Two By Twelve

Two By Twelve rocked another incredible year at Governors Ball!

If you don't know what we're talking about, every year 2x12 is given the opportunity to sell concessions at a few music festivals around New York City. All tips and proceeds that we receive go directly to 2x12 so we can keep doing what we're doing. Luckily, we've been the highest grossing tent 3 years in a row! 

A big thank you all of our volunteers for your help and support last weekend. We couldn't do it without you!!

Studies show that if you relax, more will get done. Yes, that means go for the vacation, take your 10 hours of sleep, and definitely grab that nap. And if you can't decide on how long your nap should be, aim for 60-90 minutes. Scientists have unearthed that these longer naps improved memory test results just as much as getting 8 hours of sleep. 

Not convinced? Male basketball players that got 10 hours of sleep at night improved their free throws and three-pointers by an average of 9 percent. In 2006, Ernst & Young did a study on their employees and discovered that for each 10 additional hours the employee took for vacation, there was an 8 percent increase in their year-end performance ratings, judged by their supervisors.  

Emma is only fifteen years old and already super involved with Two By Twelve. She has been an invaluable member of Project Survive and the rest of the organization. Outside of Two By Twelve, Emma hopes to become "an increasingly avid listener/observer/collector-of-stories". She is interested in psychology and literature, but considers herself equally fascinated by conversations she overhears on the subway ride home and intriguing graffiti scrawled on cement. You can usually find her walking the city, in what she dubbed "New Yorker style", while daydreaming. Or obsessively writing, rapidly reading, frantically painting, and bending over backwards to take a photograph. After all of that, she somehow manages to find some free time to practice the cello and piano. 

I was lucky enough to ask Emma about her experience with Two By Twelve so far and I would like to share that with you all today!

How did you get involved with Project Survive?

I discovered "Project Survive" by meeting the extraordinary Emily Mottahedeh, i.e. "Ms. Mott". What a blessing that we crossed paths!

What kind of work are you doing with Project Survive?

I try my best to contribute to Project Survive by helping with web design, photography editing, and miscellaneous idea exchanges.

What have you learned from your experience with the project so far?

Project Survive completely changed the way I understand the meaning of the word "survive". Prior to this adventure, I'd learned to pin "survival" as something dire and painful; "survival" sounded like "tragedy". Yet this had always seemed essentially wrong in a way I could not identify.

Then Project Survive. As I listened to conversations unfold around me and went through photograph after photograph of these remarkable young people - these remarkable young survivors - my definition fell apart in order to be replaced by a different definition; one that feels much more true. Now, I am beginning to embrace survival as the driving force within a whole person; a force inextricably tied to tremendous pain worthy of acknowledgment and inextricably tied to tremendous beauty, courage, and strength worthy of celebration.

What has this experience been like for you?

My experience with Project Survive has been and continues to be life-affirming. From the moment I read the Two By Twelve mission statement ("to improve, empower, and enrich the lives of individuals and families suffering from physical, mental, or emotional barriers through various music and arts based initiatives"), I felt that a deep believe I'd held for as long as I could remember had been clarified. When I am with the people I work with doing the work that I am able to do, I am alive and I am human and I am exactly where I need to be.

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to Emma for her time with this interview! I hope you all find her as incredible and awesome as we do here at Two By Twelve. She has done so much for someone her age and continues to do more each day. We are so lucky to have her!

This is another update on our Sunday activities with the Ronald McDonald House! Our most recent project was an Alien-Making workshop. Awesome, right?

The kids went all out for this activity. First, they made their own planets using Manila folders and turned them into sets or stages. If you look at the above pictures, you can see some kids showcasing their cool, new models! 

After, they finally got to the alien-making part. This was done using Model Magic in all sorts of colors. Their aliens and planets were given unique names and some kids even made stories about them! A few adventurous kids had their new worlds interact with other new worlds. All in all, it was a great activity that had everyone's imagination running wild. 

(And for those of you observant readers, you might see the picture of a pizza box with a delicious looking pizza in it. One boy decided he was so hungry he wanted to make his own dinner! It then turned into a box to decorate for the younger kids.)

Hi everyone! I hope that everyone survived Snow Storm Nemo and spent some quality time indoors! Here is a quick update on what Two By Twelve has been up to.

One of our recent Sunday activities at the Ronald McDonald House New York was a puppet making workshop. As you can see from the pictures, the kids were extremely excited to make their own puppets with moveable parts. We had a great turn out and plenty of people (including adults!) making these little paper friends.

