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Help our Children to Build a New World
Sulma was a very shy 12-year-old girl who had never left her South Bronx neighborhood. Then she came to The Actors Theatre Workshop, an award-winning non-profit that has changed the lives of thousands of at-risk and homeless youth for over 29 years.
Today, Sulma is a speaker, author, and the Executive Director of STORYLAND: The Bronx Book Haven and she credits her successes to the lessons she learned from ATW’s Artistic Director and Founder Thurman E. Scott.
“I came from all the noise to a safe haven. Thurman saw who I really was and gave me that voice
and power to say, ‘Sulma, you can change the world.’ From that moment on my voice mattered.”
The Children We Serve
Today, over 29,000 homeless children in New York City and 2.5 million homeless children throughout the United States are dealing with difficult issues of transience and instability. And 1 in 36 children in the U.S. are on the autism spectrum.
The Actors Theatre Workshop (ATW) guides and teaches some of our most vulnerable young New Yorkers through our award-winning Builders of the New World program, originally created for children dealing with the tremendous instability of living in temporary housing facilities and expanded to include children on the spectrum.
At ATW, we believe that creativity is the great equalizer. In our life-changing Builders of The New World program, our Artistic Director and Founder Thurman E. Scott teaches his original theatre techniques to liberate the talents and abilities of the young children we serve. We launched BNW in 1995 as a response to a joint RFP issued by three NYC agencies – the departments of Cultural Affairs, Homeless Services, and the Board of Education. We now work with a roster of 28 temporary housing across all five boroughs, serving children 6-15, and a public charter school located in Harlem that provides a fully inclusive program for autistic students who make up approximately 15% of the student body.
As the country emerged from the school closures during the COVID pandemic, we saw that the issues facing low-income communities begin to converge with those of other communities that need support. We decided to expand BNW to include children with autism and other developmental disabilities; they now comprise nearly 20% of our BNW student body.
Every day, our children’s need for support grows. In 2023, 1 in 9 NYC public school students identified as homeless, up from 1 in 10 in 2021. Autism rates have also increased dramatically, tripling among children in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area from 2000 to 2016. At the same time, 41% of public schools have reallocated their arts funding to address new learning gaps in math, reading, and science post-pandemic. But exposure to the arts helps offset these learning gaps, and has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress – conditions to which housing-insecure youth and children on the spectrum are especially vulnerable.
Our BNW program addresses these issues by giving the children crucial tools to strengthen basic reading, writing, and presentation skills while encouraging them to unleash their imagination, envision a positive future, and articulate the steps they must take to achieve their dreams. ATW’s staff and a diverse group of volunteer mentors also help create a warm, stable, and homelike environment for the children in our welcoming theatre facility, where they meet new friends and enjoy delicious meals courtesy of top NYC restaurants.
A Vision for a Bright Future
In Builders of the New World, we teach the children original theatre and education techniques that improve their reading, writing, and presentation skills. They learn to have an intention in life, draw and write about their visions for the future, and learn the steps to take to achieve their dreams
Discipline and Love: Mr. Scott creates a loving yet disciplined environment and places a very high demand on the children. They learn they’re never too young to confront and overcome the obstacles in their way. Our multicultural volunteer mentors listen to and take the children seriously, giving them a new experience of the world and their place in it. They start to believe they can participate in society, improve their lives and succeed.
Participating in our Democracy: We teach the children they must work to bring service to their community, by leading, voting, organizing, and participating in our democracy. They learn how to present themselves at job interviews, and to approach our institutions – banks, city council, the police – upheld by the community’s support for their ideas.
Being Seen: The children rehearse their original monologues, and then have the unforgettable experience of presenting their visions to an invited audience of family, friends, and important NYC business government, and educational leaders.
This invaluable experience lets the children see first-hand their power to make an impact in the world. They learn they can be seen — an idea that strikes at the heart of homelessness, which can be an existential struggle of invisibility.
By the time the children graduate, they have fully embraced their new mantle as Builders of the New World. These proud, confident, and poised young leaders have developed inspiring visions for the future and most importantly, gained the tools to make an impact in the world and achieve their dreams.
