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buildOn on the Red Carpet with Alexandra Chando

June 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Star of the Lying Game, Alexandra Chando, and her close friend Tash Sakkas are building a school with buildOn in Malawi. To kick off their campaign, Alex and Tash hosted their friends, family, colleagues and fans at Aventine in Hollywood to raise awareness and funds.

“For the longest time I’ve wanted to go to Africa and do something, some service. I love what buildOn stands for, I love what they do.”
 
- Alexandra Chando

The evening was a great success. Guests included Alexandra’s cast mates Charisma Carpenter, Christian Alexander, Alice Greczyn, Blair Redford, and Allie Gonino

Alexandra and Tash will be traveling to Malawi with buildOn in August to break ground on the school and learn more about Malawian culture and why education is crucial for development.” You can support their campaign here.

Or, you can bid on one of the items in their online silent auction! (Amongst the items you can bid on are a shopping trip with Alexandra or a tour of the General Hospital set).
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Filed Under: buildOn In The News, Donors, Features, Malawi, Video

buildOn Students Empower Homeless Children Through Culture Club

June 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

buildOn students from Philadelphia spent their spring break organizing a day camp for children at the Jane Addams Place shelter.

Students from Philadelphia spent their spring break organizing a day camp for children at the Jane Addams Place shelter.


buildOn Philadelphia region students are changing lives of children living in poverty. buildOn members from Upper Darby High School, West Philadelphia High School and our citywide program volunteered at Jane Addams Place, a temporary shelter for mothers and children.
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Filed Under: Features, Philadelphia

Yahaira’s Story – Triumphing over Bullying

May 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

“The kids in buildOn are really nice and never judge me. They never pick on me. I feel really supported by everyone in buildOn. They are not there to judge you, they are there to support you and help everyone and everything.”

– Yahaira Read

 
Yahaira Read didn’t always feel good about herself. As early as the 5th grade, she was being bullied and teased every day by both her peers at school and her brothers at home. They would call her skinny, they would tell her that her breath smelled bad, and they would tell her that she looked sickly. The verbal and mental abuse became so bad that eventually Yahaira just shut down.

“I was always the girl who wouldn’t talk to anyone,” said Yahaira, “It made me feel so bad. I would just go to my room and be so upset that I would hit myself.” More than anything Yahaira needed a friend, someone who would support her unconditionally. Then, Yahaira went to high school and met Stacy.
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Filed Under: New York, Breaking the Cycle, Features, Video

buildOn Chicago Breakfast!

May 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Chicago-Thanks
We had a fantastic time at our annual buildOn Chicago Breakfast event held Tuesday at the Hilton Chicago. A record-breaking 700 people attended, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was our keynote speaker, and challenged buildOn to double the number of students we are engaging in Chicago!

Student speaker Alejandro Garcia shared his experience of being shot by gang members in his own neighborhood. Despite the trauma of nearly losing his life to gang violence, he’s committed to making a difference in other people’s lives through service. buildOn alumna Amanda Perez spoke about how buildOn gave her hope while she was homeless for two years in high school. She’s since graduated from college, married and is ready for a career in social work.
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Filed Under: Chicago, Features

George’s Story – Fighting Against Stereotypes

May 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

George-Blog

“As a young black male, society underestimates my work ethic and my reliability. However, buildOn has showed me that this statement is not true. I prove these stereotypes wrong every time I get up to do service. Now, thanks to buildOn, I follow my own my mind and believe that I can make a change in my community”
- George McLeod

 
Banana Kelly High School, in the South Bronx, is not an easy place for students even under the best circumstances. On average, only thirty percent of incoming freshman will remain in school and graduate. It has been led by three different principals in the last three years alone, and only one teacher currently employed at Banana Kelly taught there last year. Such drastic changes, while part of an ongoing effort to reinvent and revitalize the school, take their toll on students. From one year to the next, they might confront—quite literally—an entirely different school.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: New York, Breaking the Cycle, Features

Highlights from the buildOn Breakfast

May 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

buildOn celebrated Chicago youth during Tuesday’s annual buildOn Breakfast at the Hilton Chicago. This year Mayor Rahm Emanuel was our keynote speaker. He touted how Chicago’s youth benefit through programs, such as buildOn, that are empowering young leaders through service and education with programs like buildOn. We’re proud to say that 93 percent of buildOn seniors graduate and go on to college!

Read the event’s highlights told through Storify after the jump! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chicago, Features

Cristian’s Story – Overcoming Anger

May 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Cristian

“By simply spreading the word of what we are doing with buildOn,
you can help change the image of Chicago’s youth
from gangbangers to change makers.”
- Cristian Uribe

 
One day, during his freshman year of high school, Cristian Uribe was attacked. Four men followed him from school, robbed him, beat him, and left him lying on the ground with a fractured jaw.

This type of violent event is hardly unusual in many Chicago neighborhoods. Last school year alone, 319 Chicago Public School students were shot. Twenty-four of those shooting were fatal, most were gang related. In Cristian’s neighborhood of McKinley Park the Satan Counts and Latin Disciples rule, but Cristian doesn’t know for sure who jumped him – it all happened so fast. He only knew that they wanted what little money he had, so they took it.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Breaking the Cycle, Chicago, Features

Amanda’s Story – buildOn Alumni Flourish

May 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

“buildOn was really something that impacted my life in high school for the greater good. It helped me when I went off to college; it gave me that endurance to just keep fighting. To keep moving on.”

– Amanda Perez, buildOn Alumna

 
The relationship between Amanda Perez and her mother had always been difficult. Amanda often lived with others, her grandmother or friends, while her mother focused on her own needs. Then, when Amanda was 14, she came down with severe pneumonia and was hospitalized. When she recovered she found out that while she had been fighting her illness; her mother had moved halfway across the world to the West Bank with her new husband. She didn’t even tell Amanda goodbye. Without a parent to support her, Amanda spent her high school years transitioning from one place to the next, sometimes living with family and friends, much of the time being on her own.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Breaking the Cycle, buildOn alumni, Chicago, Features

Teza Technologies – Corporate Philanthropy Inspired by Students

May 13, 2013 by

“buildOn, in my mind, is the movement that allows other people to achieve their dreams.”

– Misha Malyshev

 
Meeting Misha Malyshev today, CEO and Founder of the global investment firm Teza Technologies, you would never guess he came from humble beginnings. While an expert in international trading now, Misha and his wife arrived to the United States from Russia with no more than $100 between them both, a great education, and a drive to succeed.

Misha is a testament to the American Dream — that anyone, no matter their background, can achieve success through education and hard work. But with U.S. high schools crumbling and the dropout rate climbing, that dream has become more like a fantasy for many students. That’s why Misha has fully committed himself and his company to supporting educational opportunities like buildOn’s program for Chicago students, so that every child has the same opportunity to succeed that he had.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Breaking the Cycle, Chicago, Donors, Features, Video

buildOn Bay Area Dinner Recap

May 9, 2013 by

We had a great time at this year’s buildOn Bay Area Dinner, where 500 buildOn supporters came out to the Westin St. Francis to raise money $720,000 for our programs in the Bay Area and school construction projects around the world. Guests included members of our Honorary Committee and buildOn Board Members, as well as notable philanthropists such as Manuela Testolini and her husband, musician Eric Benet.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Bay Area, Donors, Features
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