A community wouldn't be a community without people, organizations, and events that aim to create, build, and sustain the community. Non-profit organization TRUE Skool is one of those organizations that aim to foster positive growth within the community it serves with the honest and lofty goal of trying to make the world a better place.
TRUE Skool's focus is more on the hip-hop side of the tracks, and this is something that has led the organization to draw fire from a local politician -- Ald. Bob Donovan -- and others that may not understand "alternative" movements that focus mainly on youth.
Some of the programs that TRUE Skool provides are art classes that drive graffiti artists away from tagging buildings illegally and points them towards canvas to develop their guerrilla style expression into a piece of art that won't get them jail time. They also go out into the community to paint over illegal graffiti and to beautify the blocks of Milwaukee through a by-hand cleanup effort. They get involved heavily in break-dancing events, sponsor freestyle battles, and are beginning some pretty cool classes for this spring and summer.
I had a chance to talk with TRUE Skool's Executive Director Sarah Patterson about the new and the old.
OnMilwaukee.com: What programs is TRUE Skool putting on this spring and summer?
Sarah Patterson: TRUE Skool just kicked off our new Just Rockin' Music Program, named after the late great DJ Rock Dee, this past Saturday. It's a 10 week beginners DJ class for 14-18-year-olds. Classes are taught by a group of volunteer DJs with DJ Bizzon leading the effort and Kid Cut Up, JDL, Jank One, Venus and DJ Webspinna also helping.
We'll also start music production classes March 2 where teens can learn how to write, record and produce original music and they will contribute to the TRUE Skool mixtape project. Both classes end on April 30 with a certificate of completion ceremony at Sweet Black Coffee, where participants will display their new skills. This event is open to the public and sets start at 6:00pm.
During the summer we will offer our annual canvass project where teens can learn how to paint original artwork which will be displayed and sold at our annual gallery night event in November, and the Adopt-a-Community program where we transform and beautify neighborhoods through artistic, social, and environmental initiatives. More info on these programs can be found at trueskool.org.
OMC: What has been the reaction to TRUE Skool by the public after Bob Donovan's tirade against your organization last summer?
SP: It has shown us that there is so much support for the work we do and that there is such a disconnect between what the community wants, in order to create positive change, and what certain public officials think the community wants. We have received support from as far as the U.K.
We have a waiting list of over 10 murals requests for the spring. We have three neighborhoods interested in us adopting them through our Adopt-a-Community program. We built new partnerships with nationally recognized companies, requests for programming has increased, we've seen increased personal donations, and the list goes on.
OMC: What is the core value at the base of TRUE Skool?
SP: We believe in the idea of "it takes a village" to transform the lives of young people and create positive change in our communities; partnerships are a must in order to accomplish great things.
OMC: What do you hope to accomplish with 2011?
SP: We hope to successfully launch the Just Rockin' music program, secure new funders who believe in our mission and grassroots approach to transforming the lives of young people, and to become more self-sustainable though creative revenue streams, and we hope to launch our new product line "TRUE Kulture."
OMC: If people want to volunteer for TRUE Skool or help you out with anything, how can they do so?
SP: Contact us via email at info@trueskool.org or phone 414-445-9079, and always check out the latest news and happenings.
Born in Milwaukee and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Concordia University Wisconsin alumnus Poppe has spent the majority of his life in or around the city and county of Milwaukee.
As an advocate of Milwaukee's hip-hop community Poppe began popular local music blog Milwaukee UP in March 2010. Check out the archived entries here.
Though heavy on the hip-hop, Poppe writes about other genres of music and occasionally about food, culture or sports, and is always ready to show his pride in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
