Category: Freedom School

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Kwanzaa at the Carver Museum 2023

Join CDF Freedom Schools® Austin as we celebrate family, community, and culture with the Carver Museum and Cultural Center for the annual community Kwanzaa Celebration & Ujamaa Marketplace held on

Kwanzaa kinara and symbols

Saturday, December 30, 2023
1 pm to 3 PM
at the
George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center‎
1165 Angelina St.
Austin, TX 78702

Admission is free and open to the public. Bring the whole family to this intergenerational event!

Read Aloud Guest Book Cover: You Will Do Great Things by Amerie, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa Headshot of Qi DadaSee our Freedom Schools scholars and wasaidizi on stage, as we share the principles of Kwanzaa, and offer Freedom Schools cheers and chants and a read aloud with our guest reader Qi Dada reading You Will Do Great Things by Amerie, as a part of the annual community program that also features performances and Kwanzaa candle lighting ceremony.

(Scholars and wasaidizi interested in participating on stage in the program can sign up on our leadership opportunities form. SLIs, past and present staff, and alumni are also encouraged to sign up.

Youth and adults interested in serving the community at the Kwanzaa event (greeting, setting up, and helping as needed), please sign up on our volunteer form.)

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Support Trunk or Treat at Norman-Sims Elementary School

Volunteer to support CDF Freedom Schools Austin and friends at Norman-Sims Elementary School PTA’s
first annual Trunk or Treat celebration on
Thursday, October 26, 2023, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

With the help of friends like Reading Buddies, Salesforce, United Way, and CDF Texas we’re filling 5 “trunks” in the fleet of resources, goodies, and fun. We need your assistance to help make it a successful event for PK-5th grade scholars and their families. 

How you can help:

Sign up to volunteer at Norman-Sims on Oct 26. You can bring:

    1. You and your vehicle to join the fleet of fun (please sign up on the list, we only have space for 5 vehicles)
    2. Your helping hands, creativity, and enthusiasm to make this a fun-filled occasion for 200 pre-K through 5th graders. Our space-themed decorations and goodies celebrate that Reading Is A Blast! We need lots of volunteers!
    3.  Dress up in a theme costume: think astronauts, rockets, planets, galaxy, universe, Hidden Figures, NASA, stars.  (Or dress up in your favorite costume in general. It’s all fun.)
    4. Bring your children and family to the event!

At the sign-up link (https://tinyurl.com/ServeFreedomSchoolsAustin), you can also learn about more opportunities to volunteer in our CDF Freedom Schools community, either at specific events, or for special projects and ongoing needs.

Questions? Please contact [email protected]


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Make a difference this summer serving on staff at Freedom Schools Austin

Welcome Table is seeking an enthusiastic and experienced professional to serve as the summer 2023 Site Coordinator for CDF Freedom Schools® Austin. The site coordinator is responsible for the daily operations of the site, supervising an intergenerational team of staff, and connecting with caregivers and volunteers to ensure effective implementation of the proven Freedom Schools enrichment model. Click HERE for details and follow the QR code to apply today. 

We are also hiring 6 Servant Leader Interns for our summer program. Successful candidates will have a heart for inspiring children, at least one year of college completed with minimum 3.0 GPA, and a passion for changing the world. The Servant Leader Intern (SLI) is the classroom leader for 10 scholars at Freedom Schools. SLIs spark scholars’ skill-building and excitement, maintain a safe, effective, fun, and caring classroom, and lead activities in the integrated reading curriculum and STEAM. Follow THIS LINK for more information and QR code to apply.

C’mon, y’all, join the movement! Questions? We would be so happy to hear from you at [email protected].







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Museum Day! Freedom Schools Pop Up at the Austin History Center

Austin Museum Day

Freedom Schools! Join us Sunday, September 18, 2022, at 2 pm to 3pm at the Austin History Center for Austin Museum Day. Admission is free!  (Note AHC is open from 12pm – 4pm. CDF Freedom Schools Austin will meet up at 2pm, but you can arrive at any time during their open hours.)

The museum will have light refreshments for visitors but be sure to eat lunch on your own before you arrive.

No registration required to attend (but we’d love it if you can let Ms Simone know that you’re planning to attend so she knows to look out for you. RSVP here: https://welcometable.breezechms.com/form/austin-history-center).

Austin History Center
810 Guadalupe St., (512) 974-7385 www.austinhistorycenter.org
Facebook: @AustinHistoryCenter Instagram: @austinhistorycenter

Along with two new exhibits, AHC will have activities for kids and families including Zine and printmaking, refreshments, a “Preservation Station” to show you how to preserve your family’s history and more!

