- [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(bright music) - "R-Town," the show about Rochester, learns about two new programs hoping to serve area youth by providing free books and shoes.

We also visit with the new Rochester Symphony director, Chia-Hsuan Lin, and learn a little about her and what her musical inspirations are.

We also get the latest from the RCTC campus.

All that and so much more coming up on the next "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Coming to you from 125 LIVE in Rochester, Minnesota, "R-Town."

(upbeat music continues) - Today we're joined with Andre Crockett and Lisa Ross of Barbershop Talk and Social Services to learn more about Fades 4 Reading and Kicks 4 Kindness, two new initiatives aimed at improving literacy and providing new shoes to area youth.

Welcome back to "R-Town", Andre, and welcome to "R-Town", Lisa.

- Thank you for having us.

- Well, we're gonna talk about the two programs, but first, Andre, I know we've had you on the show before talking about a number of the different things you do in the community, but I wanted to talk a little bit about the role of barbershops in the Black community and how Barbershop Talk and Social Services uses that model to really make change in the community.

- Yeah, barbershops, as you know, is probably one of the most powerful entities within a Black community, where people gather to talk about from sports, politics, but, most of all, social changes and how we can make a difference within the community.

So I wanted to continue to do that throughout Barbershop and they've been very successful.

- Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that.

And so you've recently launched the Fades 4 Reading program, and Lisa or Andre, can you tell us a little bit about what the data tells us about the literacy gaps for Black boys and youth in our community?

- Oh, the gaps in our community, we got one of the largest gaps in the state of Minnesota here in Rochester that people don't really know about that, and also it's an indicator if a kid's not able to read by the third grade that we know that he will be incarcerated.

- So this Fades 4 Reading program, can you tell us what it is and how are you aiming to use it to address that gap?

- Data shows that, you know, outside of the school setting, they also need other community spaces where kids can feel comfortable reading at, especially a barbershop is ideal.

The kids get a haircut, you know, twice a week.

Builds rapport with the barber and also see another male, you know, reading to you is tremendous.

- So will you be providing books to the youth as well as reading time within the barbershop?

- Yes, yep, we're providing books.

So if you go into our barbershop, we already have some books, but we're looking at getting, you know, more books, especially age appropriate books, you know, for the kids.

- And I know, Lisa, you're often responsible for rolling out a lot of the logistics of some of this programming.

Can you tell us a little bit about, yeah, how these books are gonna get to the youth and kind of some of the tracking that the youth are gonna be able to do for their reading?

- Well, I think the nice thing about this is that the books that are, they're culturally designed.

They're also in different languages.

And so when the barbers are there cutting hair, you know, with the kids, they can actually read the book, sit and wait for their turn and read books, but also interpret those books and have a discussion about them.

And the nice thing is when they come back for their next haircut, they can actually almost do like a slight digital or verbal book report on what they learned and some of those have valuable lessons for 'em.

- Love that.

Are there certain age groups that you're targeting for this program?

- Yeah, K through fifth grade.

- Okay, well, fantastic.

- K through fifth grade.

So I try to get the elementary when they're much younger.

- Okay, I love that.

And how can youth and families learn more about the program and sign up if they're interested in participating?

- It's really referral based, referral based.

You know, we are counting on the community and the teachers who know an individual kid that's pretty much struggling who can use that extra assistance or incentive to get them to read.

- And I believe programs like this are actually within barbershops not just local, but they're nationwide as well.

Can you tell us- - Nationwide.

Forgot the gentleman name, but a guy in, he used to be a school teacher who started in barbershops in California and they've been very successful with helping young Black boys to love to read.

- That's amazing.

So moving on to the next program, the Kicks 4 Kindness program, how was this program inspired by your own upbringing and your own history, Andre?

- Well, I think, you know, before I answer that, I think, Nicole, both of 'em was really inspired, I mean, really, I mean, because both of 'em affected me growing up.

And most people don't know I was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, and because of that, I didn't really know how to read until eighth grade.

And so Fades for Reading is very dear to my heart and so is Kicks 4 Kindness, and Kicks 4 Kindness came about because I grew up, you know, in poverty, you know, and had hand-me-downs from my older siblings wearing their tennis shoes.

And one of the stories I talk about is how I used to have to put cardboard inside my tennis shoes because the bottom of my shoes was, you know, wore out.

- And so that obviously had like a mental and just wellbeing impact on you.

And so how does a new pair of shoes just kind of change somebody's life?

- Oh, we have a motto that, you know, you look good, you feel good.

- [Nicole] You sure do.

(Andre and Nicole laugh) - You know, helping kids walk into success, you know, bringing that joy, you know?

