Transcripts For WHDH Urban Update 20161016

Learn and rehearse Classical Music. This is all thanks to project step which stands for string training and education program. The rigorous yearround classical string Training Program for minority youth invites them into the world of Classical Music from which they have traditionally been excluded. Now, to offer some more insight into this very unique program which is even reaching the white house, we have invited gabriella sanna, the project step executive director and also with lauryn phinney, a 17yearold violinist who has attended and excelled within the program. Welcome to urban update. Thank you for coming in. Thank you for inviting us. Reporter gabriella, let me start with you. Take me through the program. And tell us our viewers what it is all about. Project step was prompted by the realization that certain racial minorities are largely underrepresented in this imbalance by providing indepth rigors of stringtraining to children of color and latino. And the program started with a selection through a focus program that is done. That happens in kindergarten. So students are selected through the boston public schools, and boston communities. And they go through program is very selective. It is 15 weeks. And then after 15 weeks, only a small group usually, 6090 students participate in this program. After15 weeks, only 20 make it to the next level. And then only a handful will be invited to be part of the core program. At that point, we take the students from first grade through 12th grade. We provide a very comprehensive program. Performance of all kinds. A workshop. You name it. Reporter amazing. Lauryn, tell me about yourself and how you get involved in step. My mother sa pianist. He served on the Advisory Board of project step. I started the violin at five. And then right when i was around 14, my fathers work situation changed and i auditioned for project step. Because i would have other because of the expenses. And so i have been in project step now for my third year. Reporter wow. That is really amaying. Gabriella, what kind of impacts has this had on the community from your Vantage Point . Well, if you think ability it, this is the 35th year of operations. Step has graduated 1 5rx00 students of color. This opportunity, as lauryn would not have been able to afford the program because step offers. This is a full scholarship program. Where students come in and can. Step covers all the costs. They impact, as i said,. It is huge. 100 of our graduates have gone to musical conservatories or college. Reporter you said your group is about 49 people right now . Yes. There are weekly lessons. As i said. Chamber music. Orchestra. Theory. They perform. Each student at least two to four times a year. Which, you know, altogether, this makes it over 40 performances a year. Reporter i want to make sure again, i would like to you do and what you have learned. Okay. Reporter as an expert. Careful. You are micked up there. Dont go too far. Easier to stand. Yes. . Something. Talk to me about how this. Tim pact it has had on you personally. Musecally. And not musically. This. On one hand, it has definitely enabled me to have musical experience that is i would have never been able to originally. Part one, for example, project step enables me to go to some amazing Music Festivals over the summer. And so just this past august, with project steps help, i was able to go to leak semibourg. Reporter wow. That is amazing. You are 17. You are going to college. Are you going to be a music major or Something Else . Doublemajoring in music and environmental studies. Reporter day. You have actually been to the white house with the kids . There was a good one. Yes. So last summer, we god an invitation to go to the white house. And our students were invited to perform for the state dinner in honor of the singapore prime minister. So we were invited. And six days later, we were an hour and a half of music. In six days. Reporter how can people get involved, get more information . If anyone is curious about trying out. Well, the quickest, easiest thing is to go to our web site. And they can contact the step office. Reporter day. Projectstep. Org. Yes, correct. Reporter okay. All ig lauryn, i guess, what would you say to anyone who might be thinking about this . Is it worth it . Yes. Completely. Definitely worth it. Reporter kachlt all right. Lauryn phinney, gabriella, sanna, congratulations on your musical progress. When we come back, nineration is in the hub. You will meet three local entrepreneurs taking advantage of the most startup from the accelerator on the planet. All the details right here on reporter investing in innovation and entrepreneurship, creating a new business generation. That is what mass challenge has set out to do. They ask for no equity, as they are not for property. Lpt profit. They consider themselves it is most friendly Startup Accelerator on the invited three local businesses who use the accelerator to launch their Business Ventures and they join us this