirations to expa nd it s outreach to a wider geo-political a r ea
as well as launch a new ground-bre aking prog ram - Light ke eper.
Lightkeeper is an af ter-school leadership development program with a
curricu lum which is strat egically desig ned for youth to gain a strong sense
of in ner direction and to develop a road m ap to ac ademic achievements i n
c ol lege. The progra m emph asi ze s community buildin g t hough informative
sessions, workshop s, a nd collaborative g roup projects.