SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hey everyone and welcome to the Music is Our Hero podcast, hosted by Grammy Award winners Ray V. This is the spot where we celebrate creativity, share stories, and lift each other up in the art. Each episode will dive into conversations that inspire, empower, and spark new ideas. Because art isn't just about what we make, it's about the community we build together. So grab a steep, get comfy, and let's grow in creativity side by side. The music is our hero podcast for creativity, community, and inspiration come to life.

SPEAKER_04 0:43

Alright, here I am today in Drowning Fish's um live room with um Are you guys the founders of Build a Bridge?

SPEAKER_02 0:51

No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 0:52

No, no, no. So you work for Build a Bridge?

SPEAKER_02 0:55

I work for Buildabridge.

SPEAKER_04 0:56

Okay. And your name is Ommi and then Lizzie. And Lizzie. All right, cool. So I am super excited to have these two. Ummy hit me up a few weeks ago, and it seems like what Build A Bridge is all about is really good for the community, for kids, right? Uh music and all that stuff. Yeah. What's like for if someone was hearing about Build A Bridge for the first time, what would be like um like your pitch? Like how would you sell Build-A-Bridge to?

SPEAKER_02 1:25

So Buildabridge is an arts and education nonprofit that provides hope and healing to populations that have been uh marginalized and disenfranchised by by policy and life. And so art making is a way to uh use the creativity and imagination to provide healing and hope-raising.

SPEAKER_04 1:40

Okay. I love that. And when did or how did Buildabridge get started? Do you guys know?

SPEAKER_02 1:47

1997, technically, by Drs Vivian Nix Early and J. Nathan Corbett, two Eastern University professors that went to Costa Rica with a gospel choir, actually, and the idea was to perform and perform. And when they did that, they noticed something bigger happening to the community now. In the late 90s was post-earthquake Costa Rica. So there was a lot of damage and destruction that had taken place and isolation as a result of these earthquakes. And so this concert wasn't just the performance, but it was bringing people together in this cohesive way. And they saw the arts being a powerful force for something transformative for people to experience, not just as a as a patron. So people were having a psychological, physiological, biological response to performance that was ultimately healing for them.

SPEAKER_04 2:35

Wow. I love that. And um is Build-A-Bridge only in Philly or all around?

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Well, it used to be it is technically called Build A Bridge International. Okay. Um the international component has definitely um scaled down um since since I started working with Build A Bridge, which was uh it's now been uh a little over a decade, I think, since I started working as a teaching artist with Buildabridge. Um and yeah, since that point it's been yeah, primarily focused here in Philly. Uh yeah, I think in in the past, I mean, you know, they did go to Costa Rica and then there was some other um international work. But yeah, we are we are so you're a teacher. So yeah, so um everyone who works with Buildabridge is called a teaching artist. Okay. Um so I am uh I'm a musician and songwriter and I work in audio. I do, you know, a typical musician. I wear like 20 million different hats. Um and I also, you know, I do theater stuff. So I um I started out as a teaching artist with Build A Bridge. So um we can get into what that looks like in a little bit. But um, and now uh, you know, then I think about uh I don't know how many years into working with Build A Bridge, Ami came into the picture and took over as the executive director. Yeah. But okay, so you're the executive director. Okay. Oh yeah. Um, oh yeah. Um so you know, a few years into working with Builder Bridge, um, Ami came into the picture. We met up. Uh Ami is like always so great with like having these one-on-one meetings. And I just remember meeting with Ami at this coffee shop, uh, I think it was Rohome Coffee, um, and just immediately being like, this guy, this guy is gonna be like what we need to like reinvigorate the organization. Um and and that's exactly what it's been. And so in the last, I guess in the last year, um, I've started working uh more on the administrative end, um, doing uh like operations and being like more lead teaching artists. So I'm less in the field with participants and more, yeah, bigger, big picture picture supporting AMI. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:52

Cool. And what kind of programs are there?

SPEAKER_02 4:54

So primarily we've been doing a lot with under the guise of violence intervention prevention programming. But like at the end of the day, our program is about creating healing and hope-raising spaces. And if someone can hope, that is like the the the the foil to a psychologically traumatic experience. And so everything that we do is in that guise. And though people aren't necessarily diagnosed with psychological trauma when we work with them, but living in Philadelphia, more than well, nationally, more than 70% of people have experienced a psychological trauma. You add that to Philadelphia's history of violence and poverty. Um, and I would suspect that it's more than that. And so ostensibly in the neighborhoods that we're working with have high crime rates, uh, impoverished, kind of pushed aside by city politics, and we're there to provide this like source of well-being through the arts without stigmatizing or like medicalizing anything that's going on for them. It's just an access point. So that's the basic gist of our program. So like we're in three four rec centers right now in Northwest Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia. We're at a uh a shelter for for for survivors of sex trafficking uh via the Salvation Army right now. Um we are doing JFCS work ready. A work ready program, yeah, with uh human service.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

And what do you do in all these spaces? So many different things. Yeah. Um let's see. So over at the Granaghen Rec Center in Southwest, uh, we have two teaching artists, uh Ja and Sammy. And Ja is this incredible multidisciplinary artist who um works in sound and also in movement. And so what she's doing at the summer camps there two days a week um is exactly that. So she's incorporating um she's she's connecting the dots between um using your voice as an instrument um and the physicality of that and how like it's all coming from within, it's coming from your body, right? It's already something that you possess. You don't need anything else. Yeah, just your body and your voice and connecting those dots to um being embodied and and um you know, being being the uh what am I trying to say? Like the the captain of your own ship, right? Like um, and so she's also um guiding in some yoga practice. Um and the yeah, again, the whole the whole intent and to Ami's point about like offering a space, the whole idea of Build A Bridge and these programs is that we're offering access to to singing. So Ja is doing vocalizing, um embodied movement, yoga, um, and other programs. Let's see, up at Penrose, we have um Clementine and Ziania who are leading um a more visual arts based group. So um essentially every Builder Bridge program has a defined structure because one of the uh one of the like key tenets of trauma-informed work is that it's um it's a ritual, it's a routine, it's something that can be expected, right? Like the something about like traumatic experiences is that it's it's a surprise, right? Um, and it it leaves you consistently on edge. And so if we can offer a space where people can expect, like, okay, when I arrive, I'm gonna be welcomed in a particular way. Uh, we're gonna start with like a certain warm-up activity that's gonna take me into the meat of the program, which is like um, you know, a visual arts experience or a music experience, um, movement experience. And then we're gonna end the same way every time. We're gonna have a discussion, we're gonna have a closing ritual, and then you're gonna go on your way. And so it's like creating a space where people can show up even just once a week to have a space where they people just show up. Is that how it works? It depends or do they suck it? It depends on the site. It depends on the site. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

