The Blue Heart Foundation in partnership with the Old Globe Theater provided a night out for the youth and families from the HEART mentoring program. HEART (Higher Education And Rising Together) is a locally based mentoring program that is focused on the empowerment and education of under-served youth. Our program is based on nine (9) core competencies which fall under three categories: 1) Abilities, 2) Applications, and 3) Character.
One piece of our program is to expose youth to events they may not normally have the opportunity to see and in the instance we viewed the Tony Award winning play “The White Snake”. The White Snake is a visionary staging of a classic Chinese fable, a gentle serpent transforms into a beautiful woman. She falls in love with a dashing young man and decides to stay human forever, until a wicked monk discovers her true identity and vows to destroy her. The play was amazing and left everyone with huge smiles afterward… I was thrilled that each and every young man had a great time. The White Snake was a bit different than what we’re used to but isn’t life about going outside of the box? Isaiah Coleman (HEART Participant) stated “The actors were so involved; they developed the characters and drew us in. I could tell they worked hard and I definitely enjoyed the show.”
We believe culturally enriching field trips matter. They produce significant benefits for students on a variety of educational outcomes that schools and communities care about. The effects of field trips to see live theater demonstrates that seeing plays is an effective way to teach academic content; increases our youth’s tolerance by providing exposure to a broader, more diverse world; and improves the ability of students to recognize what other people are thinking or feeling. These are significant benefits for students on specific educational outcomes that schools pursue and communities respect. Especially when considered alongside our community service efforts. Not all learning occurs most effectively within the walls of a school building. Going on enriching field trips to cultural institutions makes effective use of all of a community’s resources for teaching children. We even got photo bombed by Ben Vereen!!!
Lastly, you can never know what may impact a child’s life. As Demetria Hill (Parent) exclaimed “My sons, Damontae and Demeiko really enjoyed their experience at the Old Globe Theatre, watching the play White Snake. They came home excited to tell me about what they learned about performing arts and asian culture; they really enjoyed themselves. As a parent, allowing your children to experience opportunities which they might not have normally been exposed to is invaluable. A big “thank you” to The Blue Heart Foundation and Old Globe Theater for allowing young people the opportunity to explore San Diego’s rich history in theater and the performing arts.”
