Volunteer Ilka Deluque recently taught the cumbia, a traditional dance from her home country Colombia, at Homework Club!
See the K-4th graders strut their stuff, and other videos, on our YouTube channel.
To get in on the action and share your culture, contact .
Muchas gracias, Ilka!
“ZING! ZANG! ZOOM!” The three magic words that brought wonder and excitement to the “Greatest Show On Earth”. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey sure do know how to put on an awesome show! I mean come on, how can you not be impressed by dancing elephants and fearless acrobats? More importantly, I was really happy to be able to share it with fellow staff, volunteers, and kids from the Gardens. The kids had a great time experiencing circus magic and eating delicious hot dogs & fries. A perfect combination for a fun night out.
Members of Grace Christian Fellowship from the University of Virginia spent their Spring Break with Little Lights last week in an Urban Plunge. Whether tutoring kids, playing on the playground, cleaning the Little Lights Center and the Units, or even helping solve SAT problems, our GCF friends tackled each task with excellence and smiles on their faces.
Thank you Joyce, Ashley, Lucy, Danny, Ji Yon, Jenn, Eunice, Billy, John, Chris, Caleb, Daniel, and Mark-- for all of your help, and for your fellowship and prayers!
Wahoowa!
Very few LLUM staff members have seen more than two of the ten films nominated for Best Picture this year, but we nevertheless conducted our own vote. And the winner is. . .
::Drum Roll::
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.
In the voting for Best Picture of 2009 by the Academy of Little Lights Staff and Motion Picture Experts, Precious received four votes, followed by Avatar (three), The Blind Side (two), Up (two), and The Hurt Locker (one). Two members of the Academy abstained from voting.
A group of our teen interns also enjoyed Precious, the story of a Harlem teen who overcomes adversity to find a better path, and here Cierra Peterson shares her review of the film:
The movie Precious was very interesting. Although it was sad and depressing, I really enjoyed the experience. Precious had her points where life may have gotten her down, but the movie inspired me to keep moving forward and focus on my dream. In the movie the star Claireece Precious Jones faced many trials and tribulations. She also had to rely on the government to help her succeed in life. I am thankful that I have people around me that help me to succeed when the government only sees me as a number.
[Plot spoilers and PG-13 content after the jump!]
Congratulations to ANN PAK, our winner of the LLUM messenger bag raffle!
Last month, we asked volunteers and supporters to submit their Little Lights’ stories to us before February 26th to be entered into a drawing for an exclusive, limited edition, Little Lights Urban Ministries MESSENGER BAG!
Thank you for all who participated! Keep sending us those stories via email () or through our facebook ”discussions” page!
Frontline Arlington spent this past Saturday morning with us at Urban DiP.
Urban DiP offers groups the opportunity to spend time with the children and youth of Potomac Gardens. The day is filled with fun, games, and lunch, provided by a group of volunteers. Below are a few pictures from a typical Saturday morning at Urban DiP.
We thank the many volunteers who dedicate their time to mold and invest in the youth at Potomac Gardens.
We also have Urban DIP dates available for 5/1 and 7/10. If you and your group would be interested in volunteering contact or gives us a call 202.548.4021.
Thanks again to the many volunteers that make things happen for us here at Little Lights Urban Ministries.
This afternoon we held a family luncheon for parents and guardians at our 1212 units from 11am - 1pm. We had music and an assortment of foods and desserts. Many of the families involved in Little Lights came by to fellowship and grab a bite to eat.
Check out more photos on our FLICKR
The Chinese Lunar year or Spring Festival is one of the most important holidays on the Chinese calendar. This year it was celebrated on February 14th. This past week our kids got to learn about the Chinese holiday and a festival was held for them. They were able to eat food, play games and also learn how to write Chinese characters. Little Lights Fellow Vivian Mah led the afternoon activities. Below are pictures and a video from our World Culture Day.
Why have a world culture day?
For many of the kids in our programs, life in and around Potomac Gardens is all they have ever known. Yet Washington, D.C. has the distinct advantage of being home to people from all over the world. What a great opportunity to share with the kids about life outside of the world that they have known! This is the goal of World Culture Day.
If you would be interested in volunteering for a World Culture Day please contact or give us a call at 202.548.4021.
See more pics on our FLICKR.
Here at Little Lights we love to have fun with our kids. Here are Bryant, James, Justin, and Terrance knocking out a beat before dinner.
We hope all our friends in the DC area stayed warm and safe last week, and on Presidents Day yesterday. Little Lights is up and running this week. Welcome back!
Here’s a snapshot of last week’s snow madness, and a word of encouragement, from volunteer Elizabeth Courtman:
I must say, it was a rough trip to Harris Teeter last night since “snowmageddon” hysteria was starting to take over. I had just come from a situation in which several people were crowded in a soup aisle causing a glass bottle to be knocked off of a shelf and shattered glass was everywhere. Not exactly a catastrophic event I know, but I was annoyed and disappointed in the people around me because NO ONE did anything! I told the proper people so it could be cleaned up.
I made my way through the crowd to the lines (of course people were not exactly very pleasant through any of this process), and as I was standing in line I felt a tap on my shoulder. Of course (and I am sad that I even thought this), I thought whoever it was was probably just going to be adding to the stressful situation that was grocery shopping last night, but to my VERY PLEASANT surprise it was some of the older girls [from Little Lights] who remembered me and wanted to say hello. Seeing them and chatting with them 100% made my day! Once again, LLUM comes to the rescue in getting me grounded again.
Due to inclement weather, Little Lights will be closed for the rest of the week (Thursday, 2/10 and Friday, 2/11). All subsequent programs are canceled.
Hope you are staying warm and safe!
Surprise!! We’re closed again.
Programs for Wednesday, 2/10 are canceled.
In the words of Jerry Springer-- take care of yourselves, and each other.
Due to inclement weather, Little Lights will be closed tomorrow. All programs will be canceled for Tuesday, 2/9.
Stay safe!
We will be closed Monday, Feb 8th due to the weather. We hope each and every one of you are staying warm and safe.
Little Lights will close at 12 noon today. All programs on Friday and Saturday are canceled. We hope you all have a safe weekend and make sure to stay warm.
Little Lights is a non-profit Christian urban ministry organization dedicated to showing the love of Jesus Christ to the inner city community of Southeast Washington, DC, particularly the children.
To contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign, please designate # 89156.
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