I mean, we love cohort programming because then it's like a longer amount of time to impart change and to create community. But for instance, like we're part of this thing called summer night lights in North Philadelphia at Winchester Rec Center and Penrose. And we're partnering with like the school district and the police department and the Parks and Rec to basically like have positive community engagement in those neighborhoods. And so it's really like a drop-in program. And so uh Lizzie was mentioning we have two artists, Clementine and Zianya, that are doing visual arts. We have uh Danny and Zelda doing writing. We have Xanap also doing some writing activities in visual arts. We have a cadre of like old school African drummers working with us. Uh, one happens to be Robert Kenyatta, who played with the Beach Boys, and Wilson Pickett and John Coltrane, and he works with us every once in a while, along with Omamala Yabunmi, who is um the first lead. She started the woman Shaker ensemble in Philadelphia and teaches people how to make Shaker, and they're accompanied by Sam Zoltan, who's this. So these people are teachers that you're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

So they're like been in the performance, like and they're teachers teaching that want to give back.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

And that kind of defines the teaching part.

SPEAKER_04 10:10

I feel like I'm so happy about this. I am not. I feel like I'm gonna have to talk to you. Yeah, that's I mean, that is all about I mean, this podcast itself is like doing its own thing for the community, but it it's a different kind of way doing something. But like that's at the end of the day, to me, what it's all about like just helping each other and and sharing, and you guys and Builder Bridge is doing it. So I'm so glad you hit me up. I'm so glad so we can sit here and talk about it. Yeah, um, so what's like one of these work? So is it every day? I'm just trying to still understand. So no, so people can show up if they want. Yeah. So is there at certain hours? Like, how do people know that this is even happening? It's a great question.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

Yeah, so we're a very small organization, like one full-time staff member, a bunch of people, like almost part-time, and then contractors. But what because of that, we are super, super nimble. So, like, yes, we love planning ahead and like we're getting our fall programming together, right? But if someone calls us out, like there was like a terrible like murder arson in Springfield Township, like a couple years ago, and within two weeks, someone called Buildabridge to be like, Can you we're doing a community healing program? Can you bring your staff in there? So boom, one off. Let's do that.

SPEAKER_05 11:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

But like somebody like JFCS is like, can you plan a five-week program with us that like helps develop soft skills alongside hard skills so we can get kids better employed when they're when they're ready to be gainfully employed? So like we run the gambit of like what we're doing, you know. Sign up for the mailing list via www.bridge.org to find out what's happening, when it's happening, our socials. But like, you know, we're doing stuff at Rec Centers almost seven days a week right now. I think the only day we don't have programming is like Friday at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

Yeah, Friday and Saturday. We did have Saturday as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Saturday we've got the t-shirt printing at Lonnie. Oh my god, we do. Yeah, we are six days a week right now.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

This summer it has been so cuckoo and so wonderful.

SPEAKER_04 12:00

And this is a nonprofit, right? Non-profit. So I don't fully understand how that works. So how does it, how does that work? Do you guys get like compensated for your time?

SPEAKER_02 12:08

I was gonna say it's basic.

SPEAKER_04 12:09

We have no money and we try to like spend whatever grants. Is this all you guys do? No. No. Oh, wait, you said you do a lot of different things and different things. So there's other sources. Yeah, because I don't really know. I guess with nonprofits like like we get our money fundraising, right?

SPEAKER_03 12:25

Grants. We have fundraising, but we also we also apply for grants, and that is how we get our money. So we and that comes from a government, it comes from all over private and and yeah, government grants.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency has been giving us funding to do violence intervention prevention work for the last four years, basically. And we just received another grant from them to be able to do that. William Penn Foundation also invested in us this year, and then we have like two solid years of programming, like rec center programming with them.

SPEAKER_03 12:55

Hyperlocal.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Love that. This is like the big, the big Philadelphia Cultural Fund, which is an amazing Philadelphia nonprofit that gave us like a massive uh general operations grant alongside another community development grant with through the Philadelphia Foundation.

SPEAKER_04 13:10

So and you handle all that. You were the guy that handles all this.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

That's why I don't have any hair anymore.

SPEAKER_04 13:15

It's like and we do it just started falling out.

SPEAKER_03 13:19

I'm like, do I spell that money? We do we do have another maybe.

SPEAKER_04 13:23

I'll just not talk about what I was saying.

SPEAKER_03 13:25

I'll just we do have another, you know, another part-time uh teaching artist who works with Builderbridge, Danny, who has been supporting with with grant researching, so you know, seeking out other grant opportunities. Um, but you know, again, not full-time. Danny is also a working artist slash teaching artist slash performer. So yeah, you know, it's uh as someone who's worked with Builderbridge now for yeah, like over a decade, um, which feels insane to say out loud. I'm like, how have I done anything for that long? Um it happens, I guess. It does happen. Um, but it it has consistently offered the most flexibility of any other teaching work that I've done. Um and that's exactly what I want, right? You know, like I'm so I I used to tour a lot more um with my band and also like with with other just like performance projects. And it is amazing to know that like I could go do that and then come back and work with Builder Bridge. And it's kind of like a we're at will employees.

SPEAKER_04 14:32

Yeah, like if you're available, not available, it's a good idea. It's okay, I'll be back. It's all good, you know.

SPEAKER_03 14:37

But it's like we you know, we will email teaching artists with different opportunities, ideally weeks in advance, sometimes days in advance. It depends on the opportunity, and then you know, we'll see who's available and we'll decide who's going, you know, who who makes sense to teach these programs, right? So it's like proximity to the site, their art modality, you know, their their skills, um, who's worked together before. There are a lot of deciding factors on who teaches what, but it's really like, can you do it? Okay, great. If you can't, no worries, we'll see you later.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

I think Lizzie brought up a good point. I think aside from like the mission of like wanting to work with like youth who have experienced poverty and psychological trauma and violence and all these horrible things, but like we're also a home for working artists. Yeah, you know, and I think like one of the things that society teaches us negatively is like you grow up, I can either do this or not do this. How do I survive as an artist, a musician, a dancer? Do I get a full-time job doing this? Am I not touring it like regularly? And then so like this is using all of those skills, performing or dancing or writing, like just pivoted to benefit the lives of people more directly or a different way of benefiting people's lives. So, like we want the arts to be imbued in society in a much more natural, uh, like holistic way, and build a bridge is like helping artists and musicians and dancers deliver that to the people, and then people getting that experience themselves, like because not everyone can go to a venue to go experience the arts or get to a museum. And Philadelphia is very good about trying to make that financially realistic, but like even the time people don't leave their neighborhoods, yeah. So we gotta meet people where they are.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah. That's a good point. Time becomes a really precious resource, and so we're trying to yeah, yeah, cut all that crap out and be like, here we are.

