Oakwood Alumni Support Free Summer Program

POUGHKEEPSIE – In keeping with the school’s Quaker mission of service and social justice, Oakwood Friends School once again hosted its annual summer youth advocacy program, Voices of Tomorrow Empowered (VOTE), for area teens. VOTE is a free summer enrichment program dedicated to empowering economically disadvantaged youth ages 13–18 throughout the Hudson Valley. The program increases understanding of civic engagement, teaches the tools of advocacy through the arts, and fosters an early interest in and commitment to civic participation. Activities, coordinated by a former Capitol Hill staffer and led by program alumni, include: mock legislative procedures; visits to the offices of elected officials, including Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers; and the use of theatre, art and
music as tools for social change.

This year’s program was supported by several Oakwood alumni, some of whom are also alumni of the VOTE program. Zach (Maui) Jones ‘11, Founder and Managing Director of Our Elements Outdoor Learning, led the group on an educational hike through Black Creek Preserve focusing on environmental advocacy. Activities included a trust walk through the forest trail and a lesson in fire building back at Oakwood’s campus. Najah Muhammad ‘10, the Director of Education of Leaders By Choice (LBC), led the campers in an engaging activity teaching them how theater can be used as a tool for social change. Na’ilah Sidibe ‘17 served as a counselor in the one week sleepaway program and used her BA in Public Policy from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service to inform her workshops with the campers, including a session on the political and social impact of music.

VOTE is funded by grants and generous donations from: The Dyson Foundation, M & T Bank, as well as local businesses and individuals.