morning to tell us about how they did it. Annmarie stephens is with us this morning. They have launched precise portions, aimed at helping families develop Healthy Eating habits and to control diabetes. We are also joined by stephanie roe. Roye, the girls to get excited about stem, science, engineering and math. And sparklle thames, she offers an ondemand beauty service. She comes to your doorstep. You book from your own home or phone at any time. Welcome to urban update, ladies. Nice to see women on the cutting edge of innovation a maybe annmarie, if i could start with you. Tell us what mass challenge is. We talked about this accelerator. And how it is supposedly the most friendly Startup Accelerator in the planet. Indeed, it is. We have access to terrific mentors across all parts of business. So whether its harvard or we get focused attention really to help us scale. They tear our Business Plans apart. We need to put it back together very quickly. And you know, the goal is that we become really better at having impact around the world. Reporter day. Lets go around the table quickly. Tell us about your businesses a little bit. Stephanie rowe, lets start with you. Yeah, awesome. So we actually are changing the way that world. And the opportunities and the possibilities they see for themselves. So looking at stem, as you mentioned, science technology, engineering and math, the way really thinks about that is through things we socialize as boyscentric. We are chaining that. We are saying lets apply it in a different way. Through arts and crafts and room decor. Girls decorate their rooms. We make it cooler. We add fun technical effects to their bedrooms while they sparklle, talk to me about your business. Beauty link. It is an ondemand beauty service. You pull up your phone. You log on to our web site. You can find a stylist. If you need hair. Makeup. You can pick your stylist. You can see the portfolios online. You can pick which one you would like to come to you. And you can request it at any time of the day really. Reporter wow. Annmarie, you are business yes. Precise portions is visually aids really intended to retrain our brains on how to eat more balanced meals. We are really focused more, i would say on Childhood Obesity and how we educate families to just retrain our children on what it means to eat well. Thinking . It absolute little does. Just being around the entrepreneurs and you are around an ecosystem of people that think differently about everything. For me personally, it has reframed what i defined as possible and possibilities. Reporter sparklle, how can this program encourage folks who would not ordinarily go into business . Does it give you the confidence that you can do it . I mean, i think owning a business is very. It can be. Its sc you know, there is a lot out there that you dont know in a program like this. It gives you guidance. It helps you point you in the direction to actually achieve your goal. Reporter now, annmarie, i guess, i guess Small Businesses are the backbone of the country. As i guess how has this Family Businesses impacted your family . Well, oh, my gosh. I mean, all family members. We have so many of us with type ii diabetes. Over the years, my husband and engineers. We have actually been kind of training and coaching our family on how to think differently about nutrition. And i can tell you about diabetes management. Reporter wow. Stephanie, it sounds like you are happy with the program. How has it helped your business . Would you encourage anyone else who is kind of trying to get that start in the business to follow in your footsteps with mass challenge . I wou it is not only the mentor that we talked about but it is corporate partnerships. You have access to things and ways of thinking you wouldnt normally v. The other thing i will add, as you pointed out, we are an Awesome Group of Women Entrepreneurs. This has given me access to women and having women around me and normally, i dont have that. I feel like i have kreef it aed an awesome tribe of other Women Entrepreneurs that you can share with and get advice from. It is. Personally, it is reporter sparklle, your thoughts on. That and what it has done for your business. And how you would, i guess, encourage other people to follow in your footsteps. It is interesting. Beauty link is almost a collection of entrepreneurs. Because a lot of us are an independent hair and makeup artist. Im thankful enough that mass challenge give a company a chance. I can both be an entrepreneur and be connected with this network of other artists and get connected to clients that ul paths with other than this company. Reporter that is amazing. Finally, you want to gave shoutout to your partner. That would be your husband ed. His name is ed. I love him dearly. I wish he was here. And yes, we do fight. Where we work. laughter reporter what is that like, going into business with your spouse in. Yeah, yeah. It is a little bit challenging but it is satisfying and fun. At the end of the day, when we are both exhausted, we donts you