Grandville AvenueGrandville AvenueArts & Humanities

Grandville Avenue Grandville AvenueArts & Humanities

Mark your calendar for…Mark your calendar for…

Dia del Sol 2012Dia del Sol 2012A celebration to benef it the A celebration to benef it the

Cook Arts Center Cook Arts Center and the and the

Cook Library CenterCook Library CenterThursday, June 21, 5-7:30 pm

At the Cook Arts Center644 Grandville Avenue SW

644 Grandville Avenue SW

Grand Rapids MI 49503

Phone: (616) 742-0692

www.gaah.org

Non-Profi t

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Grand Rapids, MI

Permit No. 153

Grandville AvenueGrandville AvenueArts & Humanities

BELIEVE 2 BECOMEGrandville Avenue Arts & Humanities is part of a community-wide effort known as Believe 2 Become that is mobilizing organizations and individuals to help students of Grand Rapids Public Schools achieve academic success. Our programs align with the B2B principles of recognizing the unlimited potential of our children and youth, setting high expectations, and creating opportunities for them to realize their dreams and reach their potential.

Active in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood and three other “hope zones” in the city, Believe 2 Become initiated its Summer Learning Academy in 2010 to counteract the summer learning loss phenomenon. Studies show that most children lose ground in math and reading over the summer months, but the problem is more prevalent among low-income children. As these learning losses accumulate year after

year, many low-income youth are significantly behind their more affluent peers by the time they reach high school.

This past summer more than 100 children improved their reading, writing, math, and critical thinking skills through programs at the Cook Arts Center and the Cook Library Center. At the Arts Center, Program Director Steffanie Rosalez worked with our instructors to weave reading, writing, and math into our classes. In a program titled “Exploring Our World,” Arts Center students studied Scotland, Japan, Chile, Hawaii, and India through sculpture, drumming, clay, painting, music, creative writing, dance, theater, and gardening. They read and wrote about countries, cultures, artists, and art forms, and they honed their math skills through calculations in art and clay class and by breaking down rhythms in dance and music class.

“Exploring Our World” included a local component as well. The students visited agencies in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood and went on field trips to the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and Schuler Books & Music. They read about and visited La Grande Vitesse and created Calder-inspired sculptures. They saw the Broadway Grand Rapids production of Shrek at DeVos Hall and Robin Hood at Circle Theatre. After Robin Hood the students toured Aquinas College where they had a lively discussion about colleges and careers.

The students learned about neighborhood history with a special tour of the Grand Rapids Public Library Archives. Here they viewed photos and maps of their houses and neighborhood landmarks a century ago. “I’ve never seen kids so interested in history,”

Luis, Ronny, and 28 other children and

Luis, Ronny, and 28 other children and chaperones rode The Rapid to the GRAM.

chaperones rode The Rapid to the GRAM.

Dec

embe

r 20

11

Ten-year-old Maria was a program assistant at the

Ten-year-old Maria was a program assistant at the

Cook Library Center last summer.

Cook Library Center last summer.

Grandville AvenueGrandville AvenueArts & Humanities

Grandville AvenueGrandville AvenueArts & Humanities

MissionMissionTransforming lives in the Grandville

Avenue neighborhood through

reading and the arts. Celebrating

the community’s cultural richness.

Board of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsAndy Angelo

Tina Bain

Marcia Borowka

Marie Brill, Secretary/Treasurer

Jim Foerster

Jorge Gonzalez, Vice President

Debb Kalmbach, President

Dick Ortega

Laura Radle, 2nd Vice President

José Rosario

Gary Stark

StaffStaffMarjorie Kuipers,

Executive Director

Steffanie Rosalez,

Arts Center Director

Sue Garza,

Library Director

Madeline Kaczmarczyk,

Pottery Studio Manager

Eva Jenson,

Outreach Coordinator

Noemi Ashley,

Receptionist

Edwin Campos,

Library Assistant

Irma Hernandez,

Housekeeping

Grandville Avenue Arts &

Humanities is a 501(c)3

organization. All contributions

are tax deductible to the full

extent of the law.

Grandville Avenue

Arts & Humanities

644 Grandville Avenue SW

Grand Rapids MI 49503

Phone: (616) 742-0692

Fax: (616) 742-5499

www.gaah.org

Steffanie said. “They were so fascinated by the library’s archives that they asked if they could visit again.”

Children at the Cook Library Center were equally busy during the summer months. Our Library was one of five programs across the country selected to pilot The Electric Company, a new PBS KIDS summer learning curriculum. Led by Outreach Coordinator Eva Jenson, 18 students ages six to nine viewed lively video segments, played educational computer games, and completed worksheets that strengthened their math and literacy skills. These children started the 2011-12 school year with over fifty new vocabulary words in English and Spanish.

Librarian Sue Garza and her team of staff and volunteers led our older students in reading, writing, science, math, and computer activities. The Summer Reading Club included a competition, and participants rose to the challenge. Thirty-two children read a total of 1,050 books over an eight-week period. The top two readers, Julio and Manuel, read an impressive 159 books each!

We appreciate community partners like Believe 2 Become, for they are helping us provide the tools our children need to succeed in school and in life. The sky’s the limit for these bright, creative youngsters.