And so that's what we wanna do.

So like I said, I've been affected by it.

I know how I felt when I first got my brand-new pair of tennis shoes, and that's why we don't want hand-me-downs or used tennis shoes with people giving to us.

We want brand-new tennis shoes.

Not only just brand-new tennis shoes, name brand tennis shoes, right?

We have, you know, Timbalands.

You know, I'm talking about name brands, Nikes, Adidas.

You know, we think every kid deserve a new pair of tennis shoes.

Or shoes.

- Because it means something.

- It means something to 'em.

For some people, it may not mean nothing to 'em, but for a kid who's in poverty or just a kid in general who may face crisis or homelessness, the family, and in transition, it makes a whole big difference.

- Absolutely, I know before we started taping, you and I were talking about shoes, Lisa.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you're getting the shoes, how can people, I mean, donate these new shoes if that's something that's available?

- Yep, so the biggest thing that we'd like to do is give the kids an experience of shopping online.

We've had partners throughout Rochester that we're working with that can help the children kind of go on online and pick out their own shoes.

So what we've created is a website that's called Kicks 4, with the number four, Kindness dot org.

They can go on and donate, and then we'll go out and purchase the shoes brand new from local stores so we can keep obviously everything local for that.

And then the kids can go on and select the shoes they want, so.

- I love that, that added sense of I get to choose my own thing and I get to have that process of shopping for it.

And again, I think adding that specialness and that dignity too to that process.

- Bringing value.

- For sure.

In terms of this particular program, are there certain children that you're, youth that you're working with, families that you're working with?

How are you getting referred to those?

- [Andre] I'll let you answer that, Lisa, if you want.

- Well, we've gone around to different organizations, whether it be the social services element of it to the community of schools and talk with people that work there so we can partner with them to really find the true need of the kids involved.

Because whether we know it or not, one in nine kids in Minnesota live in poverty and that's a big problem.

I mean, we need to learn how to really organize that with other, and partner with other people to make a difference.

Ultimately, if we just do it on our own, we can't do it alone.

So we make sure that we can partner with different organizations that have the same mission and same goals that we do.

- Excellent.

And for both of the programs, is there a timeline?

Is it gonna be a monthly thing?

Is there a certain, yeah, timeframe that you're looking at for these programs?

- We wanna launch, you know, in December, you know, a soft launch in December.

You know, depending on, especially for Kicks 4 Kindness, how many partners we get and how much resources that we able to supply for schools and families or those community organizations that partner with us.

- And how can the community help support the programs that you're launching?

- Well, we've got right now the website and so they can go on and there's a donate button for that.

It goes into our 4giving link.

That explains a little bit more about our program.

Or contact me or Pastor Andre.

- Fantastic.

We have a little bit of time, and so I know there's many other initiatives that Barbershop Talk and Social Services is involved in in the community and I think it's, as we mentioned before in the beginning of the conversation, you know, using this model of the barbershop as a really important place in the community.

Are there other things you're looking at as, you know, we head into the new year that you're interested in continuing to cultivate through Barbershop Talk and Social Services?

- I think they're gonna be our two main initiatives I think for us, you know, for basically for this year because I think, again, for us working, doing stuff in the school and back to school events and stuff like this, these are two main things that people keep evolving and keep talking about it, that keep coming up, keep coming up.

And so I really wanna concentrate on this and make sure we do it and we do it well.

- In terms of the literacy program, literacy is something that, you know, it looks different, you know, depending on the different age groups.

Is there a way that you're thinking about branching outside of the K through fifth grade and, you know, as the program grows?

- Yeah, as the program grows, we'd probably do, you know, probably middle school, upper middle school.

Once they get to high school, it's gonna be very difficult.

I forgot we talked about it is free.

It is free.

It doesn't cost the kids or the parents anything.

Besides just the literacy part of it, just the financial burden to get a haircut these days is very difficult on some of the families, you know, and some of the kids.

And it takes away some of the hardships, you know, from the families as well.

There's benefits also if the kid's getting a haircut, right?

I mean, like I said, the motto look good, you feel good, right?

And then you feel much better even especially when you learn how to read, right?

I mean, we see it's a lot of challenges within our community and like you said, that everybody is a little different, their reading style.

So we bring a little cultural aspect to it and them learning how to read too.

And it's a good indicator too that when we was doing our research and stuff, especially like kids who live southeast part of town, many of their families don't even have a library card.

So it tells me, it tells you something about parts of our community where impoverished and illiteracy exists.

So that means that they're not checking out books and stuff like this.

But we don't want 'em to just check out the books.