Sulma’s Success Story
Like many children in our programs, when Sulma arrived at ATW she didn’t see herself as a leader and didn’t know the steps to take to improve her life and her community. By the time she graduated from ATW’s drama program, Sulma had found her voice and gained a foundation for future success that has served her for her whole life.
Today, Sulma is a nationally recognized author and stands as a progressive voice for her community in the South Bronx. She has created what she describes as a “beautiful life” with her wonderful husband and two curious and articulate daughters.
“I wanted my daughters to see where I come from. I’ll never stop talking about ATW and what you did for me.”
Many of our graduates have turned their lives around and found success in positions such as fashion designers, social workers, musicians, and teachers. Over the years countless young adults have come back to visit our theatre and share their stories of the difference we made in their lives.
OUR YOUNG BUILDERS OF THE NEW WORLD NEED YOU
When our children walk through ATW’s doors, not only do they benefit from life-changing theatre and education classes, they start to feel a sense of ownership of one of NYC’s cultural institutions during what is most likely a very unstable time in their lives. We invite you to participate in this wonderful celebration of hope, majesty, and love that represents the lifting up of our most precious commodity — our children. Our children thank you!
You have something very valuable to offer these precious leaders of tomorrow.
We invite you to join with us at ATW. Put your experience and awareness into action.
Express your love and compassion, and bring hope and opportunity to our community.
Whether you have an hour or a week: you have something to say—and our community needs your voice.
- Mentor or Volunteer: Use your experience and love to help uplift our children either directly in our after-school sessions or, if your schedule won’t allow you to join in all of the classes, volunteer in another way! There are many ways for you to use your heart and experience to make this life-changing program a success.
- Be a Corporate Sponsor: Learn how your company can partner with ATW. Help us serve a larger number of temporary housing facilities and their young residents, and ensure that we can continue to help at-risk and homeless children achieve a better future. Join our illustrious group of funders. Give your employees an opportunity to develop creatively and contribute to the community. Donate goods and services.
- Make a Financial Contribution: Your charitable, tax-deductible donation will fund the expenses to deliver our children’s program throughout the year, including art, food, and office supplies; travel between ATW and the temporary housing facilities, cleaning and videography expenses; and studio rental expenses.
- Join our Restaurant Corps: Our children are often hungry when they arrive at ATW. Join our corps of top NYC restaurants and donate hot, nutritious meals that the children eat at every session with trained, loving mentors in ATW’s warm and homelike atmosphere.
TO LEARN MORE . . .
- Our Mission Statement: Click here to read about our powerful mission to uplift the community through drama.
- New Yorker of the Week: NY1 recently recognized Thurman E. Scott’s committed work and contribution to the community naming him NY1’s New Yorker of the Week. Watch the story here.
- Testimonials: Read the heartwarming words of our students and volunteers as they reflect on their experiences at ATW.
- Awards and Recognition: ATW has been endorsed by every NYC Mayoral administration and City Council since we were founded, and won numerous awards for our work in the community.
- Children’s Performance: This inspiring graduation video was filmed at the culmination of one of our 12-week after-school semesters. It shows the children’s hunger to learn and their success in putting our life-changing lessons into practice. Read a selection of inspiring stories the children wrote.
- Visit our Wall of Thanks: On our Wall of Thanks (as well as in our newsletters and on social media), we recognize those generous members of the community who provide the delicious, warm meals that go to our Builders of a New World, and the financial contributions that keep our doors to ATW open. Your donations nourish our children and help them to enjoy our warm, homelike atmosphere. Thank you!
ATW launched Builders of the New World in 1995 as part of a joint initiative of the
NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Dept. of Homeless Services, and Board of Education.
ATW has taught thousands of NYC homeless and at-risk youth;
created strong partnerships with 20 temporary housing facilities;
and trained over 1,000 BNW volunteer mentors from diverse socio-economic and racial backgrounds.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and by public funds from
the New York City Department Of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
