Vox Culture presents: "Hunger Stories: What is Hunger?"

Vox Culture is proud to present its latest event, Hunger Stories: What is Hunger? The event will provide a space for additional and deeper discussion on hunger; an issue, as we know, is not only a international but a local problem as well.

It is our immense pleasure to host the leaders/representatives of four outstanding organizations - Houston Food Bank, Urban Harvest, SEARCH Homeless Services and Malawians in Texas Organization - who have graciously donated their time to speak about and share their perspectives on the issue of hunger. Speakers participating in Hunger Stories: What is Hunger? include:

• Brian Greene, President/CEO - Houston Food Bank
• Scott Howard, President of the Board - Urban Harvest
• Charity Dominguez, Community Outreach Team Lead - SEARCH Homeless Services
• Maurina McClean, Chairwoman - Malawians in Texas Organization

Discussion will range from hunger on the international scene, to the local scene, how individuals are affected by the issue, and how certain solutions such as urban gardening can play a role in fighting hunger.

The event will also include a Poetry Slam performed by local poets. These poets will share the power of their words and expressions while addressing hunger in the city and around the world.

Hunger Stories: What is Hunger? will take place on Saturday, July 27, from 6:00PM-8:00PM at the Vox Culture Warehouse (8570 Katy Freeway, Suite 116, Houston, TX 77024) - we recommend using the entrance behind Starbucks on I-10W for the most direct access.

Tickets are $10 per person and includes dinner! Children 12 & Under enter free! You can purchase your tickets at: hungerstorieshttp://www.eventbee.com/v/

Join us for this evening, in our fight against hunger!

To obtain the special free tickets for children 12 & Under, or if you have any questions, please contact Viktor Kopic at viktor.kopic@voxculture.org.

Remembered, Regained: “Telling the Immigrant Story” Review

On Wednesday, February 13, Vox Culture took part in the Houston Arts Alliance’s second event of its Remembered, Regained series, Telling the Immigrant Story. The event took place at the premises of the Houston Museum of African American Culture. Panelists for this event consisted of three individuals who shared the stories of their immigrant backgrounds with the audience.

The first individual was Rathna Kumar. She is a dancer, choreographer, musician and teacher. Anjali, the center for performing arts that she established in Houston in 1975, has trained over 2,000 students from all over the U.S. Rathna has received numerous honors, both for her excellence as a dancer and for her pioneering contributions as a teacher and promoter of classical performing arts. Her immigration story began in her home country of India, and found her way to the United States following her marriage to her husband. Her experience in America was one of both culture shock while also learning of how accepting Americans were of other new and previously not well known cultures. Through the curiosity presented by these Americans she was able to introduce them and teach them dances from her home country, and make a living from what she has a strong passion in.

The second individual was Eugene Irikannu, a native of Nigeria and a member of the Igbo ethnic group, as well as finance manager for the Houston Arts Alliance. He came to the United States in 1997 and moved to Houston for family and community. His immigration story had to do a lot with luck, given that the same day his visa status had expired and was due to leave for Nigeria, he received a phone call saying that he had been selected the winner of the Green Card lottery. Another key aspect that he shared as part of his immigration story was the importance of a good education and for the children of immigrants to keep their culture alive through them, while teaching them values and understanding. To ensure that his children know their mother culture and appreciate their current home, he sends them to Nigeria every summer to live with their grandparents.

The third individual was Michael Cordúa; a Nicaraguan-born American restaurateur, entrepreneur, owner of Cordúa Restaurants and award-winning, self-taught chef. Michael is the owner and executive chef of six restaurants in the Houston, Texas area. He was the first to introduce Houston to Latin American cuisine that was not Mexican. His immigration story began when he came to the United States to pursue a college degree. He graduated with a degree in economics and finance from Texas A&M University in 1980. It was during this time in college that he began to find a certain passion for cooking, when cooking for his friends and roommates. With political upheaval occurring in Nicaragua during this time, Cordúa chose to stay in the United States and worked for a Houston shipping firm, sailing and working as a cook, until it was liquidated in the late 1980s. It is during this period that he would truly teach himself how to cook, with the main reason being that he missed the foods from home.

The event ended with a performance by two of the individuals. Eugene’s son sang a sweet and beautiful Nigerian song on the importance of education. Rathna gave an inspiring and show stopping rendition of a traditional Indian song and dance, called Legend of the Bluebonnets, that left everyone in the room marveled.

What the audience took away from this event was that the immigrant story is different for each individual. Each has their own paths, struggles, opportunities, goals, and achievements. More importantly, every immigrant (like other regular individuals or American citizens) has something to give to this country that makes a lasting impact, whether it be in the form of creating businesses or working hard to make a living, or sharing their gifts in the form of dance, music, food and more. The immigrant story is in fact not only their story, but it’s a story of all of us… one where we all play a part in making a mark on this world for a better life for the generations to come.

