Helena participated in a year-long Youth Poet Laureate Program through the Long Beach Public Library, the Arts Council for Long Beach, and Urban Word. She attended Saturday workshops led by local Southern California poets and artists, shared original poetry at various events, and has led a poetry workshop for the city’s teenagers during Black History Month at the library. Ten finalists were selected for the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors. Spectrum News highlighted Helena as an activist poet in a feature on the Youth Poet Laureate Program. See it here. Helena was honored to be selected as one of the inaugural Youth Poet Ambassadors of the City of Long Beach.
“For people like me, I think it's very important to start advocating for Disability Justice, because not everybody has the strength to lift themselves up and have the confidence to speak about having learning disabilities.”
- Helena Donato-Sapp
Interview, Spectrum News 1
February 18, 2023
As a newly awarded Poet Ambassador of Long Beach, Helena was invited to address the leaders of Long Beach at a Council Meeting on July 11, 2023. Helena addressed the Mayor and other city leaders and then read her poem titled Future Me Thanks You. This was the city’s official recognition of the Youth Poet Laureate Program.
To kick off Women’s History Month, Helena returned to her alma mater to lead 35 middle school students in a session on creating a phrase poem. In her role as one of the city’s Youth Poet Ambassadors, Helena also promoted the Youth Poet Laureate Program at the Long Beach Public Library. Helena used two blogs she wrote for Feminist Focus — a blog of Girls Learn International in her demonstration. Helena thanks Jessica Perez of the Youth Poet Laureate program, as well as Ms. Renteria and Mr. Perram from her middle school, for their generous invitation and encouragement.
Written for Feminist Focus - Blog of Girls Learn International
Long Beach City Youth Poet Ambassador Helena Donato-Sapp reads an original poem titled The Art of Black Excellence for the Black History Month Celebration at Long Beach City Hall on February 20, 2024. The event was organized by the Black Employees Association of Long Beach with the support of the Port of Long Beach, Long Beach Utilities, Mayor Rex Richardson, Councilmembers Al Austen II, Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie, and Roberto Uranga. Special thanks to Amanda Hall, Anjelica Vargas, and Christian Cambridge for the recognition.
See the Coverage on LBTV below.
Long Beach City Youth Poet Ambassador Helena Donato-Sapp reads Hair, an original poem, for the Black History Month Celebration at Long Beach City Hall on February 24, 2024. The celebration, which featured Helena in her role as inaugural Youth Poet Ambassador, was also an open-mic community event organized by the Long Beach Public Library.
Activist, poet, and speaker Helena Donato-Sapp read an original poem titled The Art of Teaching as part of a keynote speech she delivered for the Rainier Educators of Color Network Equity Conference 5.0 on February 3, 2024.
Youth Poet Ambassador Helena Donato-Sapp was invited to read her original poem titled This is the City Where I was Born and Raised at a formal welcome reception hosted by Zoe Nicholson for the inaugural Long Beach Commission for Women and Girls of which she is also the youngest member. Former Councilmember Renee Simon, Mayor Rex Richardson and his family joined various government, business, and general community representatives at the historic first gathering held at the Bembridge House on January 7, 2024.
Helena was a featured poet and artist at a community fundraiser organized by Feminist Uprising. She exhibited two original paintings and read her original poem titled An Ode to Rage. The event was held at a popular local coffeehouse. Helena’s first coffeehouse poetry reading was a resounding success. She was interviewed and photographed along with other local artists, musicians, and fellow poets.
Helena is one of ten finalists for the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate position for the city of Long Beach, CA. Finalists were asked to do their first reading together as a cohort and Helena wrote an original poem about being Filipina-through-adoption. The poem has a tough message about body shaming in families.
“<3 to youth poet laureate & youth disability justice activist @helenadonatosapp who read on being Haitian American, being raised by two fathers, loving her filipino titos & titas yet exposing the harms of body shaming in one's bio family (I'm here for it).”
- Angela Peñaredondo
Educator, Artist, Author
This session for aspiring educators is to help them gain background knowledge on the origins and forms of ableism, understand intersectionality and its impact, recognize the impact of bias, analyze the role of critical dialogue in ending ableism, and helping participants to develop their “why” in becoming a leader in disability justice. Helena was recently awarded Youth Poet Ambassador of the City of Long Beach, California and, as a recognized poet, was asked to read original activist-poetry to the participants. Helena is also an established artist and presented an original art piece on reimagining the disability symbol as an avenue into discussing ableist language.
- Donato-Sapp, H. Tita Likes to Say – Understanding Intersectionality. Original Poem delivered at The National Education Association’s Aspiring Educators Conference, Orlando, Florida. June 28-July 1, 2023.
- Donato-Sapp, H. Disability Justice Poem. Original poem delivered at The National Education Association’s Aspiring Educators Conference, Orlando, Florida. June 28-July 1, 2023.
Sharing and Signing Poetry
at the NEA Leadership Summit
Helena was invited to teach her first poetry session for other teenagers in the city of Long Beach. She wrote the curriculum for this presentation and presented and taught her first teen class at the library. Using her PSA on The Humans Who Feed Us (see video below), she developed a lesson that not only introduced the poetry form of a phrase poem, but highlighted the important work that women farmworkers do to put food on our tables.
The Humans Who Feed Us
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