Project Stewardship provides enriched hands-on learning experiences for teens and young adults, pairing education and socialization. Our interactive community-based membership program offers a variety of channels for young people to get involved in becoming effective participants in their own learning.
This program meet four times monthly for a group workshop or special event at Sangha Education Center, an outing to one of our community partner locations, and program participants may take part in regular Dungeons & Dragons events twice per month. Ideas for workshops and outings are participant-driven and guided by passion-sharing adults and peer-mentors! We afford teens and young adults the opportunity to build knowledge, skills and friendships in addition to self and social awareness as they explore areas of interest and embark on new experiences.
Sangha-hosted Dungeons & Dragons group storytelling adventures with imaginative role-play have taken on different forms. We have created activity stations (outdoors when weather permits), incorporated nature and science themes with artistic sets and props, and extended character development including 3D models digitally created via Hero Forge. There is something for everyone as we build social skills, creativity, planning and decision-making ability, collaboration, perspective taking, and more… in fun and flexible ways.
In addition, our young people come to understand the relationship between personal well-being and environmental stewardship while cultivating leadership skills in caring and advocating for people and planet at Sangha and by way of community partner outings. We work to inspire an interconnected understanding of self, others, and the natural world. In taking care of one another (and nature), we all flourish.
Some of the hands-on workshops taught by Sangha Staff or community partners have included the History of Mosaic Art Glass Designs and creating our own for our Meadow Farm space, Carpentry Workshops such as creating a Pollinator House and a Totem Pole based on a schematic design, and piloting Long Island History in Your Own Backyard presentations. We have also been happy to introduce Mindfulness for Stress Reduction via Body Mind Education, Astronomy with Telescope Observations via Amateur Observers Society of NY, Media and Theatre Arts via SUNY Old Westbury Web Radio (OWWR), and an ongoing favorite… Spirit of Huntington Arts Center for their Artists Come Alive and other art programs.
Some of the outings our young people have embarked on together have been to Restoration Farm for a farm tour and medicinal herb walk; visits to Sweetbriar Nature Center to learn about animals who are there for rehabilitation and exploring the nature center & butterfly house; boat trips with Operation Splash for environmental beach cleanups of the South Shore Bays; marine life exploration and education with The WaterFront Center of Oyster Bay, art exhibits and nature walks at the Nassau County Museum of Art, museum activities related to Long Island geology, Native American archaeology and natural history at Garvies Point Museum and Preserve, several cultural arts outings sponsored by Long Island Traditions, and MORE!
We are grateful to our community partners who work with us and invest in our youth.
Sangha Education Center collaborates with various department at SUNY College at Old Westbury such as First Year Experience, Honors College, Psychology, Education, and Media & Communication for workshops, outings, and special events. In addition, college students from SUNY Old Westbury come on board as interns and volunteers, working with us in a variety of capacities (i.e., peer-mentors, assistant teachers, research assistants, blog writers, photographers, etc.). Interns and volunteers participate in our orientation training and Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) basics through our Community Support Group.
We have been privileged to work with graduate students from Stony Brook University and Adelphi University via Capstone Projects who have contributed to the expansion of Sangha Education Center initiatives and provided additional opportunities for our Project Stewardship participants. We are a collaborative community!
If you would like to contribute towards a Project Stewardship scholarship, see our Sponsorship page! Feel free to donate a full or partial scholarship or more than one. You will be changing the life of a young person through your generosity!