SPEAKER_04 16:32

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

You don't have to go anywhere.

SPEAKER_04 16:34

You don't have to go anywhere.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:35

Um, yeah, that is great.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

But also you can go somewhere. Like we did a field trip.

SPEAKER_04 16:39

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

They did a field trip. Sounds fun. It was a weaving class. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 16:44

How old are a lot of these people that are a part of or of the kids?

SPEAKER_03 16:47

The field trip was with adults, yeah, actually. So we do work with adults as well.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

Yeah, we're generally we work with youth five to like 21. But like if we have a gap in our programming and someone asks us to work, we try not to say no because like adults are just kids with like wrinkly stuff. They just want to help. So it's like the same thing. Yeah, we're not gonna like turn, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:07

It's like, yeah, it's fine. Your your life is horrible, but you're too sorry, you're 22.

SPEAKER_02 17:11

Yeah, exactly. So we try not to turn people away from that.

SPEAKER_04 17:16

Yeah, no, that's great, though. Um, and then so So what's it like in these workshops in these in these things when you're teaching? Are they like two hours? Is it like three hours? Is it always different?

SPEAKER_03 17:28

A typical program is an hour and a half. Okay. Um you know, teaching artists will arrive 30-ish minutes prior to set up, um, and then they'll stay 30-ish minutes afterward to clean up. Um, that will vary. We really, it's it's an honor system with the teaching artists. Like we trust them to budget their time accordingly. But yeah, the actual program typically runs 90 minutes. Um, sometimes with the one-off like community programs, like sometimes there'll be like we tabled at a carnival event at a rec center um in the spring, I think. And that was like a four-hour event. We were maybe there for two hours just doing.

SPEAKER_04 18:07

When you say you tabled, like you were set up like promoting yourself.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

And we had like an art buffet. So we did, I think we did like an art buffet, you know, like choose your own adventure. Um, we have something called the resiliency hand that we that we work with, which is um essentially like you trace your hands and um well, the initial conceit being that like um a hand like this, it's closed, it's closed off, right? This is a symbol of like, I mean, it can be a symbol of like fight the power, which is great, but you know, also it's a fist, right? And we want to slowly open people's hands, they're open, they're vulnerable, and they feel safe to be open and vulnerable. And so each um digit on your hand represents um represents like who can we count on, and then um what what else is it?

SPEAKER_02 18:58

It's like who we can count on how you identify how you see yourself, how you see yourself, and then your abilities.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

Thank you, and your abilities, your skills. So um we call that the resiliency hand because if you're able to identify um those things, then you have resilience built, and that's a step toward envisioning a hopeful future for yourself. Yeah. And that is the key to um to leading a you know, a life where you're not just surviving, you're thriving. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:27

Yeah. Yeah. Um, but yeah, and so some of these things you said are artsy, but some you were mentioning yoga, like people do yoga in these things. Yeah, yoga. Are some of them like and then the art things, it's like, is there multiple and you come out with like a product, like a painting, or is all that done in the one hour and a half or whatever? Or is it sometimes it's multiple?

SPEAKER_02 19:48

It's usually focused on one art form, but sometimes it'll we'll mix it up, like this thing I was talking to you about before. Like, we're doing like uh writing, poetry, songwriting, interviewing, podcasting. So it's like kind of like this multimedia thing. Yeah. But like we did like a songwriting program early in the year, we did a drumming program early in the year, or we'll do something with theater and come out with a play. And so it depends. We don't have like uh boxed programming. Again, I like I mentioned earlier, we kind of meet people where they are. So we meet with a partner, a rec center, a human service provider, ask them what they're interested in doing. Oh, we've got a bunch of kids that want to do drumming. Okay, so we'll bring drums there, you know. Um, we've got a bunch of kids that want to do journaling, we'll do art journaling with them, you know. So we've got a slew of ideas to do, but like the first thing is to like suss out to assess like what the need is and then figure out like what we have at our disposal to meet them where they are.

SPEAKER_04 20:37

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Um, what are some of the biggest challenges with children and families that you work with?

SPEAKER_03 20:48

Time for planning, I think, because as we've talked about, like so many of um these kinds of things can happen very last minute, whether it's because maybe funding that an uh a site that we're partnering with, maybe the funding has like fallen through. Um, so we have to figure out a new tack. Um, maybe like we got our wires crossed with scheduling because like our organization, some of these other sites are run by like one person, right? Um so coordinating the timing, like it's a lot of logistical things that make it challenging, I would say. Um and then something that we're we're really working on now is um is retaining our teaching artists and ensuring that we are uh offering a trauma informed work environment too. So um that's my goal now, you know, working more administratively with Builder Bridge is to make sure that our teaching artists um are excited to go to work. Um because being a working artist is hard. Yeah. The world is not this this world in our country of Philadelphia is not super set up for us. Um and also being a teacher is hard. Yeah. And then you add this extra element of working with people whose whose backgrounds we don't, we don't know. We don't know where these people are coming from. We have a general idea. Okay. But we don't know. And so we have to go in. We we do it, you know, when we do train, we do a trauma-informed training. Um and you know, we'll we'll review that like every couple of years with different teaching artists. What the what I'm trying to say is that um ensuring that the environment is consistent and reliable, not only for our participants, but for our teaching artists. Yeah. Which is a challenge. It's just because every single site is different and every person is different.

SPEAKER_04 22:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:59

Yeah. And when you say every single site is different, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_03 23:03

Oh, yeah, like every single rec center is different. They have different resources. You know, every rec center is not um, yeah, not afforded the same amount of resources by the city. It really just depends. Um, it's a very, very much a case-by-case basis. Um, so it's like the people you guys gotta supply a lot of things.

SPEAKER_04 23:21

That's another challenge, is making sure our materials are yeah, because if you're just it's just like rec centers are like have basketball hoops, right? Yeah. Is that am I thinking of the right kind of thing? Basketball hoops, they have big bases, so then you go in there.

SPEAKER_03 23:33

Some have pools, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:35

Do you guys use do you guys do that stuff too?

SPEAKER_03 23:38

We don't do swimming. Yeah. That'd be great.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Especially this summer.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

That'd be great.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

I recruiting people's tough. Yeah. Like we'll partner with a rec center with the expectation. Because of time, probably, too. Yeah, but also resources. Like we have finite resources to be able to compensate teaching artists for the work and then keep the organization going. And then we're like on a really tight budget. So, like, if a partner says we want you to come to our space, there's like a memorandum of understanding that you're going to bring people to that space. We'll bring the programming, but that's not always the case. And so we'll be like having to do recruiting, which is a drain on our resources and takes us away from doing like the planning, the training, like the actual work on the ground. But on the other hand, like it does help us develop like a better presence in the community. So we're trying to figure out like what the holy combination is of like time on the ground, meeting people versus doing the actual work, doing the training, doing the post op and stuff. It's always like this like constantly moving Rubik's Cube.