We want them to have the books in their hands and, you know, in most cases, you know, early readers, they learn how to read from their parents at homes and stuff like that.

So we're hoping that by the kids bringing home that book that, you know, the parent or the dad continue to do what we did in our setting at the barbershop.

- Yeah, it's got a generational impact.

And you mentioned the southeast neighborhood and I know that there's been some like book desert maps of our community, and compared to places like the Twin Cities metro, we could be doing, quote, unquote, we're doing better, but we still see those disparities, as you said, where, you know, a book desert is a place where in the home, there's less than a hundred books and that being an indicator for the literacy.

You know, you talked about how both of these programs are near and dear to your heart and have been really shaped by your own experiences.

Again, you've done so much in the community, continue to do so.

What do you think about your legacy?

It's a strange question to ask in the middle of you doing all the work that you're doing, but yeah, as you're sort of thinking about continuing to grow Barbershop Talk and all the work you do in the community, you know, what does that legacy look like for you?

- Well, I think if I see other people doing what I'm doing.

You know, I mean, I really get joy out of that.

Or saying if I can get another kid to do some of the stuff that I'm doing, especially stuff that's you're passionate about, and I just wanna eradicate poverty.

I know what it feel like, you know?

And I understand how to walk families and kids out of it and that's my legacy.

If I can reduce, you know, poverty, help change and impact another person's life, then I think I'm successful by that.

- Thank you so much, Andre.

Any final thoughts, Lisa, as we're wrapping up here?

- No, I just think the biggest thing and the biggest message for both the programs is that it really is about empowering the kids and helping them be successful.

That's the biggest goal for me with both programs and supporting those programs is really to empower that, but also to empower the families so that they don't have to choose between, do I pay for my son's haircut?

Do I go buy a pair of shoes?

Do I pay the gas bill?

You know, we wanna take away that part of it.

So if we can help just that little bit, it can also empower, you know, in-school participation.

It's a domino effect of things that can really be positive for the kids and their families.

- Well, thank you both for joining us.

Thank you for all the work you're out here doing in the community, and we hope to catch up with you another time.

- Thank you for having us.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Be sure to stick around.

We have much more coming your way on "R-Town."

We visit with the new Rochester Symphony director, Chia-Hsuan Lin, and learn a little about her and what her musical inspirations are.

We also get the latest from the RCTC campus in the R Future segment.

(upbeat music) (bright orchestral music) - Hi, this is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Spotlight.

I'm here with Chia-Hsuan, and you are the new.

- Music director of the Rochester Symphony.

- Which is a truly exciting role because the previous director was here for a very long time and you came on board through a rigorous kind of interview process, very competitive.

Can you share a little bit more about that journey?

- Yeah, I submit my materials, and last October, I got the opportunity to conduct this wonderful orchestra.

The main piece we did was Brahms' "Symphony No.

4," one of my favorite piece.

So, yeah, now I'm here.

I am just so excited to, you know, get to know the community and get to know the musicians and just get to know people in the city.

- Well, I'm excited to learn more about you too.

And what were you most excited about coming to Rochester?

- I'm really excited about the opportunity to be working with our musicians in the Symphony Orchestra and also chorale, our chorus.

So, for example, this week, we're gonna play Bach's cantata 140, which will showcase not only the instrumentalists but the vocalists.

(vocalists sing in foreign language) - We talked a little bit prior to this interview about the individuals that are a part of the Rochester Symphony and kind of the whole entity, and there's some local and there's some, you know, across the state and beyond.

The dedication and commitment to that is tremendous.

Can you highlight that a little bit more?

- Yeah, and it's really amazing that we have this concert week at the beginning of the season, we decide the program and everybody will receive their music, and all this time, that we are preparing individually.

Like, for me personally, I study the scores, and for musicians or members of the chorale, they do weekly rehearsal for our musicians in the chorale, and for musicians, the instrumentalists, they practice.

We have a sense of, like, openness.

(vocalizes) You know, that third phrase.

One more time.

(bright orchestral music) - Can you share a little bit more about your history and your journey into this role?

- Yeah, I grew up in Taiwan, so I did all my basic training in Taiwan.

I did undergrad in percussion performance and then I did a conducting master degree in the same school that I went to.

I came here in the United States for master degree in Cincinnati, and later on, I got my doctorate degree at Northwestern in Evanston.

- What is the one thing you do to prepare right before you go on stage?

- Great question.

While I study the score, I look into the intent of composers and then when we come to- - I love that.

The intent of it is so key.

- Yeah.

Mm-hm.

I want to know what they were thinking.

- Right.

Right.

- You know, what they tried to achieve.