are tired. Why cant we watch a movie. Yeah. It is very cool, actually. Reporter well, sounds like you have something good going there, all three. Annmarie, stephanie, sparklle, thank you for coming in. Thank you very much. Report o day. Coming up next, the third annual harborfest is right around the corner. We will have all details right reporter well, the fall season is upon us. Each year we celebrate the season as the leaves change into brilliant colors and we embrace those chilly new england nights. But in boston, we have also been celebrating autumn in other ways. This october 29, marks the third annual fall harvestfest. The allday event is open to families all across the city, as our young people are recognized and appreciated. The day will feature free food, the event is being hosted by grace church of all nations on washington street in dorchester. We have as our guest this morning, one of harvestfests planners. Minister joe rocha of grace church of all nations. Welcome, reverend rocha. Thanks for coming in. Thank you for having me. Reporter this is the third time you have held this event. I guess, how do you describe harvestfest . Well, harvestfest is a festival of sorts where have a whole day of festivities. We open up the doors of the church, so to speak. And welcome the community. We have a number of different activities going on for the youth and for families. And its a way, like i said, of opening up the four walls of the church and reaching out to the community. And as it is in october, its harvest. And its taking in the fall season. And its the beginning of f it is all about family. And friends. Reporter the event is held in dorchester. The event open to yooupt and people across the city. Correct . Yes. We have people from all over the commonwealth coming to this day of festivities. Yes. Reporter i guess, on a day like, this you know, getting families involved, i guess, why do you want. Are you trying to promote Something Like this st this is the third in. Year in a row you are doing it. As i said, it is an opportunity for the church to open its doors. Certainly, one of the primary things is to kind of meet the people spiritually. At the same time, it is a way of meeting the people and addressing some of their material and their physical needs. You know, last year, we gave away over 400 bags of the grocery. When you look at the family that is came, there were many 400 bags that were given, you know, that impacted maybe 800 or 1rx00 people. It is a way of meeting people and their needs. And their physical needs. I guess that sort of goes on to the next question. The response you have gotten from the community the past couple of years. What has been the response, the reaction . Well, it is always packed. I mean, we have a number of different activities. We have the moon bounce us for the children. A pieeating con tebbs. Apple. There are a number of things happening during that day. So again, its just meeting all the needs of the people and things like that. Reporter a lot of friends are made there. Yes. A lot of friends are made. It is surprising. The thing about it is is that there are many young folks that come there. Sometimes they dont know how ashamed or whatever it might be. Giving these bags of groceries out and administering to them on sunday last year, we saw many of the young people come. Many of the young women come. Reporter you know, we will remind everyone once more. The date and time again. Saturday, october 29. It is going to be from 10 00 in the morning to 5 00 in the evening. Reporter the location is . Right in dorchester. On 451 washington street in the parking lot. Reporter okay. All right. Reverend, ks in. Good luck with another fall harvestfest. Thank you very much. Reporter okay. When we come back, spinetingling details of the most haunted places right here reporter our next guest has been featured as bostons encounters. He is the author of ghosts of boston. Ghosts of salem, and 13 most haunted in massachusetts. And he also a soughtafter lecturer who speaks at dozens of normalrelated events. As if all that wasnt enough, he is the manager of ghost ship harbors v. I. P. Normal experience. A funfilled but scary attraction taking place this halloween season on the u. S. S. Salem in quincy. Considered one of the regions most and without further ado, i now present to you paranormal expert and author, sam baltrusis. Welcome to you arean update. Thank you for coming in. Before we start, do you get any vibes about this place . Is our studio haunted, do you think . Possibly. Many there is a poltergeist here. Reporter well, i hope he likes our little thing today. How did you become a normal i wrote a story back in 2001 that led to a book deal on haunted locations in boston. And it took off from there. I apply my journalism skills to my skills as a paranormal researcher. Reporter wow. Now, you have written several books on the most haunted places in the region. Tell me how you found these places. Well, just word of mouth. I talked to people. They tell me their ghost