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Due to Covid-19, places to volunteer have been limited around Louisville. Only a few still remain open, and even then most require you to have proof of vaccination, masks, etc. Many places are limited to adult-only volunteers. 

Here are 5 places to volunteer for youth and teens in Louisville, Ky. (Take note that some of these organizations are limited to virtual and at home volunteers.) 

1, The Kentucky Humane Society is a wonderful place to volunteer if you love animals and socializing with the workers. Due to Covid-19 in shelters volunteer opportunities are temporarily suspended, but you can do at home volunteering . These at home activities include making cat toys, dog toys, blankets, treats, etc. After making these toys and or treats, you go to the Humane society location and drop them off in the drop off bin out front, if the bin isn’t there then you go inside. After you drop them off, the workers either give you a paper certifying your hours or you email the coordinator (escoggins@kyhumane.org) to get a virtual copy. Locations vary, and you have to be 14 or older to volunteer. To find out different at-home projects you can do, click here. 

2, Louisville Parks And Recreation is a great place to volunteer if you like being outside and planting trees. Even if you have no prior experience planting trees, you’ll be taught and given the proper materials to do so. These hours are typically 3 hours, and it's a nice experience and normally they have another opportunity to plant more trees the following week. To sign up, you search on google “My Impact” and create an account, and then sign forms providing your age, background, etc. After you’ve completed this, you click a plus sign next to the volunteer opportunity you’d like to do and you’re automatically signed up. There are no age restrictions to tree planting and minors have to get a form signed by their parents. There is no set location, when you go on the myimpact website it’ll inform you of the location you volunteer for. 

3, The Ronald McDonald House has several opportunities to volunteer. You could volunteer from home by making gift bags, collecting pull-tabs and dropping off materials for the wish list drive. You could also volunteer in person with proof of vaccination. There are several things you can do in person, such as making meals, making snack bags, being a regular house volunteer, hosting activities, making lunches, etc. Typically these activities offer 2-3 hours of volunteer time. You can volunteer in groups and or alone by going on the Ronald McDonald website to contact/email the coordinator. The Location is at 550 S 1st St, Louisville, KY 40202. Ages 6 and older can volunteer. To volunteer you can click “get involved” this will take you to different ways you can volunteer. 

4, Dare to Care offers several volunteer opportunities with multiple hours depending on the task. Some of the most common volunteer opportunities for teens include: Food sorting, Assisting shoppers, Unloading food, Building food boxes, Cutting food and or making it, and more. These opportunities are usually on weekdays early in the morning, ranging from 1.50-3 hours. Different jobs offer different standards regarding Covid-19 prodicalls, some say you need to wear a mask and be vaccinated, while others say it’s optional and no vaccination needed. It goes for all jobs, not depending on location. There are multiple dare to care locations, and offer different jobs depending on location other than helping with food. You have to be 14 or older to volunteer. Main location is 5803 Fern Valley Rd, Louisville, KY 40228, but they vary, and there are no age restrictions. To find a Dare to Care location close by, you can click here to go on the website. 

5, Louisville Grows offers multiple tree planting opportunities year-round. You can volunteer in groups or individually, but with each opportunity you have to show proof of vaccination. Not only can you plant trees, you can also plant seeds in gardens. They also have a “Healthy House” where you can cook healthy foods and take virtual instruction to learn healthy ways. These opportunities have different hours for each one, but most last 2-3 hours. Locations vary and there are no age restrictions. There is no set location, but you can click here to go to the website.

Being new anywhere can be intimidating because being new means you are the outsider, and have to interact with individuals who have all known each other for some time. It can be very uncomfortable pushing yourself to talk to someone in a workplace, especially when you're new to the job. But what if your meeting people over Zoom, in the comfort of your home?

Some Brown School teachers have experienced what it is like to either be a first time teacher, or  a first time teacher at Brown, while in a pandemic. Jake Amettis, high school Social Studies teacher, says that he began working on Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI), and this was his first full year as a full-time teacher. He had finished his student teaching, and was helping at other schools in classroom settings. 