SPEAKER_04 24:33

It's a little it's a lot to organize. Creative administrative process. Well, I mean, I guess it goes along with what you're doing then. It does. All the way down the line. It's just creative.

SPEAKER_03 24:44

And we also, I mean, so much of what we do is uh we do look for teaching artists who are going to lead, who are going to step up. You know, we mentioned Clementine and Ziania, who are working at Penrose and they're doing uh the Saturday, Saturday night lights, summer night lights programs. I keep doing that, the Saturday night live, the summer night lights programs. But they have both they have both taken such a strong initiative at this particular rec center, um such that like we know that they are they're in it, you know, they're they're sticking with it, they're in it to win it. Um and that that takes a lot of that takes a lot off of our plates uh because they are communicating with the with the person who runs the rec center. And you know, we're looped in on those conversations, but they are taking the lead on that uh because they're the ones who are actually like on the ground in the community, meeting the kids, meeting the families. And that's the working artist that you're talking about, right?

SPEAKER_04 25:50

Yeah, the teaching artist. Yeah, exactly. Okay, cool. Um, has there ever been a something that happened that you're like, this is exactly why I like a moment, like a good moment that you're like, this is exactly why I do this. So many.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Yeah, so many moments of transformation.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

I mean, I had an amazing one a few years back. I love this one. So we used to do a lot with with refugees and new immigrants to the country. And I can't remember the name of the kid's name offhand, but he was from Pakistan, and he was through our partner Hayas, uh, who used to be or still is, but we used to do a lot of shared summer camp programming with them. So they'd come in, they would learn English, and they would do art, and like there were kids from all over the world, like the Congo, Pakistan, India, South America. No one knew how to speak to each other. It was just like that was probably so worth Tower of Babel in South Philadelphia, like legit. Like really cool. And so, long story short, like this one kid, like ended the program, wrap up, had a good time smiling. A year down the road, I'm at uh some school in West Philadelphia during the summertime, and he's like, Mr. Ami, Mr. Amy, how are you? It's good to see you. Kid speaking fluent English in a mainstream program, adjusted with friends, and it was like, Oh, this is real. There's like there's a through line to the work that we do because it set him up, was a part of like that's so cool. This this community, whatever uh recipe of of helping them get to the next stage of their life. And that was like we don't get to see people too often that have finished our programming. Yeah. So this is a good yeah, poverty makes people itinerant. It's like difficult to like create continuity. So when we get somebody from the past who turns up, it's like doing well. Yeah, it's a really beautiful thing to experience.

SPEAKER_04 27:33

You guys should run for um president clusters. What's it 2028? I'll get you asked.

SPEAKER_03 27:39

We could start with mayor. But maybe, maybe I don't want to be the mayor, but I would love to support someone running for mayor, new mayor, maybe. Anyway, that's not what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 27:48

Um, but I was just thinking, like, it's just crazy, you know, we don't gotta go obviously down that road, but it's just just crazy.

SPEAKER_03 27:56

Like what the people, like what we're all trying to do to just help each other, and then it's like we have these people, like you know, yeah, like I you know, it's but it's the majority of us are and I love actually trying to do this work and make it people powered and people centered. Yeah, I love that we do.

SPEAKER_04 28:14

And through this podcast, I've been just meeting so many different people and all good people, and like you know what I mean? It's just it's great, it's kind of just that's what keeps me going. Like you need that, but I can earn I could see how what you're talking about, I would be like like these kids that don't know English, and then like you're helping them, and then they're talking, and they're like that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 28:35

Yeah, it's really cool.

SPEAKER_03 28:36

Yeah, I mean, there are so many small moments of transformation too, like even just you know, being in a program. So some of our programs are one-offs, a lot of our programs are they run for like six to eight weeks. So we're seeing um typically like the same group of kids over that course of time. Uh kids will come and go, you know, that is. How do they find out well it's through it's through their neighborhood? So it's like the so like you're in service providers. Yeah, so there are resources that are like doing what they're what they need to do to like connect families with these opportunities, you know, those resources do exist even though it feels like all that stuff is being stripped away. They are still there, right? Yeah. Um, but yeah, I mean, even just in the course of like eight weeks, there I remember working with I think we were doing like a a songwriting. I was I was leading a songwriting program and where we were gonna write like a song as a group. So everyone was going to contribute lyrics. Get done. It was amazing. Yeah, we got it finished. I mean, like there people are incredible. I loved it.

unknown 29:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Were there instruments and stuff?

SPEAKER_04 29:49

Do you have people that were they playing instruments or was it all just writing?

SPEAKER_03 29:51

It was mostly just it was writing and singing, and then at the end we put it to uh I played the guitar and then people would like play, like the kids would play like little like auxiliary percussion instruments and stuff. But um, but yeah, I mean there was one, there was one person, there was one little girl who like wouldn't even make couldn't make eye contact with me when she first came in. And that's also that is like, you know, and that's okay, right? Yeah, she is there exactly how she is. She's that is perfect, that's great. But by the end of our time, she was not only looking at me in the eye, but she was speaking, she was engaged, she was sharing, she was supporting her peers. She trusted me, she trusted herself, she trusted everybody else in the room. I mean, it was like, and that's also the beauty of like working with young people is they are so squishy and like malleable, like they will. But then I'll also say to that point, I've seen that same transformation happen with adults. Yeah. It's really like it's really uh, yeah, it's just like staggering.

SPEAKER_02 30:51

People just need some love. And that's what it is. Like at the end of the day, like we are an arts and education nonprofit, but it's really about mental health and well-being. Like, we are this like embrace that's powered by by arts and creativity, but within that, it's just like if people start to feel better about themselves, it's a ripple that they will be able to treat the people around them better and the community will feel that it'll be reciprocated, and then we're really I can see some measurable changes. And so trying to just flush these places with like arts and creativity and this trauma-informed framework that supports growth and hope.

SPEAKER_04 31:26

Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. Um why do you feel that art is um more powerful than simply talking about your emotions? Or creating art, I mean.

SPEAKER_02 31:40

It is talking about your emotions. It's art is the conduit that translates your feelings and emotions and thoughts onto a piece of paper, into a dance, into a song. It's communication, it's just not your traditional dialogic, like cognitive, whatever, behavioral therapy, but it's a therapeutic experience that like is about communication. It's about hearing yourself, having other people hear you, you hearing other people. So it's a really deep like communicative interaction at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_04 32:14

Like, have you seen any kids like uh express themselves through the art and music in ways that they couldn't like put whatever they were feeling into words? I mean you guys not talk about feeling like no, we do.