The lovely Carrie Shiffrin was leading the workshop, and for those of you who remember was one of our featured artists a little back. For those in need of a quick refresher, she is a teaching artist and art therapist at the Children's Museum of Manhattan and the Calhoun School. Check out her blog for more examples of her work. 

Two By Twelve was recently interviewed by Push Pause, a Verizon FiOs television program that features organizations that make a difference around New York. Push Pause has talked to many different groups, ranging from the Teddy Bear Clinic that teaches pre-K students basics in first-aid and EMS to South Side High School where a soccer tournament was hosted to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. 

Talented videographer, Eric Alfredo, interviewed Two By Twelve and put together a video of the interview, featuring founder Emily Mottahedeh and Project Survive photographer Martha Superti, both donning their Two By Twelve t-shirts. 

For those of you who are new to Two By Twelve, Project Survive is our long term photography initiative that seeks to reveal the triumphant side of young Pediatric Cancer patients, survivors and families. Martha takes black and white portraits of each young Cancer survivor, emphasizing the strength, courage, and beauty that exists within each young person affected by childhood Cancer. Many of them are seen with their family, those who were alongside them throughout the difficult times. We are trying to show the world that Cancer does not leave a negative impact on the individual. Instead, it empowers them because they are stronger than the disease they outlasted. At Two By Twelve, we believe this makes them truly extraordinary. Each of them has a story of survival that we want to share with you, one picture at a time. 

In the interview, Emily and Martha talk about their inspiration for doing everything they do for Project Survive and Two By Twelve. Emily talks about her experiences with Cancer growing up and how she survived twice by the time she was twelve, resulting in our name, Two By Twelve. Martha talks about the two kinds of pictures she takes: portraits of survivors proudly displaying their scars and portraits of survivors with two dates, and sometimes just one, the first being the date of their diagnosis and the other being the date of their last treatment if they had one. Emily finishes off the interview with a message to any survivors or anyone currently undergoing treatment: "There is no one in the world that I consider to be more courageous and more beautiful than you are. It is a battle that is an incredibly difficult one but I've never met a single patient or survivor that doesn't inspire me and know that you and your story inspires people like me to tell your story, to tell the stories of other people who are going through what you are going through everyday."

Currently, we are in the process of creating a website to show the Project Survive photographs. So far, we have photographed over 10 participants, ranging from ages 12 - 27. We hope to take many, many more. 

Introducing . . . Carrie!

Carrie Shiffrin is a teaching artist who works at the Children's Museum of Manhattan and the Calhoun School. She has a passion for obsessive drawings, found object art and students who say funny things. You can find examples of her work, and the work of her amazing students at http://wheelsturning.tumblr.com/.

In September 2011, Two By Twelve was lucky enough to meet and work with twelve of the absolutely perfect young people at The Cancer Center For Kids at Winthrop University Hospital on Long Island. Together, these incredible young patients and survivors had written a beautiful and powerful song titled "A Song Is A Dream To Us."

With the help of CCK Music Therapist Glenn Schifiano, and Two By Twelve volunteers Emily Mottahedeh, Lesley Brown and Elena Box, Two By Twelve was able to provide artistic support to these inspiring, and insanely cute, kids.

We met once a week to provide artistic support, specifically choreography, for this song, in preparation for a performance at a November 5th fundraiser, which was held to raise money for CCK's Music Therapy Program.

Today marks the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This weekend I attended a yoga retreat for women who have survived Cancer. Women as young as 23 and as old as 75. Mothers with daughters, friends, and strangers.

During our last yoga session, our instructor, Tari Prinster, told all of us a story as we rested in corpse pose. It was a story about a story. A story that a grandfather was telling his grandson. In it, the grandfather talks about two wolves that are fighting within his heart: A "good" wolf and a "bad" wolf. The bad wolf feeds off of jealousy and envy. It often feels sorrow. It is angry The good wolf feeds off compassion, love and seeks only to better itself. The grandson asks his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The grandfather answered, "The one you feed." Going into this retreat, I was feeling what I can only describe as wrong. I was Anxious I was Overwhelmed I was Exhausted I was Lonely I was Envious I was Jealous I was Dissatisfied I was Angry And a lot of the time, I was extremely sad. I have always struggled to find sources of genuine happiness in my life. The only source that has been constant in making me feel whole, beautiful, and for lack of a better word, good, is that of the Cancer community.

