Celebration of Cultures

Nashville, TN- September 30, 2009

On October 3^rd, 2009, the Kurdish American Youth Organization will participate for its second consecutive time in the 13^th annual Celebration of Cultures. The event is from 10am to 6pm. It will take place at Centennial Park, and is one of the largest multi-cultural festivals in the region. Celebration of Cultures aims to promote cultural diversity in the Nashville area. It strives to encourage understanding among different cultures. There will be music, dance, food, and children’s activities. More than 40 cultures will be represented, and vendors will be sampling their authentic cuisine.

Kurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) will be hosting a tent at the event. The area will be set up to resemble a traditional Kurdish home. There will be many Kurdish artifacts to be viewed. Kurdish youth will also dress in traditional Kurdish clothing.

The tent will include a selection of Kurdish music. The highlight of the event will be the presentation and performance of traditional Kurdish dances done by a diverse group of Kurdish youth. Through their clothing and dance they will represent many different regions of Kurdistan.

Kurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) is an independent non-profit organization operating in North America. The KAYO mission is to connect young Kurds and the Kurdish Youth groups of North America and to promote Kurdistan heritage, culture and politics.

What: Celebration of Cultures festival
When: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 10a.m. to 6p.m.
Where: Centennial Park
Who: More than 40 cultures and thousands of Middle Tennesseans
Cost: FREE
Web site: www.celebrationofcultures.org or www.nashville,kurdyouth.org

Contact:

Kahin Mohammad- Director KAYO-Nashville

KAYO-Nashville Email, TNKAYO@gmail.com

KAYO Nashville Fall Schedule

Hello KAYO members, we hope all of you have had a great first week of school. This fall we will be having a fairly busy schedule, here are the events to look out for:

September 19th – Williamson County Celebration of Cultures 3pm-9pm

October 3rd – Celebration of Cultures at Centennial Park - This will be an all day event.

End of October - Feed the Children - There will be more information about this event soon.

November – Nashville Rescue Mission - Most likely will be around Thanksgiving time, but there will be  more information about this event soon.

Please feel free to email us (at the email listed below) if you ave any questions regarding these events

tnkayo@gmail.com

Every member is encouraged to come to all of these events!

KAYO NAtional Summer Picnic

KAYO Nashville invites you to the annual KAYO National Picnic. There will be members from other KAYO chapters attending this event. We will have group games, music, dancing, and other fun activities. We will be grilling and we also encourage everyone to please bring your wonderful Kurdish food to share. We encourage all members to help with this event.

Time: 12pm to 7pm

Date: Saturday July 25, 2009

Location: Edwin Warner Park Shelter 3

Informative Meeting for Parents

We at KAYO-Nashville are holding our first open meeting to the parents of individuals who would like to know more about KAYO-Nashville.  This parent meeting is open to any and all Parents and their children who would like to find out more about KAYO-Nashville. We are here to serve the Nashville community and what better way to do this than to meet directly with our targeted audience. We realize that we are asking a lot of parents to trust us with their children and we hope that with this meeting we can build a stronger trust between us.  This is a free and open meeting to ANYONE that is interested in KAYO-Nashville. We hope that you will be able to join us at this event. Information is listed below about the meetings time and place.

Parent Meeting

Date: Sunday July 19, 2009

Time: 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Place: Edmondson Pike Library

Dear KAYO-Nashville Member,

Hello I hope that you are enjoying the start of your summer and that you all did well on your final exams. The start of the summer is one event that we all look forward to and one that has special significance for us KAYO members because this means we have more time to get involved and make an impact on the Nashville community. Well we have a few updates and announcements for you all. They are in chronological order as follows;

Feed the Children Volunteer Opportunity:
Date and Time: Friday,  May 29, 2009 at 12 PM to 4 PM
Location: 615 Davidson St, Nashville, TN 37213
Office Phone: (615) 248-8540
Info: We will be boxing nonperishable food items for those in need. Please where tennis shoes and comfortable work clothing. To sign up please send an email to Tnkayo@gamil.com with “Feed the Children” in the subject line along with your name and phone number in the message.

All Member Meeting:
Date and Time: Sunday May 31, 2009 from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Location: Edmondson Pike Branch Library
Library Phone: (615) 880-3957 ext. 3
Info: Discussion of various chapter goals and activities for the summer.

KAYO- Graduation Party:
Date and Time: Saturday June 13, 2009 from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Location: Edwin Warner Park
Info: Come and celebrate the graduation of Kurdish students from high school. There will be food, games, music and much much more!

KAYO Annual Summer Picnic:
Date and Time: Saturday July 25, 2009 from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Location: Edwin Warner Park
Info: Come and celebrate positive impact of KAYO with members from all over the United Sates. Enjoy food, fun, friends and other activities!

Feed the Children Volunteer Opportunity 2:
Date and Time: Friday, July 31, 2009 at 12 PM to 4 PM
Location: 615 Davidson St, Nashville, TN 37213
Office Phone: (615) 248-8540
Info: We will be boxing nonperishable food items for those in needs. Please where tennis shoes and comfortable work clothing. To sign up please send an email to Tnkayo@gamil.com with “Feed the Children 2″ in the subject line along with your name and phone number in the message.