SPEAKER_03 32:27

We do not talk about it. I mean, we're definitely we're not there as we're not there to therapise, although we do sometimes have um art therapists who work with Builder Bridge. We are not there to therapise, or right, we're not there, we're not there to diagnose. Um But I mean, sure, and there are some people who are not comfortable like sitting and speaking about their feelings, but who are comfortable writing like the lyrics, writing lyrics to a song or like a poem, a spoken word, whatever it may be, right, and then sharing that. There it's just like having this other option. And I would never I think that all of these pieces are important, you know. I it's not that it's more or less powerful, it's just different. And I do think that there's also something to be said for like abstract thought and the actual like mental creative process and imagining. We all have this ability, this incredible ability to imagine like worlds beyond worlds, and in our day-to-day life, that is squash, squash, squash, squash, squash. Because ultimately imagination is not I'm gonna get on my like anti-capitalist bag. But I mean, but it's true. Ultimately, like they want you as dumb as possible. Produce production, and that's not this is not this is art for the sake of art, this is creativity for the sake of of the experience to just expand, expand, expand, and remind people that they had that in them the whole time. That was there. And so I think that something that like creating something that abstract thinking, um nonlinear uh processing does is just remind people that there are other options, there are other worlds. Um then at the end of every program we have you know a closing ritual, and part of that is opening up a space for processing, however that may be, however, the participants want that to look. So it's like can somebody share um one thing that they learned today? And so someone will share, and maybe it's just like I learned how to play an E minor chord, or maybe it's like I I learned that I really love drawing landscapes or whatever it is, and then that will just spark you let them take the lead, and I mean it's yeah, and then they just start going.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Yeah, the simple like I feel better. Yes, like is there a transformation that takes place from them walking into the space and leaving the space? And that's just as important as the song they wrote or as the picture they drew and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 35:11

Yeah, yeah. Um, so Builder Bridge talks about being trauma-informed. What does that actually mean?

SPEAKER_02 35:18

So Lizzie was was talking about it earlier. The concept is that trauma takes away the external and internal internal resources of a person in a moment. So whether it's violence or I mean it's mostly violence interactions, or it could be psychological too, but in that moment, that person's basically paralyzed. And you can take it to like the natural world of like an animal, like like a possum playing dead, right? In that moment, the possum knows exactly what to do. Play dead, my predator goes away, right? But the difference between a human and that possum is that there's a psychological imprint on that person's neurological system and psychology as a result of that, that's not easy to shake. And so that possum, the possum can walk away from that. A human can't. And so somebody that's experienced psychological trauma specifically, um, they're gonna be more likely to have a dysregulated um be dysregulated. So like more likely to snap, or maybe it's the opposite. Maybe they're more depressed and a little bit more reserved. The situation is that like they're operating um in a heightened sense of reality on an almost regular basis compared to compared to someone who hasn't experienced psychological trauma or hasn't been taught or given space to be able to have a healthy interaction with it. So being trauma-informed is setting up a healthy space for someone to be able to not be triggered into going back into that memory of trauma to be able to give them developmentally appropriate challenges that promote their brain growth. And so the arts are really good for doing that. Like, we're not trying to make people sing operas or do like memorized soliloquies or something. No, these are little steps that are really positive for brain growth. Lizzie also mentioned like the rituals that we have built in. So, like, we have a lot of rhythm that that is brought in because trauma is an arrhythmic experience, and so rhythm is a way of coordinating and reorganizing and bringing ourselves back together into community and also with yourself. Um, affirmations and being able to say positive things about yourself is really important for a trauma-informed space. Um, and the other space is like the strength-based approach of like meeting people where they are and finding the good in them, not not the therapy experience of tell me what's wrong with you. Let's find what's right with you. Yeah. And we're gonna give you the tools to be able to hear your feelings, and maybe in this process, it won't hurt as much to be to be quiet inside your brain and deal with some of those harder feelings because you're in a safe space. And so those are like the primary tenets of a trauma-informed environment. I'm sure I'm missing some. Yeah. But essentially, this like consistency, rhythm, ritual, meeting them where they are. Oh, and the last piece is like having a future orientation that like trauma can lock you into a cycle of existence that's just feeling bad, feeling defensive, you know, always being worried about something happening. And a hope-infused future is like having autonomy and agency to control what's going to happen next. And so, art making is a way of like engineering a space to give people agency and self-efficacy and to like look at that resilience that they have and and engineer that to a hope-infused future.

SPEAKER_04 38:40

Wow. I love that. Yeah, that was good. I think about this every day. I love that you think about it every day. It's amazing. I mean, good people exist. And the one that you said was that reminded me of something when you said, like, let's not talk about what's wrong with you, like, let's talk about what's good. That was I was I went into therapy for like six months at some point in my life. And therapist said something like that because I was, for some reason, telling him everything I didn't want to be in life. And he's like, Why don't you stop focusing? I think because I was talking about like my parents and different things, like, I don't want to be like that, I don't want to do that, I don't want to do that. And he's like, Well, why don't we talk about what you want to do? Yeah, why don't you stop focusing on who you don't want to be and focus on who you want to be putting things in positive so that reminds me of that? Like, let's not look about like what's wrong with you, let's let's find what's good about you, and then we'll build from there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:33

And if someone wants to bring up like negativity, like we don't turn away from that. I want to make sure that's not like we're not flashing over the reality and stuff, but like yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:41

Because that already, I mean, it's intense. Like, you know, you're talking about neurons and all this stuff, and and it's crazy. It's all in our brain, and it all that's where it all it all starts.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

It's all in our body, too. It's not just in our brain, our body is constantly communicating with us. Yeah, you know, we do these somatic scans. You're like talking about, oh, yoga's a part of this. Like, since COVID, we really started focusing on like how does our body communicate with us? Because if we're talking about art and feeling, like that's where it's coming from. And a lot of people aren't comfortable in their bodies and they don't listen to their bodies. And they don't, when someone says, How are you? They're like, Yeah, I'm okay. But like people's necks and shoulders and stomachs and knees are keeping all sorts of information about a person's existence that like we want you to listen to that too. Because that's also like trauma is kept in your neurological nervous system, and that nervous system goes from the head to your to your to your toes, it's not just in your brain.

SPEAKER_03 40:33

It's your whole body.

SPEAKER_02 40:34

So, like, yeah, yeah. Arts and education, mental health, but also it's like a full body experience being involved in the expressive arts.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

And so from the get-go, we want to make sure that like that is going into this, not just like, all right, we're gonna draw pictures of horses right now. Like, what's your horse look like?