Shout Outs from Superhero Academy!

YOU HEARD IT FIRST FROM THE SUPERHEROES: 

“This event was a huge success! The creativity of the concept, the props, the capes and belts and badges, the games.... everything put together made for an inspiring, positive, and fun morning!” ~Cindy Wu aka "Vortex", Blue Tornadoes  

“I remember when I just got there, we had a lot of quiet ones, but towards the ends I remember a lot of the kids were starting to hold my hand and even though it was just a day, I felt that the kids and I were very attached to each other” ~Angel Chan, Orange Flames

“I think the most compelling argument in this is that I couldn't tell who had a better time: the kids or the volunteers.  The volunteers were just glowing after they had got done with the day” ~Daniel Wang aka "Mr. Maniac", Green Mutants

FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM THE SUPERHERO PARTY:

“It was one of our very first training stations and we went to the one where we had to use teamwork to roll the toilet paper over our heads and the hula hoop over our bodies. I could tell that our entire team was very shy, but after working together and cheering each other on, I could see that they were starting to open up. That by far has to be my favorite memory of the event.” ~Angel Chan, Orange Flames

“I am a horrid drawer and everyone else was drawing these amazing works of art on the kids faces. One very little special girl says to me "I only want stars and hearts, so you can draw on my face". Made my day, she had hearts and stars everywhere!” ~Renia Lusby-Butler aka "Purple Rocket", Purple Protectors

"The thoughtfulness in the inception concepts (ie: teamwork, healthy eating, diversity) that the kids discussed about before completing the training challenge. Great job Daniel Wang & Sam Mar for incorporating the pertinent learning into the 6-page script!" ~Alissa Kit aka "The Cross Examiner"

“My favorite memory was when I saw that I had an older kid on my team, I was a bit worried that he would think all this superhero stuff would be cheesy and dampen the mood. It turned out that he loved it! He was the one providing ideas to our cheers, poses and chants. The other kids looked up to him and even called him their older brother. That made my heart smile.” ~Jeena Lee aka "Violet Venus", Purple Protectors

“The smallest girl on Team Thunderbolt conquered the "flying" station like a champ.  She has the sweetest smile but when asked what building she wanted to leap over, she chose the tallest one with a look of ferocity and determination on her face.  The power of empowerment!” ~Stephanie Truong aka "B-Fly", Yellow Thunderbolts

“Our youngest kid responding only to the name of "Superman" the whole day and completely ignoring his real name.” ~Daniel Wang aka "Mr. Maniac", Green Mutants

“When the kids started chanting each other's names during kryptonite bowling!” ~Stephanie Truong aka "B-Fly", Yellow Thunderbolts

“{A young boy} saying that he didn't want to eat the strawberries and yogurt cup, then eating two cups of it after we said it was super food.” ~Daniel Wang aka "Mr. Maniac", Green Mutants

“The oldest girl on our team took initiative and helped count the kids when transitioning from station to station and put on their badges for them.  Favorite quote from her..."help others before you help yourself" ~Stephanie Truong aka "B-Fly", Yellow Thunderbolts

“Darnell, aka Bee-Guy, SO committed to staying in character that he was willing to subject himself to the sweltering heat in his leather jacket the entire day!” ~Stephanie Truong aka "B-Fly", Yellow Thunderbolts 

"Loved the fashion show and all the team chants / poses / cheers! Truly debuted the camaraderie and unity within each group." ~Alissa Kit aka "The Cross Examiner"

“My favorite memory was when the Superheros got captured by villains and the students immediately chased after them all the way to the cafeteria. I don't think any of us expected their indignant reactions because just 1.5 hours before, many of these kids were shy and tentative about participating. By this point, it was evident that they formed really tight bonds with their groups and Superhero leaders. The kids had to collaborate with each other and answer questions correctly in order to break the chains off the door. It was so great to see them work together as a collective whole to free their captured Superheros!  When the chains were broken and their leaders were set free, the kids stormed into the conference room and embraced their leaders with huge hugs and smiles from ear to ear; order in this world was finally restored again. It was such a heartwarming, Kodak moment! :)” ~Denise Liau, Vox Volunteer

“{During the rescue} I was explaining that we needed to come together and use Teamwork to get the Heroes back. They were so concerned for Stephanie aka B-Fly! One of the girls on our team just kept saying "We gotta get her back!! What are we gonna do?!! How are we gonna get her back?!" It was so sweet how they were concerned for her! :-) They were all so excited when the Heroes were released! A truly blessed day!! Thank you for this experience!!”  ~Darnell Allen aka "Bee-Guy", Yellow Thunderbolts