He explained that meeting faculty and teachers over Zoom was difficult because “you lose a lot of connections that you make when you meet new people in person.” He explained without that in-person contact, it wasn’t the same and as genuine. He explained while also using Google Meets“I tried to encourage students to turn their cameras on.” He explained that though a few students did participate in turning their cameras on, it wasn’t the same as a classroom setting so it was difficult to stay engaged, focused, and keep a routine.

 During NTI, Amettis explained that sleeping in was a perk, and though he had adjusted, it was a struggle to keep a routine with school while never leaving the house. Coming into school for really the first time was a strange, different transition. Amettis expressed how adjusting to NTI became the norm for him, however, coming into school over this past year has been a great experience. 

He said, “I started to really enjoy coming in and seeing student’s energy,'' being around people and students again brought back the ambiance of being in person. Mainly, teaching in-person has brought back that student-teacher relationship, creating comfortable environments for informal friendly conversations, and being able to feel comfortable in a new school. 

Another new addition to Brown has been Naresh Keswani, or as most people know him, Coach K. A lot of people have been influenced by his kind, charismatic energy, as well as his math skills. Many students have expressed their love for Coach K’s teaching and helping abilities for math. His reaction from Brown this year has been pretty positive, he expressed it only took a few adjustments to make the transition into school. He described it as “a good challenge”. Keswani says working at Brown, it's wonderful to see all the student interaction with each other, especially across grade-levels, the community of Brown is very comfortable. 

He says working at Brown worked out because his daughter teaches first grade, and it's nice to see all of the students in every grade level being responsible, respectful, safe, and always pursuing excellence. Keswani signs off, wishing for next year to pursue to always be a better educator and help benefit all of the students. 

High school has experienced a few teacher changes, but due to staffing changes, 7th and 8th grade social studies classes were left without a permanent teacher. Fortunately Rita Nichols stepped in, and was able to teach up until December. Starting in the middle of the year, Andrew Boles joined the Brown School. 

Boles began teaching the week before Christmas break he said upon first entering, he was able to meet all the staff and teachers, though it was different coming into an environment where everyone already met and interacted before students came into school. He further explained, “I previously worked at another school for twelve years, and had known people for some time, so it was just an adjustment.” Boles described it as stressful picking up in the middle of the year, having to have new students gain some trust and routine in his different teaching style. Boles plans that next year, with the ability to start up fresh, he will implement community building within his classes. He will have the advantage of building those student relationships from the start. 

American Sign Language (ASL) was offered as a foreign language during the 2021 NTI school year and became in-person this year. This is when Ms. Stacy Vonroenn joined Brown. “I was an educational interpreter for years. When the opportunity to teach ASL became available, I jumped!” 

Vonroenn explained that this is her second year of teaching; she had previously been at Manual, and began online (NTI) during the pandemic. She explained that NTI learning had been a challenge, “Students didn’t have the ability to be totally self reliant and responsible in the midst of so much uncertainty and stress.” Though coming in person and beginning at Brown was a major turnaround, Vonroenn explained the joy and community she found while working at Brown: “I’ve really loved the student body as well as the faculty here. Working with elementary age kids was especially fun.” Ms. Vonroenn will be teaching at Brown next year, and hopes to continue growing the community and keep improving as an educator. 

Finally, Ryan Hudson - the two year gym teacher here at Brown. Hudson began teaching on NTI, he explained that the beginning wasn’t so much as scary, but a real challenge, after meeting the staff, everyone had been really welcoming, though beginning first online, it was like being reintroduced to a different person than a square on a screen. It wasn’t easy making those student relationships. He explained that coming in person, it's wonderful to build the relationships with students which he considers to be a strength of his. Hudson believes that Brown is filled with so many bright, knowledgeable students who strive to be better and have the will to be here; he believes students' determination is what separates Brown from other schools. 