SPEAKER_02 40:48

You know, it's how are you feeling? What's going on? Let's process this, let's create something based upon your perceptions of the world. Like, your voice is important, let's build you up, let's make you feel like you're valuable.

SPEAKER_04 40:58

Yeah, yeah. Do some of them, are some of them that come in? Are you are they like have they just been like beaten up? You feel like?

SPEAKER_02 41:05

I mean, we're working with people who experience sex trafficking right now. Sex trafficking. Horrible. I've got I've got kids who are 17 who are adults with kids right now. Like had this conversation a few days ago. We're talking about they're in this work ready program. Like, what's really important to you right now? She's like, money, so I can feed my kid. Yeah. At 17. Yeah. She shouldn't have to deal with that right now. And so we're trying to give these soft skills to like it makes her day-to-day like hopefully that much better. And she's having a hard time believing us that it is. Does she have any help?

SPEAKER_04 41:36

Like, does she have any help?

SPEAKER_02 41:37

Yeah, she's in a human service like program.

SPEAKER_04 41:39

Like is there any parents or is there any sex trafficking?

SPEAKER_02 41:44

Sex trafficking's like, that's a separate, separate thing.

SPEAKER_03 41:46

But like this is like this is to the point of like we we only know as much as people will tell us. Yeah, yeah. We have a really general idea. And I also do think like part of that is like for our own resilience because we because it's a it can be a lot, obviously, going into those spaces, like at you know, somebody who comes from a certain amount of privilege, um, you know, as a teacher going into those spaces, you might hear things that you have not heard before, and you have to be okay. Yeah. For because you are there to be the support. You are there to just, yeah, to be to not re-trigger. That is like that number one, right? So you are there to be like, all right, that is really sad and that sucks. And like, I mean Lizzie is gonna like definitely think about that later and have to process that. But right now, teaching artists Lizzie is like, thank you so much for sharing that.

SPEAKER_01 42:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:50

How can we, how can we work that into the song we're writing? You know, like does anybody else have something like similar that they, you know, or some just engaging, right? Um but yeah, as a person, it's really, yeah, the shit is sad. It but that's why we're that's why we're in there. It's drama, you know, and finding, yeah. It's and that's why, you know, we have our own, like we encourage our teaching artists, like, how are you taking care of yourself? You know, like I go to therapy, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 43:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:22

Therapy's great. Find something affordable if you can. Yeah. And I make music because that's how I that's how I process my own, my own shit.

SPEAKER_04 43:33

Yeah, yeah. I know it's the thing when like I have a friend that's a therapist and then she has a therapist. So it's like, oh yeah, yeah, everybody needs help. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_02 43:40

Like caring for the caregiver is a big thing. Like we always hype like if you don't take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_04 43:47

I guess another person.

SPEAKER_02 43:48

That's the whole thing. It's all it's all related. But if you don't care for yourself, you're not gonna be able to care for other people.

SPEAKER_04 43:52

Right.

SPEAKER_02 43:52

Bottom line. And it's not a selfish thing, it's a survival thing. It's real.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Yeah, take care of yourself. It's true. And do people have are there any Time like misconceptions about trauma-informed work?

SPEAKER_02 44:04

Like, does anyone I mean uh we talked about being a trauma-informed organization that because like we're so strapped on cash and resources that sometimes we miss the mark on trying to like be respectful of our teaching artists, if we're expecting them to have a a trauma-informed environment, shouldn't we be giving them that too and like making sure that they feel healthy and protected and not that we're doing anything dangerous, but just emotional safeguards and rails to like feel that they are welcome, that they're given the resources to do what they do, and that they have a sounding board to be able to like not bottle things up. And like that's a place that like it's hard to do in the nonprofit world. I mean, I certainly wasn't treated like that when I started working in nonprofits in Philadelphia. Like I had some pretty crazy experiences in West Philadelphia, like working with schools there and like kids beating each other up, the school falling apart, but no one ever was like, yo, dude, how are you? You okay? Like, are you like like, no, I'm not okay.

SPEAKER_04 44:58

I DJ for a living, and I'm like, no one ever asked the DJ if they're okay.

SPEAKER_02 45:02

I was watching the bear last night.

SPEAKER_04 45:03

DJ's not okay.

SPEAKER_02 45:04

Great scene in it. So the the it's like fifth season, right? They just switched over chefs. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 45:10

Wait, what's what are we doing? The bear. The bear.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

And there's this scene where like the chef walks in and turns to the dishwashers and she's like, How are you guys doing? Anything I can do for you right now? And they look at her like deer in headlight. And she's like, What did I say? Did I did I did I do something wrong? You guys okay? They're like, no one's ever asked us that before.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:30

You know? That should never happen to somebody.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

It can be that simple, though. And that's all it takes to be someone's day. How are you?

SPEAKER_02 45:38

And wanting to hear the answer.

SPEAKER_03 45:40

Wanting and and being like, and not just walking away after you say it. I mean, it can make try it out. We should normalize crying. Yes. Yeah. It is okay. That's for another.

SPEAKER_04 45:50

Makes my eyes so clossy and crazy, though. I don't want to do it in public. I know. If I don't have to.

SPEAKER_03 45:55

It isn't always sustainable in any.

SPEAKER_04 45:58

Has this work changed you guys personally, like in any way doing this? Yes. Are you always just these people? No. Always these people.

SPEAKER_03 46:10

I always, yeah. I mean, like, I always knew that um art was important. And you know, when we say art, we mean like art, like the arts, um, not just like visual arts, because I think that also is a misnomer. So all the arts. When I say when I say art, I'm like songs.

SPEAKER_02 46:29

Capital A.

SPEAKER_03 46:30

Capital A art, right? Um, I've always known that art is important. I've always known that it is a life-saving practice for me. I I don't know, I really don't know I I can't even imagine where I would be without the um without like songwriting and and making music and performing. Could you imagine? I just I just I can't. I'm like, that would be, I wouldn't exist. Period. Um for you know, like metaphorically and also like maybe literally. It's really, it's been it's a life-saving practice for me. And like I've always known that, but then actually like learning the uh biological, um, psychological impacts of art making and of singing as a group and how it stimulates your vagus nerve and how that makes your brain really happy. It's like it's science, it's literally science, and it shouldn't have to be science, but how cool is it that it is science? Yeah, it's like a bonus. You're like emotionally, I know that this rocks, but then you're like, oh my god, it also like internally, it's actually good for me.

SPEAKER_04 47:36

Yeah, like it's and it's so interesting, like what you're talking about, because it's true. Like you play, you play with people, you play, it's just this whole other feeling. It gives you life, and it's interesting how society has continued to um just try to distance us all. Yep, it's like annoying.