Here is a group of people that have been faced with levels of real pain, both physically and emotionally, that most will not experience in their lifetime. Their lives have, like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air himself, been twist turned upside down. They were faced with the real possibility of dying. Of losing everything. Despite all of this, they fight. They fight every single day of their life. And in this fight, they become stronger, more compassionate, courageous, wise, hopeful and inspiring. They define beauty. To be around this community of people is infectious. Their intelligence, their perseverance, their compassion, their courage, and above all, despite their diagnosis, which ranged from Stage IV Breast Cancer to Leukemia to Cancer of the bile ducts, their ability to continue to give every single piece of them to everybody else. It is not very often that I can say that I feel whole and happy, and I can honestly say that I left this weekend feeling both. I don't know what to say to these women besides, thank you. From the very bottom of my heart, thank you. It is because of you, that myself, and Two By Twelve strive to improve, empower and enrich the lives of children and families affected by Cancer. And we will continue to do so, not only because it improves and empowers their lives, but because it improves and empowers ours.

A Message From The Founder . . .

Today marks the second day of September, and more importantly, the second day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

It also marks 10 years of being Cancer-free.

For every child, sibling, family, caretaker, friend, and individual affected by Cancer, this post is for you.

When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

I underwent over two years of an intensive chemotherapy protocol.

At age ten, I relapsed.

I will not attempt to describe my personal battle with childhood Cancer, because it's indescribable.

Instead, I will thank Cancer for every single thing it has done for me.

It began when I was five years old and had my life turned upside down.

It was Cancer that exposed to a group of doctors and nurses that showed me, at a very young age, what it means to be selfless, compassionate, caring and good.

To those doctors and nurses, thank you.

It was Cancer that showed me what it means to suffer. For people of all ages, but especially children, to suffer from what can be the most painful and life-altering experience one can imagine. I felt the pain, in the physical sense, and I felt the pain in the face and heart of every single family affected by childhood Cancer. Despite this pain, I learned what it means to be strong and to persevere in the face of true suffering. I learned what it means for a parent to watch their child suffer, and I saw what it means for a parent to truly love a child.

To all of the children and families I have seen and known, thank you.

It was Cancer that taught me what it means to be a fighter. Despite years of unbearable emotional and physical pain and a loss of childhood, every single child must fight this battle until the battle is over. It is these children, and my own experience that has taught me to laugh in the face of Cancer and to understand that the most inspiring individuals in the entire world are the children battling this disease. Every single child is beautiful, resilient and courageous in ways that I am yet to see anywhere else.

To all of those patients, and survivors, thank you.

Cancer taught me what it means to be a survivor. There is no identify I align myself with more than that of a survivor. It is being a survivor that has led me to devote my life to helping those who are in the midst of, or have survived, serious barriers such as Cancer. But this credit does not belong to me, it belongs to the amazing people I have met along the way. The children who are stronger than the strongest person that I know, and to the parents who define love, compassion and sacrifice.

To every single person affected, thank you.

Cancer is a monster. It attacks at random. Almost having a way of choosing the most innocent and strong. It sometimes takes away the lives of these incredible people. It destroys the lives of everybody around them. It erases childhood. It damages the body, the mind and the soul.

But it does much more than this; it creates one of the most beautiful and inspiring communities that exists in the world today. A community of children and families that deserve recognition not just one month a year, but every single day. A community that exemplifies courage, survival, perseverance, humor, love, intelligence, compassion, strength and real beauty. I am lucky to have ever been a part of this community and I continue to be blown away by every single person in it.

Meet Alana!

A New York native, Alana studied at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Having an art background and  a penchant for working with her hands she became fascinated with jewelry design upon her return to New York.

She is currently developing a line of handmade jewelry. Her jewelry designs are inspired by nature and are largely comprised of metal and stone. In addition to her art background, Alana also has extensive experience working with kids. She has worked as a volunteer at the Children's Village, the adolescent unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital and at the Children's Museum for the Arts. 

Check out this video of Two By Twelve's yoga workshop with the beautiful kids at the Ronald McDonald House of New York!

This beautiful post is sponsored by Susan G. Komen. Check out this video

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Hey guys! We'd like to tell you all about a recently released album from Mel Hsu and Josh Smith, entitled "Analogue". The record, which was funded entirely through Kickstarter.com, represents the product of over two years of collaboration between these two incredibly talented musicians. Both from upstate New York, Mel and Josh met at Wesleyan University, where they first began combining the sounds of Mel's soulful cello with Josh's dynamic rapping. With the help of a few accompanying musicians, they have created a six-song collection that is as difficult to categorize as it is wonderful to listen to. Two By Twelve is excited to feature the title track on our blog for you guys! To stay up to date with Mel and Josh, make sure to visit their Facebook pages (Josh's and Mel's). And definitely check out their Bandcamp profile for the rest of the album. Enjoy!

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