‘Slam to End Hunger’ feeds Richmond children through poetry
VCU student members of the Richmond-based slam poetry group Slam Nahuatl battled it out on stage during the Slam to End Hunger at the School of Performing Arts in Richmond Community
Kyle Raiche, a senior theater major, performs a piece for the poetry slam.
Michael Todd
Staff Writer
Last night, VCU student members of the Richmond-based slam poetry group Slam Nahuatl battled it out on stage during the Slam to End Hunger at the School of Performing Arts in Richmond Community (SPARC).
Founded in 2007, Slam Nahuatl “seeks to use spoken word to help people achieve self-actualization,” or their full potential, while at the same time raising funds to aid the Richmond community and encourage activism through workshops and live performances.
While some money raised is put towards paying for venues and feature poets, a majority of funds are sent to Children, Incorporated, which then redistributes the proceeds to families in the Richmond area, with each ticket from last night’s show feeding a different child.
Graziano says that Slam Nahuatl is currently working towards non-profit status, which would allow the group to skip the in between of having to transfer the money through an organization, making it smaller scale and easier to “put a face to where the money is going.”
Proceeds from the 2009 Slam to End Hunger fed a single mother and her two children for an entire year. This year, they’ve upped the ante and are seeking to feed two, possibly three families in the Richmond area, depending on the amount raised last evening.
Proceeds from last night’s slam and other events until June will be aimed toward assisting five kids in attending Camp Bruce McCoy, a two-week summer program based in Chesapeake that caters to the survivors of traumatic brain injuries. Campers get to participate in all the traditional summer-camp activities ranging from horseback riding to canoeing.
“It’s a one of a kind,” said Hamilton Graziano, who recently took his place as ‘Slam Master’ of Slam Nahuatl and has worked with the camp for the past six summers.
“All of these campers are living in assisted living homes throughout the year (and) they don’t really get to interact with people, so it means the world to them. The injury can manifest itself in a lot of different ways depending on the individual, but they all have memory issues. … They need reminders to brush their teeth, tie their shoes, but they’ll come back and remember counselors’ names, so you can see how it’s working.”
While the members of Slam Nahuatl don’t have an official number, it does draw a fair few from the university population through its VCU branch, headed by president Rob Gibson, one of two VCU students to participate in last night’s slam out of six total performers.
Five audience members, sometimes drawing from the opinions of their neighbors, volunteered as judges for the evening, as is procedure at any slam. Theater performance major Kyle Raiche won second place after claiming first in this past Monday’s Ram Slam.
Students are encouraged to contact Graziano or Gibson if they are interested in joining the poetry team.
“It can be such an inspiring art form (that) demands a lot of honesty,” Graziano said of the overall practice. “You can hear something from someone on stage that you’re personally going through (and) it really strikes people at (their) core element.
“Slam poetry is really on the rise (with) young people. There’s a big need in our society for people to have that outlet.”
Photos by Amber-Lynn Taber