SPEAKER_03 47:53

Yep, it is annoying. We should be annoyed. I mean, we are annoyed. We are annoyed, we are annoyed with a capital A. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:00

And I'd say Vulterbridge is definitely like like with everything, and it's like, why is this? Why are the people that have all the money to make these big moves in charge? Yeah, because they have why are any of them nice? Yeah, or why don't any of them want us connected? I guess some money is bad. I it I know we need it, but it doesn't do good things. And I don't understand why somebody that's a billion or whatever air can't just do something good with their money.

SPEAKER_05 48:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:30

So it's like they'd rather like you know, the kids in the room with the headphone on, not playing video games with your friends, like video games online, talking, smack like but like you're saying, bring us together. Like that's what actually feels good. Put our feet on the grass. Oh, yeah, that's a whole other that's a whole other thing. Yes. Um, if someone says, I want to help like build a bridge, what's the best things that people can do to help? Money. I'm getting ideas to like raise money for you because I'm a DJ. We can figure something out.

SPEAKER_02 49:06

I mean, we're we're highly under resourced. Like right now, we try to give away our art supplies at the programming sites we're at. So like I've got 36 watercolor palettes in the car right now that like kind of get dropped off at a rec center. I don't want the teaching artists to come home with them. I want to like the kids should walk away with those. Like last year at one of the rec centers, we're finishing up the project. The kids were like, Can I take these home? And like, I don't I don't have this at home. I don't have art supplies at home. Like, so like let's let's start that up. So like art supplies. We'll take art supplies. We will be that that conduit, make sure it goes to people that that need the art supplies.

SPEAKER_05 49:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 49:45

Um, we need professional assistance. I would love a lawyer to help us with some of our contracting. I would love an HR person. I would love, I would love someone who's really good at like data management to show us like so you we're all artists who came into this world to be able to do good, but there's a significant amount of bureaucratic administrative stuff that like needs to happen.

SPEAKER_04 50:07

So like the annoying stuff.

SPEAKER_02 50:08

You like working with annoying stuff, you should reach out to the there are people that aren't as much the artist and they do the annoying stuff, but they just like to be part of the arts.

SPEAKER_03 50:21

Yes, yes, absolutely. And so you know, we get lucky, we have some crossover in certain categories, um, where we have yeah, artists and then also like I've We mentioned Danny.

SPEAKER_02 50:31

Danny is a lifesaver.

SPEAKER_03 50:34

I really like organizing.

SPEAKER_02 50:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:37

I like I like putting stuff little like into little boxes and categories, not people stuff specifically. But yeah, um, that supports cool. Also, I mean, we have a lot of teaching artists right now, but like we're always looking for more teaching artists who are like, who are like, yeah, I'm ready to commit to this.

SPEAKER_02 51:00

Dedicated to community. Dedicated to community. And are these teaching artists volunteering their time? No, we I mean they can volunteer. We can we prefer to compensate them in most situations. I think it's a good value proposition that you're giving of your time. So we'd like to compensate you for that. But happy for volunteers. You know, we've got someone who's a a former family therapist that just retired who works with us, and like she's been a godsend, like professionally from their background, but also like they're also an artist and understands like ecosystemic family therapy and like can can come into a space and provide like therapeutic tools for us without going to the clinical realm and stuff. So, like, yeah. I mean, if you like what we do, come find us. Yeah, we'll find a way to make it work.

SPEAKER_03 51:42

Bring us to your event. If you have like an organization or a space where you're having an event, you know, we do we table, we like do these one-off art buffets, as I mentioned. Yeah. Yeah. Bring us to your event. We want to raise our business.

SPEAKER_02 52:00

Yeah, I mean, because of this funding we have from the William Penn Foundation and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, like we have some partnerships with schools that we're building upon. Um, it always helps if a school responds, like we have some budget to be able to bring you in, or we can use our grant funding to do it. But it's kind of like the grant funders are expecting certain spaces because that's look at all these good things you guys are doing.

SPEAKER_04 52:21

I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you. No, no, no. It's all just like because you're talking about funding again. And it's like, look at everyone just trying to make this work. And again, I'm I'm gonna go to the billionaires. Like, if you could just like give us one of those billions, yeah, we could help all these. And I'll say we do this on a budget of like we don't even need a billion, we're good with a thousand.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

We'll reach probably a couple hundred kids this year. Um I'm shooting for like five or six hundred kids, right? But consistently, not just one-offs and stuff. And we're gonna do that on a budget like hovering just barely above $200,000. You know?

SPEAKER_05 52:54

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 52:56

And and basically 80% of that, 85% of that is all programming. Because I'm like, yeah, I might be the executive director, but I'm in the field teaching and doing stuff. I'm like, it's like the Hair Club for Men commercial. I'm not, I'm also the president, I'm also a client. Like, I am also like invested in this and not just being a guy behind a desk. So, like, we that let's get out in the field. I just want, and this is our most successful summer, by the way, that we've had in that I since I've been a part of the program in almost nine years. Yeah, you know, and this is like and I hope yeah we can continue this pace maybe a little bit scaled back a little bit because it's intense.

SPEAKER_04 53:30

You just need more help, is what we're saying. But that's the thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:33

And we're not looking to become a million-dollar organization.

SPEAKER_03 53:35

No, we like being small.

SPEAKER_02 53:36

Yeah, if we doubled our budget, it would be able to provide health insurance for the people working admin and full-time with us. It would help um give teaching artists like a consistent consistency who those who want it, right? You know, we've teaching artists be like, give me more hours, give me more hours. I'm in this. You know, we want to, we want to, but so if we could double our budget and like just chill with that, maybe like a nice 400, 500K, I would be happy with that. That sounds great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:04

What are you guys most excited about for the future right now?

SPEAKER_02 54:08

I mean, just the consistency. Like, yeah, we're gonna be finishing up like hopefully our fall contracts soon, so then we know where our teaching artists are going, like a month, two months in advance, and so people can plan around that and know, like, okay, if we can lock this into December, we can start looking. We talk about a future-oriented perspective. We need the organization to be more future-oriented because we've also been in this like behind the eight ball traumatized experience of like COVID, board members passing away, like staff retention, but missing the mark on a couple grants, like and always just being behind the curve, and now like oh, we're finally getting ahead right now. Yeah, to do some real planning, to have consistency. And it's like that's that's the dream.

SPEAKER_03 54:52

Yeah, because then the teaching artists can go in and they've got it like it's locked in.

SPEAKER_02 54:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:56

You know, like they the the fewer questions they have when they go into a space, the better. Yeah. Because then they can just focus on like the qualitative work, focusing on the people who are there.