“{During the rescue} We asked them what they learned today that we could use to save Cindy aka Vortex.  One kid said jump, and then another said use our brains. Once we were all inside to save the superheroes, I was proud to see {a young boy and girl} raise their hand to volunteer to save Vortex as they were one of the quietest kids in our group.  Once Vortex was released, {the young girl} gave Vortex a huge hug, and it was once again, very adorable. Overall, it was amazing to see how with such a short period of time, the kids opened up so quickly after the attention and praise/confidence we gave them.” ~Stephanie Wei aka "Whirl Girl", Blue Tornadoes

“I was surprised and touched when the kids ran up and hugged the Superheros after being released by The Sphinx. It really felt like we had made some kind of team bond (even with the more shy kids) at that point.” ~Sam Mar, Orange Flames

“When our kids first arrived, it was immediately obvious some kids needed some encouragement to participate. One little boy, was so shy he was practically stoic. Coming up with the chant and pose without much bonding time was a little tricky for our group, but luckily we had one girl who obviously had cheer-writing experience and we eventually came up with something, thanks to her. As we moved on to the activities, {the young boy} started warming up to Stephanie aka Whirl Girl, who would do most of the games with him. He began to relax a little. After the event was over, he ran up to us while we were packing up in the Green Room, waved and yelled "Bye!" It was neat to see the transformation in his little face in over just 2 hours.” ~Cindy Wu aka "Vortex", Blue Tornadoes  

“A kid asking us in our group if we would come back, even asking us to stay for lunch, and trying to sell it by saying "we're having pizza" to make it more compelling.” ~Daniel Wang aka "Mr. Maniac", Green Mutants

“Towards the end of the day, I was following one of the students talking to his Superhero, and he asked if we would come back anytime soon. I know it's always an amazing thing to be invited to do something, but I think the real telling part is when you've touched somebody so much that they want you to come back. That was awesome.” ~Keith Chan aka "The Professor"

Salvation Army Superheroes for a Day

On Saturday, March 24, 2012, a corp of superheroes descended upon the Salvation Army Family Residence. The superheroes, along with their sidekicks, had one goal in mind: to train up a younger generation of children in intergrity, courage, and strength through a fun event they would never forget. 

Over 40 Vox Culture volunteers poured creative energy into creating a Superhero Training Academy for the children who live at the Salvation Army Family Residence. Vox Culture (www.voxculture.org) is a non-profit arts and advocacy network whose mission is to combine the voices of creativity and cause to fight against poverty and injustice. Vox volunteers were divided into six color-coded superhero groups, and children were randomly assigned to each group. After introductions and a healthy snack, the children were outfitted with capes, belts, and face paint. The Salvation Army parking lot was transformed into a training ground of various stations that challenged balance, teamwork, precision, and speed. The children rotated among the stations and collected badges upon completion of each superhero training skill. Each station also had an "inception question", which touched upon positive "superhero" qualities like perseverance, studying hard, and embracing diversity. Afterwards, teams presented cheers and poses in a rousing fashion show. Special surprise guest H-E-Buddy dropped in to promote healthy eating and give snacks to the children. The event culminated in a graduation ceremony in which participants received a Superhero Academy diploma and together recited the oath inscribed upon it:  “Inner qualities make up a true superhero: courage, integrity, honesty, and compassion. I make this solemn pledge, to use my powers for good, to fight for justice, and protect the innocent.” 

By the end of the event, tentativeness had melted away as the children bonded with their superheroes and sidekicks. Vox volunteers and children were clearly becoming attached to one another, and several children asked the visitors to come back. Vox volunteer Keith Chan reflected, "I know it's always an amazing thing to be invited to do something, but I think the real telling part is when you've touched somebody so much that they want you to come back. That was awesome."

By Cindy Wu (Superhero | Blue Tornadoes)

SPECIAL THANKS to all the wonderful volunteers and planning team that made this event so memorable! Appreciation also goes to our sponsors for providing healthy snacks and props for the training games: HEBuddy from the HEB @ Buffalo Speedway, HEB @ Bunker Hill, HEB @ 18th St and Target @ Meyerland!

SEE MORE 1. PARTY PHOTOS 2. PHOTOBOOTH PHOTOS

Up, up and Awayyy!

Vox Imprint hosts Cape Making Party! The afternoon included 28in party pizza, a plethora of craft stations (cutting, sewing, gluing, spray painting, assembling, wrapping), and the Incredibles movie. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for your hard work in creating capes, badges and party favors in preparation for the Superhero Party @ Savation Army on 3/24. Special thanks to Julie Tien, our Imprint Lead, for planning this fun crafting event!

38 volunteers + 2 hours = 60 capes, 48 belts, 288 badges, 42 favors, 1 cityscape!

Vox Imprint: "Making an imprint on our world through homemade crafts."

"LIKE" us on Facebook and see more pictures from Cape Making!

Next up: Superhero Party @ Salvation Army on Saturday March 24. Sign up to volunteer!