(Scholars may remember our summer Read Aloud Guest Dr. Jacqueline Smith-Francis, African-American Community Archivist, Austin History Center | Austin Public Library. She read the book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water this summer during CDF Freedom Schools Austin. Special thank you to Dr. Jacqueline for inviting us to visit the Austin History Center for Museum Day.)

Want to make it a full Sunday Fun Day family outing? (We know that learning is fun!) Here are some ideas to choose from:

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Free show tickets! See performance of SW!NG OUT

We’ve been gifted complimentary (free) tickets to a performance of SW!NG OUT on Friday, September 16, 7:30PM at Bass Concert Hall (UT Austin), 2350 Robert Dedman Dr, Austin, TX 78712

Ticket holders can also attend (optional) a pre-performance discussion with company members at 6:45 pm in Bass Concert Hall – Level 6.

CDF Freedom Schools Austin, N2N, and Welcome Table, please submit a request for tickets if you’re interested in being added to our guest list. Sign up now. Supplies are limited. Sign up here: https://welcometable.breezechms.com/form/swing_out_tickets

About SW!NG OUT
Acclaimed choreographer and Dance Magazine cover star Caleb Teicher brings the thrill of the swing dance world to Bass Concert Hall for their Austin debut. With live music by the acclaimed Eyal Vilner Big Band, Lindy Hop champions use the joy, fire, and fight of competitive and social swing dance as a launching pad to explore and subvert traditional gender roles. The audience is invited to join the action in the second half for an onstage social dancing experience called The Jam. The New York Times urges “If you need a break, take one. Swing it out.”

Read: SW!NG OUT CELEBRATES SPONTANEITY AND THE BLACK VERNACULAR TRADITION

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Rock the Park, Saturday, May 13

Rock the ParkJoin Freedom Schools for a family night out at Rock the Park – KUTX outdoor concert at Mueller Lake Park, 4550 Mueller Blvd, Austin, TX 78723, featuring SaulPaul 6:45 pm and Classic Hip Hop Live 7:30 pm, Saturday, May 13 (rain date: Saturday, May 20)

(As a past guest during our summer program, SaulPaul is no stranger to CDF Freedom Schools Austin. And Classic Hip Hop Live artist scholar emcee Bavu Blakes will visit us this summer—he has also generously donated copies of his book for our summer 2022 scholars.)

Arrive early at 4:30 pm for a Freedom Schools meetup and playdate before the show. (It’s a great park! We’ll even bring some hip-hop themed books to read.) Bring a blanket or sit on one of ours (chairs aren’t allowed, but you can bring stadium cushions or pillows). We’ll provide some snacks and cold water, but feel free to bring your own picnic basket (coolers are allowed, glass containers and alcohol are not). Food trucks will also be available.

This will be a fun evening in the park, where scholars, and their parents and families, can show off their moves dancing to new and iconic hip hop music.

Volunteers interested in arriving early (around 4pm) to help us set up blankets and snacks, and save space for our families in the park, please let us know. Sign up here.

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Community Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by Huston-Tillotson University Ambassadors

Saturday, April 16, 2022, 10 AM
Huston-Tillotson University Campus
900 Chicon St
Austin TX 78702
Enter on Chalmers Avenue.

Fun for the entire family!

Bring your own basket. Age divisions. Candy. Meaning of Easter story time. Prize eggs, including a scholarship prize golden egg. (There are also some prize eggs that allow winners to choose their own book, donated by CDF Freedom Schools Austin.)

https://htu.edu/47494/community-easter-egg-hunt

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Black History Month Kids Day at the Carver Museum

Join Freedom Schools on February 26 at the Carver Museum Freedom Schools’ in the house.

Join us as we introduce author illustrator Don Tate, during the Carver Museum’s Black History Month Kids Day! Saturday, February 26, 11am to 3pm.

We’re excited to drop everything and read a copy of his book Swish: The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters.

The event, which features lots of activities for all ages, is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit: Black History Month Kids’ Day! Tickets, Sat, Feb 26, 2022 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

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Free At-Home Covid Tests

Hey, It’s Announcements!

Free test kits mailed to you

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.

Order your tests now so you have them when you need them. www.covidtests.gov

African American Youth Harvest Foundation has FREE at-home Covid Test Kits in Austin

AAYHF still has COVID-19 Home Test Kits available for FREE while supplies last until May 2022!

Let them know you’re stopping by our office to pick up, Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm.

Limit 5 per family.

Register with this link: REGISTER HERE!

AAYHF Office

6633 Hwy 290 E., #307, Austin, TX 78723

email: [email protected]

AAYHF Covid Vaccine Clinic

The African American Youth Harvest Foundation has a free COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic that’s open Monday – Friday, 9am – 2pm,

AAYHF Office 6633 Hwy 290 E., #307/303, Austin, TX 78723

A $25 HEB gift card will be given to first time vaccinations after completing a survey.

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