Habitat For Humanity Build:
Date and Time to be determined, depending on number of volunteer sign up. This is labor intensive activity that is highly rewarding. There is required paper work that needs to be filled out before you are allowed to attend. Follow link to print off application in PDF format to bring to next meeting,
http://www.habitatnashville.org/pdf/builds/Volunteer_Release_Form_2008.pdf
If interested please send email with “H4H” in the subject line toTNKAYO@gmail.com

Other Updates and Important information;

1.Please have the $10.00 KAYO annual membership fee due for this year as soon as possible. Accepting cash and check. Please make checks out to Kurdish American Youth Organization.
2. Free Kurdistan Bracelets available for purchase! They are black with white text that says “Free Kurdistan”

We need YOU!

1. We are currently accepting t-shirt designs for the KAYO-Nashville chapter t-shirt! If you have any suggestions please let us know, we would love for your involvement.
2. We need YOUR help with an informative presentation of Kurdistan history and culture, want to help? Please let us know.
3. We need activity leaders for each upcoming activity and event if you would like to help lead one of these please let us know and we will be in contact with you as soon as possible.
4. Do you have any suggestions for fundraisers for us to do? If so contact us at tnkayo@gmail.com with “My fund idea” in the subject line.

We always want your input in everything that we do as a chapter. If there is anything that you would like to bring to our attention please contact us. We as a chapter would be nothing without your continual support. Thank you for your time and involvement.

Most sincerely,
Kahin A. Mohammad,
President, KAYO-Nashville

Newroz Celebration: Update

We would like to thank all that attended our Newroz Celebration. It was a great success. We had over 220 people that came to the event. We would like to thank all that attended and also all that help with the set up and clean up. Also a special thanks to all the sponsors who helped make the event possible. Once again thanks to all that helped!

KAYO-Nashville Youth Newroz Celebration

KAYO-Nashville Newroz

The Kurdish American Youth Organization of Nashville is having its first annual Youth Newroz celebration to mark the coming of the Kurdish new year. It will be on the 4th of April 2009 at TSU. We want all the youth to join us in this unforgettable celebration.  If you are looking for a Newroz to remember then join us for a night of fun and dance. Wear your Kurdish clothes and put your party face on. The cover charge to get in is $10.

Date: April 4, 2009

Time: 6:30 PM to 11:30 PM

Place: Tennessee State University

Floyd-Payne Campus Center
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37209-1561

All of us at KAYO-Nashville would like to wish you a happy and safe Newroz!

Friends at a Newroz bonfire

Every year on March 21st, millions of Kurds across the world celebrate Newroz. Newroz is the beginning of the year, or New Years day, for the Kurdish people and has been celebrated since ancient times. The word, “Newroz,” originated from the word “Nû Roj” (as it still referred to in some areas of Kurdistan), which in the Kurdish language means “New Day.” The 21st of March marks the beginning of spring and the start of the year for the Kurds.

While Newroz, or Nû Roj, is often regarded as the New Year holiday for many nations and tribes in the Middle East, the holiday has a much more significant meaning for the Kurdish people. Newroz is a symbol of liberation and a new day celebrating the rebirth of life and nature. Throughout the history of Kurdistan, and up until this very day, the Kurdish people have used the Newroz holiday to celebrate peace and freedom. Kurds see Newroz as a day that signifies the dreams, hopes and aspirations of their nation and many others throughout the world. For the Kurdish people, Newroz is not just a new day but it is a new beginning.

For more information follow link,

http://www.kurdyouth.org/learn/newroz.htm

(Newroz history reprinted with permission for KAYO National site)

KAYO-NAshville at the Nashville Rescue Mission with some of its workers.

In mid February KAYO-Nashville provided all of our members with the amazing opportunity to volunteer at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Well that day came on the 20 of February and it was an amazing success. We had tons of volunteers show up to partake in the event. I want to thank all the people who turned out and made it the success that it was. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to help the workers and learning all that we did while there.It was nice to be able to help  the mission workers with their daily tasks.

Again thanks to all those involved, and I hope that you check back with us for more  upcoming community outreach opportunities.

~Kahin Mohammad, President KAYO-Nashville

Friday Febuary 20, 2009 (4:30pm to 7:00pm)

On Friday, 20 of February, KAYO has set up an appointment at the Nashville Rescue Mission for its members and others who would like to volunteer. The Nashville Rescue Mission seeks to help the hurting of Middle Tennessee by offering food, clothing and shelter to the homeless and recovery programs to those enslaved in life degrading problems. Volunteers are an essential part of the Nashville Rescue Mission’s team. Since 1954, Mission volunteers have helped change lives in every capacity from serving meals and building playgrounds to providing medical care and tutoring to Recovery Program clients. We will be serving meals in the men’s facility during lunch (4:30pm – 7:00pm).

Again, I would like to remind everyone that you do not have to be just a KAYO member to volunteer. Volunteer and helping is not limited to few, but it is a duty to all. This volunteer opportunity, in addition, will give you a discount for our up coming Newroz party in March. (Currently all spots have been filled for the volunteer opportunity)