SPEAKER_02 55:11

No more contracts being sent 24 hours ahead of time. Like, we want to give people space to be able to breathe and plan and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 55:17

Again, that trauma and back to the beginning, time. Time is just so, yeah. The more that you pressure can be ahead, get yourself a little bit more ahead and give time because it's just everything is so much better.

SPEAKER_03 55:29

You don't want to operate from a place of desperation.

SPEAKER_04 55:31

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And so, where do you see? So, I know you would love that that budget is one, I think, a big thing. Like in five years from now, where would you like to see Build a Bridge hit?

SPEAKER_02 55:40

I mean, that's it.

SPEAKER_04 55:40

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 55:41

Just get the budget and the funding and just keep on you know, hit 500, 600 kids a year, have consistent programming, have people reaching out to us that have funding to be able to do programming, like this shelter work that we're doing for sex trafficking survivors. They reached out to us, Philadelphia Libraries reached out to us and say, hey, we have coin to be able to do this. So we don't have to change like if I'm if we're writing grants, if Danny and I are chasing after grants, then we're not doing the work on the ground. And so we could do a little bit less money chasing and a little bit more like in the field work because the money is being provided and allocated so we can do that. That would be the same if we have some time. Right funding available just to do the work. I just want to do the work, you know?

SPEAKER_04 56:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 56:24

Yeah. So having consistent programs, like every year, knowing like, okay, we're going back to Granaghan and we know exactly when we're going, and we know who's gonna be teaching because they they teach it every summer. Like, how cool is that? Yeah, that would just be so it sounds so simple, yeah, but it's so it'd be just so then we don't have to think about it anymore. Yeah, we're like, okay, lesson plan looks great, cool. We'll have a follow-up.

SPEAKER_04 56:49

Like, I it's just yeah, just yeah, yeah, cool. Um, is there anything else? We've been chatting almost an hour. Is there any anything else that we should talk about?

SPEAKER_02 57:02

October 18th is our next fundraiser in in Germantown. Friends of ours are hosting like a mini concert there. Uh that's you guys need any help with that? I can ask, you know, but maybe, maybe we do, you know, totally.

SPEAKER_04 57:15

I have, I mean, you guys probably I don't know if you have a lot of equipment. I have a lot of equipment. I DJ, I do all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 57:20

So you know what? Let's talk after yeah, we will need help. That's the other thing. Uh, I have a hard time saying yes to it.

SPEAKER_00 57:26

I actually have to, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:28

So because we're always in this, like always just doing this, and like the trust and motivation factor of like, can we do this together? Like, is this gonna work? Because if it's not, like I can just do this myself, you know? Yeah, yeah. That's happened a lot too with the nonprofit scene, you know. But yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:41

But yeah, October 18th. So where will it be?

SPEAKER_02 57:44

Uh Germantown. Germantown. Yeah, it's uh on Tupple Hawking. Not at our not at the office, but at the someone else's home. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:52

And we'll, you know, we do have an Instagram that, you know, that's another aspect of of Build A Bridge that you know we could always use a hand with.

SPEAKER_04 57:59

Um social media.

SPEAKER_03 58:01

Yeah. Just yeah, just to keep increasing our visibility.

SPEAKER_04 58:04

Right.

SPEAKER_03 58:05

Um, but yeah, if you if you go there, um we'll we'll share about like public events and stuff like that. Yep, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:11

Yep, yep. So it's just build a bridge. Yeah. Yeah. It's like Build A Bridge is uh Hey Build a Bridge is the Instagram and then Facebook. And then Buildabridge.org is the website. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 58:22

Because we're building bridges. I know, I love that name. Of peace and hope.

SPEAKER_04 58:30

I love it. Yeah. Anything else about Build A Bridge that we should, or do you think we covered a nice little I feel I feel good.

SPEAKER_02 58:37

I feel like yeah, this is good work. Thank you for having us. This means a lot to be able to have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_04 58:43

Thank you. Yeah, no, this is great. But I do have one more question for both of you. Um, and if we're done, we plugged, right? We did our things. Yeah, I think we did. Um, so the last question of the podcast is how is music your hero?

SPEAKER_03 58:56

Oh man, you're gonna make me cry.

SPEAKER_02 58:58

It's my everything. I mean, I have family and stuff, but like Lizzie said, it's like a life-saving, meaning-making place in my life that's taking me all over the world, taking me to a place I can never imagine, inside and outside. And if anything I can I just I want it to mean as much for other people as it does for me. And like music Yeah. It's like the altar I pray at is music. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:35

Yeah, li I mean life-saving life-saving practice, um connective practice um with with, you know, friends, strangers, in my family, uh it it it it's how I feel like I've been able to communicate, you know, my my whole life. And um yeah, I mean, as Ami said, like if if we can uh support or supporting other people and discovering what what their music is, you know, not everybody is going to be as connected with with music uh as as I am, as we are, but then you know, maybe there's some other something that they can. Well it could be art in general, yeah. Sure, I mean and but even just just realizing that you can you can have something in your life that is like that is yours, um, that is like that precious and that is that fulfilling, I think has been um yeah, I mean it's it keeps me it keeps me going and it keeps me grateful and it keeps me grounded and it keeps me humble. Definitely, yeah. Yeah definitely and it yeah, I mean it's it's like life lifelong homie, you know?

SPEAKER_04 1:00:58

Lifelong homies, you're praying at the altar and lifelong homie.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:03

Yeah, I love that pissed off at it sometimes, but too.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:06

Yeah, I mean it is annoying. Yeah, um all right, cool. Again, thank thank you guys so much. It was cool to learn about build a bridge, and I'm excited to have more and more people keep finding out.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:18

Hell yeah. Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:19

And um, I do have that event on November 8th. I was telling you guys about that. Oh, yes, yes, yes. That I will get you the details. I haven't even whatever, but I'll give you the save the date. Um, because that could be super cool for you guys to set up there and talk to all these people.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:33

They would love it. You should connect with one of our artists, Tony Flaggiello, who does like a thing up at Cheshire Brewing in Elkins Park, not too far from from Fusterville. Um, but also he's bringing people together every Tuesday for the last couple years. Okay. Like multimedia art stuff. He kind of started as like an open mic, but he's a Builder Bridge teaching artist, but like you have to give me his information. Yeah, same thing of like that like super connection.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:57

Yeah, yeah. We all just keep connecting. It's amazing. We could do it. We can do big things. Yay.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:02

Make the world smaller. That's what we got to do.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:03

Yeah, yeah, as we get bigger.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:06

Until next time, keep creating, keep connecting, and keep building together. Remember, we're in this together, so let's keep each other shy alive.