Hollywood Hearts Program Visits the Club

On Sunset Boulevard we hear the immortal words, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” 12 talented youth from The Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester experienced just that and more when they participated in a movie-making experience with Hollywood HEART, a Burbank, CA- based non-profit organization, who partners with charities serving at-risk youth. One of Hollywood HEART’s signature programs, The Movie Team, offered an intensive workshop, spanning the entire school vacation week. Throughout the week club members worked directly with volunteers from the film industry to plan and produce a short film. The kids learned the entire process of making a film. More importantly they were part of a successful team mentored by professional adults, a rare opportunity for many youth and a life experience from which they can draw pride and confidence. To celebrate the success and create a lasting memory of the member’s accomplishment, each session concludes with a real Hollywood-style premiere. The “stars” are recognized for their talent and hard work, and receive a copy of the film. This is the first time that Hollywood HEART has gone “on location” in this area.

The two Massachusetts Movie Team projects are being produced in honor of Nora O’Brien, a Hollywood HEART board member, who died last year, and was originally from Hartford, Connecticut and attended Boston College, as did Executive Director, Lisa Cavanaugh. David Gale, Executive Vice President of MTV New Media and Specialty Films Division and Founder and President of the Board of Hollywood HEART, says that the kids “keep our professional crew on their toes”. “The Movie Team has helped Hollywood HEART find its unique voice by tapping into the creative community here in Los Angeles.
Now we are bringing that creative voice to kids in other parts of the country and exporting one of Hollywood’s greatest assets,” Gale further noted. Hollywood HEART has worked with many other organization across the country and worldwide including Boys and Girls Clubs, Hollygrove, Hawthorne Cedar Knolls (NY), School on Wheels, CoachArt, Intel Clubhouse and Cape Film Commission (South Africa), to bring these film ideas to life. Congratulations to Club members: Shyquan Kelley, Marissa Sneed, Erin O’Brien, Brittney Andrews, Joaquim Andrade, Jessica Beharry, Dillion Emery, Elizabeth Lewis, Paul Lewis, Sherry Nguyen, Minerva Sanchez, and Connor Shea who took part in the program. The next step for the group will be a screening of their film which is expected to take place in March. For more information on the Hollywood Hearts program please contact VP of Operation, Dave Bonnell at ext. 1430.

Regional Fine Arts Exhibit & Spring Registration
On Saturday, March 13th registrations will be accepted for our Spring session of Art programs. Fine Arts classes will include Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Girls Art, Boys Art and Arts & Crafts with one class for Bantams and Cadets (ages 6 to 9) and one for Juniors (ages 10-12). The classes, which are held on weekday afternoons, will begin the week of April 5th and will come to an end in early June. In addition to these Fine Arts Classes we will also offer small group clubs such as Drama, Beginner Photography, Ballet Class, Fashion Photography and Teen Arts. These classes will be offered after 6:00 p.m. on weekday evenings. For those members currently enrolled in our Music program the classes that began in early February will continue through to our Recital in May. These classes include guitar, voice, bass, piano and drums and are held in the new Music Clubhouse. On a positive note, this past week the following members were recognized by seeing their artwork entered into Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s National Fine Arts competition, which is currently holding five regional exhibits across the country as a follow-up to local exhibits held last month. The following members will be representing our Club at the Northeast regional exhibit being held in Groton, CT during the month of March: Nyla Arianna Spencer, Kellyanne Talavera, Kimberly Huynh, Adil Fernandes, Shannon Zarnoch, Patricia Rizzo, Darius Hinds, Giancarlos Jacobs, Stephan Spencer, Abby Kozlowski and Kyla Sneed. Good luck to all of these members on their outstanding entries. Winning entries from the Regional exhibit will be sent to the National exhibit being held in May in New York City. For more information on any of our Art programs please contact Donna Seery at (617) 288-7120 ext. 1320.