stories. Their encounters. For example, the u. S. S. Salem. I didnt spend much time on it nm there has been so much activity on the vessel. I have had firsthand experiences there. People tell me the stories. It is a lot of word of mouth. Reporter day. Now, when someone calls and says they think there is normal activity going on, how do you determine if its really something or nothing . Well, i work as a normal researcher. So my job is to know why a place will be haunted. I would call on someone who is, like,s a normal investigator it could be in their heads. Which is sometimes the case. In some cases, we do have activity that is inexplicable. Reporter okay. Well, you know, it is kind of hard for me. I guess you would call me a skeptic, i suppose. Lets get into the halloween spirit. There is an interesting trend turning toward haunted locations. Tell me more about what you found and some of the locations and things. Yeah. I call it hanning the haunted. That means taking a location th into a haunted attraction. The u. S. S. Salem is sa perfect example. We have ghost ship harbor. And having the haunted experience on the vessel has been very interesting. We have had normal activity. We have had investigations. And i would say it is very paranormally active on the vessel. Reporter wow. Tell me more about your book and i guess, all these locations. Maybe some of them. Because i have 7 books altogether. My book last year, 13 most haunted in massachusetts was number eight on the list. This year, the most haunted crime scenes is number two on the lirves. Because of the paranormal activity. The crimes are committed by the ghost. There are reports of being scared. A lot of stuff going on there that i cant really explain. Cold to really hot in seconds. We have a female scream captured on camera. I would say that it definitely is one of the top. One of the most haunted locations in massachusetts. Reporter wow. I was going to say, what are people in store for . Is it scary for kids . Should you be a certain age . Yeah. I would recommend definitely teenage and above. We have had packed crowds since we opened in october. I would recommend teenage. You know your children. It is very scary. Reporter well, again, we are talking about the u. S. S. Salem in quincy. You do a lot of lectures and things, i guess. What kindle of reaction do you get from people . Do people have questions . Are they coming because they are wondering . Are there skeptics in the crowd . This has changed over the years for me. This has to do with poop cultu shows. Truthfully, there is a large percentage who do believe the ghosts. Reporter tell me more about the u. S. S. Salem in quincy and inguess, what people can expect if they go. So there is two haunted attractions. The worldclass haunted attraction. The mastermind behind the haunted attraction. Im responsible for the normal experience. You will deal with people who are on these tv shows you see on various networks. They will take you through the vessel and basically, have a normal experience. You will have equipment that the professionals use. Reporter i guess what about the popularity or the curiosity and interest in it seems like there is an awful lot of it. Definitely, around halloween, the interest deaf hitly peaks. I have people on my tours yearround. It is a phenomenon. Reporter a few of the other haunted places. The 13 most haunted in massachusetts . The number one is the Lizzie Borden bed and breakfast. We all know about. That i was kind of not sure if its actually haunted. I have heard multiple accounts that it is, in fact haunted. I do think that we have these the spirits. Something that may have been traditionally not haunted may become haunted because of the activity that is conjured within the structure. Reporter that is absolutely amazing. Any of these special places around . I want to invite a couple of people from whdh to join me at the u. S. S. Salem. Amaka ubaka, please come to the ghost ship harbor. And also jadiann. Reporter day. Awesome. All right. Im sure they will both love it. Okay. That sounds like it is going to be a really fun event and interesting. And hopefully, not too scary. You know, sam baltrusis. Thanks for coming in. Good luck with the books. Fbs good luck with giving everybody, you know, a fun time in the halloween season. Thank you, byron. Happy halloween. Everyone. When you see this symbol. You know youre watching television thats educational and informational. The more you know on nbc. Narrator this is dr. Michelle oakley, vet to pretty much everything that moves. On this episode, dr. Oakley struggles to return two young eagles to the wild. Michelle these guys are gonna go. It ll be up to them but they re gonna get a shot a massive problem. Michelle it was having eye issues so they were actually swollen shut. Narrator and she tries to balance work life michelle that s a good girl. Narrator with family life. Michelle i always think i m gonna get a down day and it just doesn t happen. [dogs barking] narrator she s in one of the most rugged places on earth