There’s always something happening in the Hostess City. Stay in the know about upcoming events and the latest information with our News & Notes.
River Street Sweets presents check to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire
River Street Sweets, an iconic Savannah candy company with a sweet 50-year history, is making a generous donation of $1,973 to support the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire (RMHC). The check presentation will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the RMHC house, 4710 Waters Ave, Savannah, Ga.
This donation commemorates the year River Street Sweets was established in 1973. It also represents the candy store’s commitment to honoring the company’s five decades of success since its founding. In 1973, the founders opened the flagship location on River Street, which marked the beginning of a journey that would make River Street Sweets one of the top 50 candy franchises in America.
“We are delighted to offer our support to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire,” expressed Jennifer Strickland, co-owner of River Street Sweets. “This non-profit organization provides a restful, comfortable place for children and their families to find refuge and support as they receive medical treatment at our nearby hospitals. This home away from home is crucial and we can only imagine the many challenges these families face, and we’re dedicated to alleviating their burdens in this special way.”
Savannah VOICE Festival encapsulates season’s “Lasting Legacy” theme in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” production on Aug. 19
The Savannah VOICE Festival (SVF) will round out their 11th season operas with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, August 19 at Savannah’s Cultural Arts Center located at 201 Montgomery Street in Savannah.
Under SVF Artistic Director Jorge Parodi’s baton, a timeless story comes to Savannah for the first time to win everyone’s heart. Puccini’s poignant score follows the tragic tale of Cio Cio San, a young Japanese girl who falls in love with American naval officer Pinkerton, with devastating consequences. This performance is an exciting collaboration with the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy (TIVAA) which was established to provide Japanese artists specializing in vocal performance unique opportunities to refine their craft with master artists from the United States and throughout the world. Former participants of workshops presented by the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy, founded by SVF Artistic Director Jorge Parodi, will be flying to Savannah to perform in this iconic tragic opera.
“It has long been an ambition of mine to bring together TIVAA and SVF,” said Parodi. “The opportunity to bring Japanese artists I have worked with in Tokyo to Savannah for our 11th Festival is a dream come true and I hope audiences come to the Cultural Arts Center to experience this unique occasion.”
In addition, artists participating in this production will work with legendary soprano and VOICExperience faculty member Maria Spacagna, who was the first American-born artist to perform the role of Madama Butterfly at La Scala. She has recorded for Vox Classics, the first commercial recording of the 1904 La Scala world premiere version of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”. Spacagna will be presenting a master class during the Festival at 1 p.m. Thursday, August 17 at the Yamacraw Performing Arts Center located at 649 W. Jones Street in Savannah.
This production will be directed by Maryanne Telese who has a rich history with Butterfly, both directing it and singing as the lead role. Throughout her 27-year career as a singer, she sang the role of Cio-Cio-San in 367 performances with companies such as New York City Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Opera North, and many more. In some of these productions, she was hired to direct as well as sing the title role. Her extensive career includes productions of “Aida”, “La Traviata”, “Le Nozze di Figaro”, “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “La Boheme”, to name a few, for opera companies across the U.S.
“The mission of the Milnes VOICE Programs is to enhance and nurture the talent of young professional singers while carrying on the legacy of world-renowned artists, like Maryanne Telese and Maria Spacagna, and we are fulfilling that mission with this production. We hope the community will join us in experiencing this one-of-a-kind performance,” said Maria Zouves, Co-founder and President of the Milnes VOICE Programs.
Tickets for Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” start at $40 for standard seating and $60 for premium seating. For a full lineup of all Savannah VOICE Festival concerts, performances, master classes and other events, or to purchase tickets, please call 855-766-7372, email info@savannahvoicefestival.org or visit www.savannahvoicefestival.org.
Plant Riverside District to host job fair on Aug. 22, offering a wide range of career opportunities
JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District will host a job fair in their Amethyst Ballroom on Tuesday, Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to fill a variety of positions. Attendees can enjoy incredible career opportunities with competitive wages and benefits and work in a fun, professional, team-oriented environment.
Immediate openings are available for in a range of areas including culinary, housekeeping, food and beverage and engineering. Medical, dental and vision benefits are available as well as a Marriott Room Discount Program, free employee shift meals, tuition reimbursement, free uniforms, life insurance and more.
Additional Job Fair highlights include on-site interviews, an overview of benefits available to Kessler Collection associates and free parking in the Plant Riverside District public parking garage (tickets will be validated at the job fair). Qualified candidates will receive job offers at the event. Employment is contingent on successful completion of a background check.
The JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District Job Fair is free and open to the public. Attendees are invited to pre-register online at kesslercareers.com or to bring a resume to the job fair on August 22.
Healthy Savannah provides $2,450 in REACH grants to healthy equity events on Aug. 26
Healthy Savannah is providing $2,450 in grant funding to support health equity education and awareness at two upcoming Savannah area events.
Back-to-School Youth Health Fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26 at Historic First Bryan Baptist Church, located at 575 W. Bryan St., in downtown Savannah.