However, unlike most teachers, after three years of teaching, (Hudson spent his first year teaching at another school) Hudson is ready to start a new chapter in life. He was offered an opportunity to try something new, and he said, “I’ve loved my time here for the most part, nothing but great, however, things come up that you might not get a second chance at, so you have to take a leap, you never want to wonder what if?”

Brown School is always looking for ways to improve through student input. We were given the chance to voice our opinions earlier in the year with the schedule change forum, and it made me wonder if elementary kids were ever presented with the same opportunities as older students. Curious to see what the younger generation of Brown Bears had to say, I decided to conduct a few interviews and ask one simple question: if you could change one thing about our school, what would it be?

Ambitions varied greatly between students:

Kiya R. (kindergarten) had a design suggestion for Brown: “I’d change the bear to a polar bear because I love polar bears.”

Mia I. (kindergarten) was passionate about her ideal Brown School bear: “The bear… I’d change it to a panda. I LOVE them! They are so CUTE!”

Many students were also thinking about how they could help others with their ideal Brown School.

Chandler S. (1st grade) was thinking quite charitably when I interviewed him: “I’d probably give out one million dollars because we could be rich and buy fancy stuff. You can buy a new car with it. I’d give everybody one million dollars.” 

Sitting right next to Chandler, Judah S. (1st grade) also wanted to give to his fellow classmates: “Everybody would get ice cream because you can take it home with you.” 

Complete structure changes were highly requested among students as well.

Gabby R. (1st grade) had portability on the mind when coming up with her ideal Brown School: “I’d make the whole building fly around the world so we could see a lot. I’d travel to Las Vegas -- I’m going there for my birthday!” 

Gabby’s twin Naomi R. (1st grade) took her sister’s travel ideals to a much greater scale: “I’d make the building a spaceship so we could travel in space!”

Denayy P. (kindergarten) was thinking about helping others with her remodel: “I would change it into a hospital so people wouldn’t get hurt. One side would be a school and the other would be a hospital.” 

To round it all off, Gabriel T. (kindergarten) wins the award for the most creative proposal: “I would change it into a monkey school because I want it to be a different school. I want it to be silly. I want to be the king of school and do whatever I want.”

Amelia Connaway is a junior with (in today's world) a pretty unusual talent and interest. Conaway is a talented aspiring opera singer, who’s ultimately trying to save a “beautiful dying artform”. Her love of opera came about after seeing Phantom of the Opera, at about age 13 which she explicitly stated is not an opera. She explained how the book had a few opera mentions and afterwards Conaway fell in love with Faust, the first opera she heard. This led to a greater pique of interest, and she began practicing opera four and a half years ago, with lessons on Wednesday with a professional opera singer. However, Conaway says she practices on her own time as well, for at least two hours a day. “It's not just a chore to me,” she explained opera singing had become a passion she really wants to pursue and grow because of how much delight it brings her. 

As well as practicing regularly everyday, Conaway accomplished a couple major opportunities this year; she got into the Governor's School for the Arts (GSA), and sang at a Louisville Bats game on April 23rd. After seeing a sign in a neighbor's yard with information about GSA, she took an interest in what it was all about and decided, “I am going to do that, I don’t exactly know what it is, but I want to do it.” Before that audition she had been hesitant in her talent, whether she had something special, but the judges kept her in the audition room for a while, and stated to her, “It was an honor to hear you sing today.” That was a really grand and wonderful experience for Conaway in her opera singing journey. 

The opportunity to sing at the Bats Game sprung from a fundraiser through Brown, where if they sold enough tickets, a student from Brown would be given an opportunity to sing. 

Conaway explains how it was her first performance and as she sang the “National Anthem” she was nervous for the audience's reaction because she sang the song classically, not in a common pop perspective. “I was rethinking my entire life choices, then I did it, the applause, the immediate response was really empowering.” She explained, having it been her first performance, having so many strangers immediately rise from their seats and clap was such a joyous and ecstatic moment. 

