Sailing Conductors

Captain and Crew

Meet the Sailing Conductors!

As you already know, One Bead has long term goals to implement the arts, music, and athletics into primary schools worldwide.  We believe that these elements play an essential role in motivating and inspiring students to learn and grow. So, how will we achieve this you might ask?

This is our first project:

Meet Ben Bart and Hannes Hafenklang.  As you are reading this they are sailing from Sydney to Berlin, stopping many times along the way, and recording as much music as possible.

Taken from their website:

Their beads made it safe and sound all the way to India!

"During our 2-year journey from Australia to Germany, we will record musicians from approximately 40 different countries and on all 5 continents. Over the course of time we will be able to put together a number of songs played by artists that never physically played together – since the recordings are temporally and spatially separated."

So how did One Bead get involved??
In 2010, my cousin Max spent a year in Australia where he met the Sailing Conductors. Max came home and told us all about their mission and our whole family was hooked! As I started working on One Bead I kept thinking about how cool it would be to somehow involve these guys and their amazing project. On a whim I decided to e-mail Benni about One Bead and see if there was anything we could do. His response was as follows: "... From there the plan is to sail to Madagascar and then further south to Cape Town. But this doesn't mean we couldn't catch a bus, buy a motorcycle or hitchhike to come to Kenya. That's a place I've wanted to see my whole life. So, yeah! We'll be there!" I got that e-mail in March and ever since the excitement has been building as we develop plans for the Sailing Conductors to visit Kenya. If everything goes according to plan, they will arrive sometime in November and spend a few days rehearsing at the Oloosirkon school with any students and members of the community that play an instrument. They will then have a concert featuring everything that has been rehearsed.

This will be an amazing opportunity for the students and an equally entertaining experience for everyone to watch via the video. It is crazy to think about all of the connections occurring WORLDWIDE that are going to make this possible. From Australia to the US to Germany and then Nairobi....it's a small world.

So a special thank you to Benni and Hannes for being a part of our first of many projects involving the arts. Without them this would not at all be possible!

Bon Voyage

-Sara

I am sure you are anxiously wondering where you can find more information on the Sailing Conductors and the answer is right here! :

http://www.sailingconductors.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SailingConductors

South Africa

Can't help but post this Beauty! Taken by one of my best friends, Whitney Frary, while abroad in South Africa. Can't get much cooler...

1 year later...

GOING TO KENYA!!!

Almost exactly one year ago, June 3rd-20th 2011, I had the most incredible opportunity to go to Africa with my friend Becca. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget...who would have thought that one year later I would be going back after raising $6,000 to start making a difference in young student's lives.  On August 13th I will travel to Kenya with Meghan Gerrie. We will spend five days building a fence and organizing different activities with the students at the Oloosirkon Government Primary School. We will also sit down with members of the school board and community to discuss plans for a library and permanent water supply. A Special Thank you to the Young Memorial Fund at HWS for the plane ticket!

Peace.Love.Beads.

Sara

My Office

Wireless in the Shack

First double bag loop!

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to take a post and share with you a little bit of what my summer has been like/will be like. Since I got back from school (Hobart and William Smith Colleges) I have been devoting my time pretty evenly to working on One Bead and my summer job as a caddy (YES, I'm a caddy! ). On weekdays I wake up around 9:00/9:30 am. I take my computer with me to the Caddy Shack and send e-mails/do research until I get a loop (this doesn't always happen, luckily the shack has wireless.) When I get home, time permitting, I try to mail out bracelet orders and catch up on additional tasks that need to be done. These include making bracelets, working on the new site (Soon to be announced!), and making tags/other packaging materials. Our bracelet packaging is made using recycled paper grocery bags. We cut a template out of the paper bag and then put it together using rubber cement. Order one to see for yourself!

               I am finding that keeping up with blog posts is the most difficult part of everything. I met with one of my mentors yesterday, Salli Swindell, and we talked about how important it is to get on a regular blogging/facebook updating schedule. We also talked about the difference between a facebook and blog post and the types of things that are most important to mention. 

              Although I'm sure many of you have already seen our new site, I am waiting to announce it officially until all of our t-shirt ordering is straightened out. It was really exciting about a week ago when all of the new shirts came in. I am going to be posting pictures of all of the different styles very soon.

  I also wanted to let everyone know that a little over two weeks ago, my cousin Quinn and I submitted all of the paperwork required for achieving official non-profit status. Quinn is majoring in nonprofit economics at the Wake Forest University Business school and I could not have figured out that form without her help. We divided up the work and tackled it the best we could. They do NOT call that form "The Beast" for nothing!

           I will be blogging more about this soon, but looking ahead towards my trip to Kenya, I want to collect as many used pens, pencils, and notebooks as possible! Let me know if you are interested. My mom and I went to the bank the other day and told them about the idea of collecting pens and pencils, and a few days later the bank had given us a whole box of old pens and pencils that they had tested out and did not need anymore. I couldn't believe it!

          Coming up in July we have the Musselman Triathlon in Geneva NY. July 13th-15th One Bead will be filling up water bottles for the finish line in exchange for our very own booth at the race! This will be great exposure. Additionally, I am figuring out the logistics behind a yoga donation class at my local yoga studio. Hopefully we will be able to work something out. Finally, I am planning to donate a portion of my tips from caddying for a whole week to One Bead. There are so many ways to spread awareness...I only wish I had more time to do more! If you are interested in setting up a fundraising event, or have your own ideas...let me know!

         Alright, that's all for now. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of two of my best friends who are flying over from England. They will be here for two weeks and I am planning on showing them the best parts of Ohio (with a road trip to Toronto thrown in there). Thanks for taking the time to read this.

I couldn't be more excited about everything,

xxx

Sara Starr

        

One Bead Across the Country

Thank you to everyone who has been sending in pictures of their Bead! These are all so great. We love getting updates about where One Bead is in the world.

Santa Barbara, CA

Jersey Shore

Sarasota, Florida

Arizona

Pennslyvania

Maryland