"I Have a Dream..."

I should have posted this photo essay back in January but my sister got me hooked on a personal blog on Tumblr and I guess I let the more serious stuff fall to the wayside.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Literacy Americorps members held a "Community through Literacy" event for the Lake Worth Community. With the help of community partners, cooperate sponsorship, and neighborhood volunteers, we celebrated the work of MLK and promoted community service, literacy, and cultural diversity. We encouraged families to share their culture, engage in fun and educational literacy activities, learn about the contributions of Dr. King, and explore resources concerning literacy, citizenship, health, and other beneficial programs.

Allison, a Literacy Americorps member, creates a space for the children to write about their dreams in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.


We raised $6,000 for School and Hygeine Supply Kits for former foster care and homeless youth going to school in the Palm Beach County. The bags were made by community members at the event and then distributed at Vita Nova Inc. an Independent Living Services Organization dedicated to providing life skills to former foster care and homeless youth in the community.




Shawna, a Literacy Americorps member, helps children express their creativity at the Arts N' Crafts station.


Thanks to the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, we were able to donate thousands of books to children at all reading levels.


Parents and children excitedly wait in line to receive five free books from the Literacy Coaltion.


Art projects from neighboring elementary schools are displayed in honor of MLK.






Students in some of the Literacy Americorps members' ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languagues)classes use the "I Have a Dream..." space to practice their English and express their feelings towards their beloved country, Haiti.





















Literacy Americorps succesfully served over 300 children and parents in the Lake Worth Community, strengthening our neighborhood ties and promoting community volunteering by working together to improve the lives of our children through literacy.

Focus Project 2011

Today I submitted four photographs from the "Faces of a Massai" collection to the Focus Project 2011 Contest.

http://www.focusproject2011.com/photobook.php?artist=laurenmillerphotography

Because I couldn't include the entire collection in the contest, I've decided to informally post the rest here. Enjoy--

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

"The morning dew--
How brilliantly
it sparkles,
How fleeting."
-John Naka

After three straight weekends of performances, I finally had a free Saturday to myself. Instead of hitting the beach with my roommates or watching PBS specials on TV with Rachel and Danielle, I decided to explore what South Florida's more natural side had to offer. Among all of the tourist attractions, the bright lights on the horizon while driving down Okeechobee Boulevard, and the crowded bars and nightclubs that the "hottest place in the world" has to offer, it's easy to forget about the natural beauty that South Florida has preserved.

About five minutes west of I-95, hidden among palms and pines down a narrow paved road sits The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, first opened in 1977 when this preserve became the center for Japanese art and culture in South Florida. Today, the museum contains rotating exhibitions in its galleries, tea ceremony performances, educational outreach programs connecting local schools and communities, and Japanese festivals celebrated throughout the year. The preserve features six garden sites that represent changes in Japanese garden design over 1,000 years of Japanese history. Following closely to the guidebook as I meandered down the trails, I was able to witness this change in design and understand more clearly how the architectural design of the gardens juxtapose with the shifts in Japanese history and culture.





These are the Morikami Falls. By combining massive boulders and flowing water the falls are supposed to compose the feelings of dynamic tensions.



These flowers were planted outside of the Morikami Memorial in memory of George Morikami, the donor of the park. The traditional gravestone that sits in the memorial was erected in 1989 as a gift from the people of Miyazu, Morikami's hometown.



"Bamboo Grove" The sound of bamboo stalks knocking against each other in the breeze offers sensory pleasure. Bamboo forms a triad of auspicious emblems with pine and plum, a common motif in Japanese art.



"Karesansui Late Rock Garden" (Muromachi Period, 15th-16th Centuries) Karesansui means "dry landscape." In this style of garden, rocks are arranged in a bed of raked gravel, while plants take a secondary role. The style was perfected at Zen Buddhist temples.





"Tsukubai" is a water basin originally placed in a tea garden to allow guests to cleanse and ritually purify themselves. Today, tsukubai serve as focal points in many gardens. Water is channeled through a bamboo pipe into the basin as if diverted from a clean mountain stream.

©laurenmillerphotography

I've decided to start documenting my commitment with Americorps through a series of Photo Essays. I thought my work deserved a place of its own, apart from the countless number of pictures I have on Facebook of my friends and I at our local establishments ;) I may even add a few essays from my past travel experiences, too, so stay tuned!

My first post will be from a shoot I did at The Great Visit Florida Beach Walk a few months ago in Lake Worth, Florida. As Americorps volunteers stationed in Palm Beach County, our group decided to take part in an event that promoted tourism in Florida. After the BP Oil Spill in 2010, the stigma that the Florida beaches were covered in oil dramatically effected Florida's tourism industry. Florida volunteers from coast to coast dedicated their day to one mile of beach where they took pictures and later uploaded them to the organization's website. The goal was to have pictures from every mile of the entire Florida coast; that's 825 pictures for 825 miles of beautiful beach! During my day of service, I was able to capture a few shots of the day's events. Enjoy!



Don, an Americorps volunteer, talks about the purpose of The Great Visit Florida Beach Walk to a mother and daughter, locals to Lake Worth, Florida.



The Lake Worth Pier jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean just after sunrise.



Sam, another Americorps volunteer, on his phone rallying up the other volunteers for a beautiful morning of service in sunny Florida!





A native to these waters catches a few waves.











Local kids say they are enjoying the lack of tourism. "We grew up here; surfing, hanging out, sneaking cigarettes under the pier from our parents. It's nice not having the beach bombarded with snobby tourists for a change." [Four pictures above]



Lake Worth Beach, Fl.



Lake Worth, Fl.



A bird perched outside of John G's Diner, a favorite spot to grab a bite among locals and tourists alike!

©laurenmillerphotography