On the 15th of December, SoulBrew met up with Elevate the Streets (ETS) for the first time! :D
For readers out there who are wondering, ETS is an initiative aiming to connect subcultures with youths-at-risk through workshops and events. ETS lead by a group of BBoys (break dancers as some might call us but BBoy/Bgirl is the accurate term) who want the use their knowledge of dance to make a positive impact to the community.
We first heard about ETS through their event named 'Elevate the Streets Jam' which was held at the carpark of Golden Mile Tower. It was a dance event hosted to help our youths at risk and also to give back to the dance community. The Elevate the Streets jam also worked hand in hand with the Kapayapaan Project and set up a clothes donation booth to collect clothes for children in the Philippines. If you guys who are reading this are interested in watching what event down at Elevate the Streets Jam, you can check the full videos right HERE.
The meet up was held at The Red Box opposite *SCAPE skatepark at somerset. The goal was to have a Meet & Eat with the members who have showed interest in being part of the Elevate the Streets initiative. The weather was really cold that day so kudos to everyone who turned up for the meeting on a Sunday morning instead of sleeping in at home!
When i first entered the meeting room, i was greeted by the smell of pizza and the sound of music and friendly banter. Almost immediately after i was greeted warmly by everyone in the room. In the middle of the small room was a space cleared out specifically for people to dance on. There was even a portable tatami mat placed there to ensure that the floor does not get scratched. I was in awe at their dedication and passion for the dance. I exchanged greetings with Michael the founder of Elevate the Streets and read about their works for the entirety of 2019 which they have meticulously filed neatly into a binder.
After abit of waiting and alot of dancing on the dance floor, the meeting finally started and everyone in the room was formally introduced to Elevate the Streets. Everyone then split up into different groups to talk in depth about volunteering and understanding how we as individuals can contribute to ETS regardless of experience. The first question asked in my group was 'What was one inspiring moment you had experience in your dance journey'. While listening to the answers given by the other members in my group, i could not help but recall many eye opening and warm memories throughout the four years of my dance journey. Most of the members agree that there was no 'most inspiring' moment and that the entire journey (the ups and the downs) were all life changing and inspiring in their own ways.
Upon further reflection i feel that this could be applied to everyone of you guys out there reading this post. Regardless of what you are doing right now, especially if you are at a low point in your life, remember to look back and see how far you have come and be proud of yourself for coming this far.
After these activity we shared more on our own volunteer experiences and it was really an eye-opener to see that so many of the people in the room has had vast amounts of volunteer experiences. In fact i personally felt lacking in terms of experience as compared to them. However everyone was very encouraging and there was no judgments passed regardless of experience.
Finally there was a sharing done by one of the organizations partnered with ETS, Bethesda care services. They spoke about their plans in the coming year and it is safe to say that Soulbrew is excited and looking forward to be involved in their activities in 2020. After all is said and done, we took a group photo commemorate the meeting of so many amazing individuals and everyone went of feeling warm despite the cold weather outside.
Needless to say we all know where Sya and i went afterwards. For a cup of coffee.
Author's note:
Hi everyone my name is Linus and i will be writing posts here regarding the activities Soulbrew participates in. If you have any questions or inquiries regarding what we do or how you can work with us, you can drop us a DM on our instagram @soulbrew.co or DM me directly @leemontea. Hope everyone stays comfy. If you have any comments or pointers regarding this blog please drop a comment! Cheers!