Tag: community

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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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Joyous Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa kinara and symbolsKwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26 thru January 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

Like Freedom Schools, St James’ Episcopal Church Austin, and Welcome Table, Inc., Kwanzaa is a story of self-determination. Kwanzaa started during a time when people in the US weren’t allowed to celebrate the traditions or languages or faith of the African diaspora, nor encouraged to learn about our rich and diverse heritage.

Today we uplift the Nguzo Saba, seven principles that represent a guide for daily living studied during Kwanzaa to be practiced throughout the year.

The Greeting

Habari gani? (Swahili for what’s the news) is the official greeting spoken during the 7 days of Kwanzaa. The response is the principle of the day.

Learn More

Click here to learn more about Kwanzaa.

And be sure to visit this blog daily from December 26 to Jan 1, to learn about the Kwanzaa principle of the day.

And please join CDF Freedom Schools Austin at the Carver Museum on Wednesday, December 29, 4 pm – 8:30 pm for the annual Ujamaa Marketplace and Kwanzaa Celebration.

And Sunday, December 26, 11:30 am – 12 pm, join St James’ Episcopal Church and the Union of Black Episcopalians – Myra McDaniel Chapter for the annual Kwanzaa Celebration. Participate in-person (masks required) or online (Zoom).

 

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