Back-to-School Community Block Party 2023 is planned for 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug 26 at Greater Gaines Chapel AME Church, located at 1006 May St. in downtown Savannah.
The funding was made possible through a supplemental grant awarded in 2021 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to broaden initiatives of the five-year Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant awarded in 2018. The overall goal of the supplemental grant initiative is to focus on elevating COVID-19 and flu vaccine access, awareness, and acceptance, in certain low-wealth communities. The funds are administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. The individual mini-grants awarded were in the amounts of $1,200 for the Back-to-School Youth Health Fair and $1,250 for the Back-to-School Community Block Party.
“We are planning to offer free COVID-19 vaccinations to all students and their caregivers at the Back-to-School Youth Health Fair,” said Cecelia Kurtz, event chairperson. “We will be working in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Public Health of the Coastal District (DPH) and the Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), which will provide the vaccines. We’re also inviting community partners to provide information on behavioral health, vaccine requirements for school entry, hearing and vision screenings, oral health, nutrition and managing chronic diseases.”
“Our Back-to-School Block Party at Greater Gaines Chapel will be a fun-filled and informative gathering for students, families, church, and community members in preparation for a successful school year,” said Jasmine Williams, one of the event’s co-organizers. “The day will include school supplies giveaways, information on community health services, blood pressure checks, COVID-19 and flu vaccine awareness and safety protocols, a game bus, a rock climbing game, healthy snacks, food and games for children and families. We will also provide voter registration information from Fair Count and COVID vaccinations offered by J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center.”
“We believe it is through festive and fun family events such as these that we find the most effective ways to communicate social movements and community programs with the underserved populations we need to reach,” said Elsie Smalls, Ph.D., operations manager. “Healthy Savannah will be there as well with giveaways and information about healthy walks and free and discounted fresh food programs that everybody loves learning about.”
For more information about First Bryan Baptist’s Back-to-School Youth Health Fair, contact Cecelia Kurtz at ceceliakurtz1@gmail.com or 240-274-0047. For more information about the Back-to-School Block Party at Greater Gaines Chapel, contact Jasmine Williams at (404) 858-1586 or jazzwilliams1522@gmail.com; or contact Jeanell Rhodes at (912) 441-1274 or blackrose.nell@gmail.com; or contact Rev. Tammie McFadden at (478) 538-9972 or tmcfat@me.com.
Healthy Savannah summer interns dive in and embrace public health opportunities
Healthy Savannah announced the conclusion of a two-month internship program that helped foster community involvement in making Savannah a healthier place to live, work and play. Summer interns Alejandra Moreno Arreola and Kellie Arnold gathered community feedback from more than 200 surveys, actively participated in numerous community engagement events and created social media content during the program.
Most of the projects the interns worked on are designed to elevate the health and wellness of Black and Hispanic community members through funding from the five-year, $3.4 million grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia.
“Their commitment, dedication, and fresh perspectives have been invaluable assets to Healthy Savannah and the communities we serve,” said Paula Kreissler, executive director. “Our goal was to provide direction and support to two promising students pursuing degrees and careers in public health as well as to nurture the potential of these aspiring professionals and equip them with practical experience in the field. These two students are now prepared to engage from day one in their careers and our community is a better place because of their work here.”
Savannah Classical Academy student results exceed district and state for 2023 GMAS scores and demonstrate excellence in reading
Savannah Classical Academy (SCA) reports another stellar year for the charter school as the 2023 Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) scores have been
released by The Georgia Department of Education. These assessments measure student proficiency in 3rd grade through High School in a range of disciplines including science, math, reading, English language arts, and social studies.
For 2023 SCA students outscored Savannah Chatham County Public School System in all of the twenty-two achievement assessments. SCA students also outscored the state of Georgia in all but one of the GMAS assessments and was close to parity in 5 th grade math, which has a higher state average. SCA scored exceptionally well in reading across all grades, reflecting the school’s commitment to literacy, which is a foundation for all learning and provides students with a roadmap to success across all subject matter. In every grade, SCA’s reading proficiency percentage of students was between 68% in third grade and 100% in 8th grade, demonstrating that early enrollment and continuing attendance of this K-12 charter school leads to consistent increases in proficiency as students advance through the grades.
Significant superior scoring is due to the focus on SCA’s classical model of instruction, rigorous coursework, and holding all students to high expectations. Savannah Classical Academy continues to invest in students who benefit from proven research based, instructional practices, such as teaching reading with phonics, and materials including contracting with Varsity Tutors to provide 24/7 live online tutoring support at home in English/Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science.
“SCA students and faculty are held to a high standard in their courses and their dedication is vital to our success,” said SCA Chief Executive Officer Barry Lollis. “Student outcomes are a true reflection of mastery of course content and reading proficiency that would not be possible without our excellent teachers! We value our families who support us in ensuring that our students succeed academically and will develop into productive citizens. I look forward to more positive achievement outcomes through our community’s continued investment in and support of our K-12 charter school.”
This article appears in Connect Savannah | August, 2023.