John HuntingHuntington BankRalph HutchinsonWin and Kyle IrwinSue Ann JabinAnthony Kroes and Michelle JeffriesJaye Beeler and Richard JelierBruce and MerriBeth JelsemaErma JohnsonMadeline KaczmarczykCelia KaiserDebra and Kevin KalmbachKatherine Smith KennedyHelen KinsworthyKen KolkerMelinda and John KopecMary KretschmanSylvia KrissoffLacks Enterprises, Inc.Donna LareauAnicia LatterMarcie and Mark LewisSuzanne Butler LichLincoln Country ClubTom and Anne LoganPatrick J. LonerganElizabeth Welch and Jerry LykinsMacatawa BankMaggie’s KitchenMarco New American BistroChet and Elaine MaternowskiTim Chester and Henry MatthewsJamie and Gerilyn MayMeijer, Inc.Hank and Liesel MeijerMercantile Bank of MichiganCarl MeyeringMichigan Council for Arts and Cultural AffairsErica MillbrooksMiller Johnson, Attorneys & CounselorsThe Mines Golf CourseGretchen MinnhaarMOSS TelecomPatrick and Christine MuldoonDennis Nagelkirk Mary and Jim NelsonDiane NiehofPampered BeginningsPanopoulos SalonPapers PlusPepsi Beverages CompanyJulie Denko PetriePilgrim’s Run Golf CourseLaura and David RadleAllen and Charline RiceReb RobertsRocky Mountain Chocolate FactoryRod and Barb Rodriguez

Thank You!GAAH received cash or in-kind donations from these individuals, agencies, foundations, and businesses from November 15, 2010, to November 15, 2011. We are grateful for the generous support of each and every one.

Amway CorporationAmway Grand Plaza HotelAndres AbreauLynn AndersonJudith AndersonAnonymousArts Council of Greater Grand RapidsTina and Mark BainBaldwin FoundationBob and Juanita BaltierrezKelly BaxterJohn and Susan BerginJerry BertaEdith BlodgettCarrie BoerMarcia and Ken BorowkaEric BouwenMarie BrillBob and Kathy BrowerAnna Moore ButznerCafé AromasCalvin College/Boer-Bennink HallCameron FoundationAide CedilloCherie Inn

Marti Childs Circle TheatreJerry and Toni ClayThe ConservatoryConsumers Energy CompanyPeter C. and Emajean Cook FoundationCookies by DesignJohn CoulterJen and Scott CrowleyCurves for WomenAnne Armstrong and Tim CusackDTE Energy FoundationEric DeLongPete and Tuti DeMaagdDick and Betsy DeVos Family Fdn.Douglas and Maria DeVos FoundationRichard and Helen DeVos FoundationJeanne Elders and Ron DeWaardCinthia and Randy DewaldAndrew DeYoungBetsy and Stanley DoleDominican Sisters - Grand RapidsEileen Schwarz-Duty and Jimmy DutyEastern Floral & GiftsLouise and John EdisonAaron and Aimee EinfeldCami EstepTodd and Erin FettigNorma FickTommy FitzgeraldFerris State UniversityJim FoersterForest Hills Fine Arts CenterLinda and Tony FosterFountain Street ChurchJeff and Sheila FrankFrederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture ParkCharles and Mary FrydrychReyna GarciaLaurie and Don GardnerMarjorie GellGene and Tubie GilmoreBeth GoebelGrand Rapids Art MuseumGrand Rapids Ballet CompanyGrand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids Community FoundationGrand Rapids Grifffi nsGrand Rapids Public LibraryGrand River BankGrand Valley State UniversityKimberly and James HamiltonTerri and Michael HandlinThe Highland GroupDirk and Vickie Hoffi usMeegan HollandHop Scotch Children’s StoreHopcatJ.C. Huizenga

Ande RoeserMilt and Barb RohwerRoMan ManufacturingSteffanie RosalezJosé RosarioMaureen RoslanicHelen RossanoMary Ann SaboSan Chez A Tapas BistroVernis SchadSebastian FoundationFred SebulskeSelect BankService Reproduction CompanyLarry and Elaine ShayStella ShieldsGeoff ShirleyPam and Paul SlaghSlemons FoundationEdward and Patricia SmithAnn Sullivan and David SoetSouthland Auto WashThe SparrowsEd SpicerKathleen Underwood and Gary StarkState Farm InsuranceSteelcase, Inc.Dolores SteinJulie and John StiversStudent Advancement FoundationJerome and Judy SubarSteele and Mary TaylorThomas M. Cooley Law SchoolMelissa ThompsonMarilyn TitcheTravel Gear ApparelUniversal Forest ProductsUrban Institute for Contemporary ArtsVanAndel ArenaSteve and Cindy VanAndelVandenberg JewelersKimberly and Greg VandenBergVanderWeide Family FoundationKen and ChiChi VanDykeNorma and Buzz VanKuikenVarnum LLPMary VermeerVictoria VuletichWOOD-TV8Gary and Jan WalkerWalker Ice & Fitness CenterAndrea WallaceWege FoundationWest Fulton Dairy QueenWest Michigan WhitecapsPhil WilsonSusan WoldKate & Richard Wolters FoundationRichard and Barbara Young

Honor and Memorial GiftsCarole R. Connell in memory of Tim Johnson

David & Jennifer Khorey in honor of Katherine KhoreyRuth Sklar in honor of Suzanne Remes

Kurt and Sharon Stiansen in memory of José NarezoCat & Roger Timermanis in honor of José & Lynne HernandezCat & Roger Timermanis in honor of Michael & Mary Stearns

Edwin & Joanne Weis in honor of Gary & Jan Walker

In Memory of Peter C. CookAmway Corporation

Dennis Baxter Daniel & Pamella DeVos

Dick & Betsy DeVos Douglas & Maria DeVos

Marjorie KuipersBob & Cherie VanderWeide

Peter M. Wege