2012 Mural Competition Exhibition

2012 Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural Competition Exhibition

Hostelling International Chicago, in collaboration with The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, hosted the 6th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural Competition, honoring the life and work of Dr. King and the continuing struggle for civil rights today.

Every week we will be posting two of the12 murals that are exhibit on our 2nd floor windows. If you pass by the Hostel you can take a closer look to the beautiful murals. The exhibition is open now though March.

“Entering college was like a cultural shock to me, all I knew was Black and I sometimes find it difficult to socialize because of the lack of integration. My mural is basically a visual summary of that desire I have for more communities and school districts to become integrated, so that people can have the opportunity to obtain a more well-rounded view of life.”  First place winner Channel C. Thomas.

“I decided to use thin Japanese paper, letting the light go through it so the installation would change throughout the day, to create a human shape based on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s figure… My challenge with the "Paper Thin" installation was really to show how just one human being, been as fragile as paper like anybody, can change the face of history with a vision.” Second place winner Marc Socie.

Groupon's G Team Selects HI-Chicago for Donation Deal

Hello Friends of Hostelling International Chicago,

Great news!!! Groupon’s philanthropic service, G-Team, has selected HI-Chicago’s Cultural Kitchen educational program for next week’s cause to support. As their featured nonprofit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week, January 24^th - 26^th, HI-Chicago will receive 100% of the donations which will give local students a chance to learn to be global citizens.

Utilizing G-Team’s collective action model, Groupon subscribers can pledge support for the Cultural Kitchen educational program in increments of $10, with each $70 providing a local student with an opportunity to gain understanding of world cultures, world citizenship, and respect for diversity.

We need your help to take advantage of this opportunity.

1. If you haven’t already, then subscribe to Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/subscriptions/new) in Chicago this week. This way you will receive the Groupon deals emails next week when the offer to donate is active. Check the daily Groupon e-mail to view our campaign, which will be featured along the right hand side of the main deal and under the list of daily deals

2. Connect with HI-Chicago through our communication channels:

a) Facebook: Hostelling International Chicago, and the event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/361296320551607/

b) Twitter: @HostelChicago

3. Support the campaign with a pledge and spread the word to friends and family, encouraging them to do the same.

G-Team is a community outreach initiative within Groupon that brings communities together to do good, have fun, and make an impact. G-Team works in Chicago to help mission-driven organizations like ours raise money and raise awareness, channeling the collective buying power of Groupon followers and our local supporters.

Students connect to the world through Cultural Kitchen - experiential learning at its best. Through an interactive classroom curriculum, school teachers lead their students on a journey that increases cultural awareness and encourages open-mindedness towards the world as students study the culture of a country of their choice. Learning becomes real when students come to the hostel, cook an ethnic meal, dine with world travelers, and present their country to an international audience. Students experience the world of travel by sleeping at the hostel before spending the morning reflecting on their learning.

“It is always good to keep an open mind to different things such as meeting new people, learning new things, eating new foods, etc. Cultural Kitchen gave me a great start to doing this. I want to travel around the world and learn more about every different culture there is!” Student Diana R., Bogan High School

“I am a second year teacher and my experience at the hostel was one of my proudest moments in teaching. For the first time I really felt I made a difference in my students’ lives by bringing them this experience.” Olivia Bradley, Clark HS Spanish Teacher

More information about Cultural Kitchen at the HI-Chicago website: http://www.hichicago.org/community_ck.shtml

Please this email onto your friends, family and co-workers, and keep an eye out for the Groupon daily deal on Tuesday.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Thomas Applegate, Executive Director at HI-Chicago

Megan Johnson, Education Coordinator at HI-Chicago

Travelers and students learn about each others' countries in Cultural Kitchen