And, you know, when I come to rehearsal, it's working with musicians 'cause they have their ideas, and for me, that's just like two, you know, all the brilliant minds combine and it's just so fun to watch that whole thing come together.

(vocalists sing in foreign language) - What's your favorite part of rehearsing?

- It's like when we have an idea and after trying various method to get there and then you see that, you know, maybe one thing that I come up with or one thing I describe or somebody mentioned it, suggested it, and then you see this light bulb moment that in everybody's eyes and it's like- - It just clicks.

- "Yes, we got it."

And then, you know, we try it and then, you know, yes, that's what we want.

That is the most satisfying moment.

A concert experience is really a safe space for all of us to dream.

It's a place that we can escape, you know, the daily little things and the little space that we can forget about the worries and the troubles and a place that we can all share and, you know, bring the community together.

- So what is your vision for the Rochester Symphony?

What is your hope and dream?

- I would love when everyone in the city, when they hear about the name of Rochester Symphony, they associate with a piece of special memory.

And that's what I really want to do is for all the visitors, for all the audience, who leave our concert hall wanting more.

(bright orchestral music) This is Danielle Teal with "R-Town" Spotlight.

We hope you enjoy the music, and please check out Rochester Symphony website for more details about future concerts.

- [Announcer] For more information about this story and other "R-Town" features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter @KSMQ, #RTown, or ksmq.org/rtown.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (bright music) - Today we are in the RCTC Art Hall, which is currently empty because we are on winter break, but in just a few short days, this hall will be bustling with new students.

And though it may be spring semester at RCTC, it is still winter outside.

Here with some heating and cooling information are two students from the Facilities and Service Technology Club.

- FAST stands for Facility and Service Technology, formerly known as the BUM program, Building Utilities Maintenance.

FAST program is a two-year program at RCTC.

FAST Club contains everybody that's in the FAST program is kind of just automatically put into the club and it just kind of allows us to get together and do things as a whole because each class is split up per semester.

We will go into some low-income areas in the community and do furnace tuneups as the temperature cools down, make sure that, you know, nobody's freezing.

And we help out with the school, doing stuff too with some, you know, with the Dome, putting it up and taking it down, and then also just like some of the Adopt a Highway, picking up garbage on the roads.

In the past, everyone's gotten together and I know they've gone to Twins games and every year, there's kind of like a big barbecue of getting burgers and hamburgers and brats and kind of just hanging out.

Third and fourth semester, we do co-ops with different businesses in the area so we can work and get like an internship experience.

And yeah, I mean, a lot of times they'll offer you a job even before, you know, the semester's done.

- [Clay] You just pulled that out of your- - Everyone I know.

Everyone comes out with a job.

So what we're looking at here, you know, so this is a normal sized residential furnace that, you know, you'd see in anybody's house really.

And so some of the stuff, I mean, that we would, you know, that we've gone through in class is replacing, you know, down here is the main blower motor, you know, that blows air throughout your entire home.

And so then we do a lot, you know, we pull those out and put a new one in and replace all that stuff.

And then here's kinda your main computer board of the whole thing.

And above that here is your inducer, which kind of, you know, gets things moving from the get go.

And then gas and the burner for that.

Then it all comes out here.

You can either run it off of the thermostat or we have it wired up too where you could run it off of like a building automation system off a computer.

You know, you can get everything, you can get all these furnaces on one computer and control them all from there via that system, which is kind of cool, so.

You should get your furnace checked at least every year.

You know, it's just to give it a run through and make sure everything's working, there's nothing blocked, you know, no rodents or bats living in there that will get burnt up and.

So furnace tuneup, like what we did in some of these, so you go in and you would kind of check that the burners are clean, nothing's blocking them, and that you're getting good gas pressure throughout and that you know your blower motors work, you check filters, and you just, you know, start it up, make sure everything's running well.

And you'd make sure that your temperature sensor would be working and everything like that.

And you check that the flame sensor is working well too.

- So this is your A coil and this will sit on top of your furnace, which is called a plenum.

And it takes your refrigerant from the outside condenser and it'll come to your TXV or a metering device, either or, and it'll go through the coil as a liquid and as it gets probably 3/4 of the way, it turns into a vapor and it gets pushed through.

So it's technically not, this doesn't, like, cool your house, but it takes the warm air from your house and cools it down.

As that happens, it causes condensation, which will get trapped down in this part here, this tray, which will run out through your condensate drain.

(bright music) - Thank you for joining us today.

I hope you learned as much as I did about all that's going on in our city and the wonderful people making it happen.

For more content produced right here in Rochester, please be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara, host of "R-Town," the show about Rochester.

We'll see you next time.

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.