She wants to continue to pursue opera, and she plans to apply for the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. GSA can offer her a scholarship to the school, and conveniently it had already been a top pick for her because it is the second school rated for vocal music in the country, under Julliard. Finally, Conaway suggests that people who don’t know a lot about opera look into it. She acknowledges that it is an acquired taste, but she believes everyone should try to listen to it at least once, and try to understand the art behind it.

Forecastle is here! For those of you who don’t know about Forecastle – Forecastle is a three day music festival held annually in Louisville, Kentucky. Forecastle 20’ and 21 were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year's Forescastle was not postponed and will be held this memorial day weekend from May 27 -May 29 at Waterfront Park.

Admission tickets offered are general admission, GA+ and VIP. General admission tickets offer filtered water stations with free refills, early access tickets to late night shows aboard the Belle of Louisville steamboat, and complimentary bike valet. GA+ tickets provide access to a private retreat with seating and shade near the MAST stage, air-conditioned restrooms and other amenities. VIP tickets provide priority entrance into the festival, complimentary salon services such as festival braids and glitter applications, unlimited in-and-out privileges to the VIP lounge and more. 

3 day tickets for general admission tickets start at 265 dollars and can go up to 285 dollars, 3 day GA+ tickets start at 395 dollars and can go up to 425 dollars and VIP tickets are 650 dollars. These prices do not include shipping and fees. 1 day tickets for general admission are 120 dollars, GA+ tickets are 185 dollars and VIP tickets are 325 dollars. 

Friday's lineup includes music artists: Jack Harlow, Porter Robinson, Clairo, Still Woozy, Earl Sweatshirt, COIN, Wale and more. Saturday's lineup includes artists: Tame Impala, Phoebe Bridgers, 6LACK, Quinn XCII, Lane 8 and others. And Sunday’s lineup includes: Tyler the Creator, Rüfüs Du Sol, Black Pumas, Alison Wonderland, Oliver Tree and others.

Artists are scheduled to go on at certain times. For Friday's lineup, Earl Sweatshirt is scheduled to perform from 5:45 PM-6:45 PM, Clairo is scheduled to perform from 7-45 PM-8:45 PM and Jack Harlow is scheduled to perform from 9:45 PM-11:00 PM at the MAST stage. Wale is scheduled to perform at 5:00 PM-5:45 PM, COIN is scheduled to perform from 6:45 PM-7:45 PM and Still Woozy is scheduled to perform from 8:45 PM-9:45 PM all at the BOOM stage. Porter Robinson is scheduled to perform at 9:15 PM-10:30 PM at the OCEAN stage. 

For Saturday’s lineup Quinn XCII is scheduled to perform from 6:00 PM-7:00 PM, Phoebe Bridgers is scheduled to perform from 7:45 PM-8:45 PM and Tame Impala is scheduled to perform from 9:45 PM-11:00 PM at the MAST stage. 6LACK is scheduled to perform from 8:45 PM-9:45 PM at the BOOM stage and Lane 8 is scheduled to perform from 9:15 PM-10:15 PM at the OCEAN stage.  

For Sunday’s lineup Oliver Tree is scheduled to perform from 5:45 PM-6:45 PM, Black Pumas is scheduled to perform from 7:45 PM-8:45 PM and Tyler, the Creator is scheduled to perform from 9:45 PM-11:00 PM at the MAST stage.  Rüfüs Du Sol is scheduled to perform at 9:45 PM-11:00 PM at the BOOM stage and Alison Wonderland is scheduled to perform from 9:30 PM-10:30 PM at the OCEAN stage. 

So much fun might have you hungry, thankfully there will be food vendors like Ben & Jerry’s, Fistful of Tacos, Hot Buns Food Truck, Happy Belly Bistro, Sunergos Coffee, and much more. Make sure to have a lot of fun at this year's Forecastle Festival, stay hydrated and remember to be safe!