Hung Tao Choy Mei
The Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute uses the generous donations from the Ben’s Chili Bowl foundation to support our free after school program and free full day summer camps for DC children and youth. Some of the more specific uses have been and continue to be purchase of new lion and dragon costume performing equipment and repairs to the much used equipment on hand. We’ve also used the donations to expand our African Djembe Drumming Orchestra with new Djembe Drums and we intend to purchase African themed costumes in time for summer performances. We now have one of the largest collections of Chinese lion and dragon costumes and African and Chinese percussion equipment in the DMV and possibly the USA. We’ve also used these donations to expand the number of field trips for our participants outside of Washington, DC. Each year we charter a bus for our annual summer camp beach trip to Ocean City Maryland. The last two years funding from the Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation have allowed us to make trips to Mount Vernon, Virginia to the home of the first president George Washington and last year to Philadelphia to the Paul Robeson house where the famous actor, athlete, scholar and activist lived the last ten years of his life. We have also used some of the funds for repairs and improvements to our leased space. We’ve purchased painting supplies for our hallways and purchased and installed new toilets in bathrooms. We’ve also used BCF funds to purchase new vocal microphones for our latest project “The Artist’s Workshop” at our U Street space. We’re providing a venue and format for young people to have their voice heard in a safe secure space where they can invite their friends and family to watch and hear them perform. In April 2016 we begin classes in Anacostia by partnering with Children of Mine a wonderful community organization of thirty years.
Visit us at our website: www.jowga.org
Some videos of our performances and promo’s.
John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, Paul Robeson: On My Journey Now! Produced by The Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute
http://www.kennedy-center.org/video/index/M6679
Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute selected as the winning film at Stone Soup Films’ Doc-in-a-Day Program Festival (June 2015).
The Artist’s Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImG8M2dfjIs
The Mission of the Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute