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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY AWARD
Art from Ashes Executive Director Catherine O'Neill Thorn was a keynote
speaker at the International Women's Day Conference on March 7th and 8th. International Women's Day is sponsored by the Women's Information Network and was the largest gathering of women in the history of the world (176 countries). Catherine spoke on Women and Power: How words transform our reality. She also was presented with an Outstanding Service Award, for outstanding leaders who perform at the highest level in her career and community and who help other women excel!
AfA INTERN EXTRAORDINAIRE
Our amazing and beautiful Amanda Prince has been a Safe City intern with Art from Ashes for 3 years. She graduates this year from CEC Middle College of Denver and has just been named a 2011 Daniels Scholar to receive funding to attend the college or university of her choice. This honor is given annually to high school seniors who have demonstrated strong character and a determination to succeed in life... that's certainly our Amanda, who has over the years become an integral part of our agency.
Not only has she written beautiful poetry in our workshops, she is now the assistant to our Phoenix Rising program manager. Amanda also wrote a beautiful essay (read it!) about the impact Art from Ashes has had on her life.
She couldn't be more deserving of the honor, based on the criteria of the Fund: "These are promising and motivated students who have demonstrated strong character, leadership, and a commitment to community service," explained Linda Childears, president and CEO of the Daniels Fund. "They are outstanding young people and the Daniels Fund is proud to partner with them as they fulfill their dreams of attending college."
To identify candidates for the scholarship, the Daniels Fund partners with high schools, youth serving agencies and college prep providers that nominate candidates for the Daniels Scholarship. After being nominated, candidates take part in an interview and selection process in the communities in which they live.
Cable pioneer Bill Daniels, a prominent business leader known for his kindness and generosity to those in need, established the Daniels Fund to provide grants and scholarships in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Daniels was seeking promising students who demonstrate strength of character, leadership, and a record of accomplishment in giving back to the community. Visit www.danielsfund.org for more information.
HUNT ALTERNATIVES FUND–3G
The Hunt Alternatives Fund was established in Denver in 1981 with the purpose of advancing innovative and inclusive approaches to social change at local, national, and global levels. This year, the 3rd Generation Foundation of the Hunt Alternatives Fund designated a 3-year funding cycle for Art from Ashes to institute a revenue-generating arm to provide creative workshops for corporations and businesses. These workshops will focus on techniques that exercise the creative right brain in order to increase productivity and communication in the workplace. All revenue generated will support our youth programs. Stay tuned for more information as we launch our newest program!
AfA's newest program offering for business professionals is funded by a grant from the Hunt Alternatives Fund-3G (see above). Click here to find out why transformational writing can change the culture of your business and enhance productivity and teamwork!
ART FROM ASHES RECIPIENT OF A 2010/2011 VODAFONE AMERICAS FOUNDATION GRANT
Vodafone Group Plc is the world's leading mobile telecommunications company, with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States, where the Group's associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless. The Vodafone Foundations make social investments that help the people of the world to lead fuller lives.
2010/2011 GRANTS AWARDED
CLICK HERE for more information on additional grants awarded
NEWLY-ESTABLISHED GARMAN FOUNDATION SUPPORTS AfA
Greg Garman, founder of Cartel Noir, an international clothing line, introduced his fall collection on September 30th at the Museum of Contemporary Art. He also introduced the newly-established Garman Foundation, created with his brother Michael and his father Randy, as a way to best contribute to worthy charities and causes. The primary idea of the Foundation is to funnel funds raised by events such as the inaugural party immediately to worthy groups in need. The first beneficiary the Garmans selected is Art from Ashes, an organization that, in their words, is "a very well run and worthy cause." At the event, 100 limited edition silk scarves with the Cartel Noir logo were sold for $150 each to raise funds. If you would like to purchase a scarf, please contact Art from Ashes.
All of our gratitude goes out to the Garman Foundation and the wonderful family that started it!
SILVER LINING ON A DARK CLOUD :: The Power of Words Exemplified
As the saying goes, "no good deed goes unpunished." Giovanni’s story is one of struggle and victory. He began his Art from Ashes journey four years ago as a deeply troubled 21 year old who was actively being recruited by a gang. The Phoenix Rising workshops at The Spot appealed to him, and through his poetry he was empowered. Giovanni found a great deal of hope in his voice.
As a youth poet, Giovanni excelled. His poetry is poignant; clear and concise with a genuineness you can feel. He spoke before thousands of people—yes, thousands—including an appearance at the Denver Convention Center before 5,000 people, with Mayor John Hickenlooper and First Lady, Jeannie Ritter in attendance.
Giovanni transitioned from a youth participant to train and become an Art from Ashes Facilitator. He worked with youth, particularly bilingual groups, and with his sensitivity and compassion he encouraged other youth in similarly desperate circumstances that through the power of their voice and minds, they could accomplish anything.
In addition to being an instrumental member of our team, Giovanni is a fantastic musician with several CDs bearing his by-line. He also volunteered at the Denver Community Center and discovered his talent for fisticuffs (that’s fancy-speak for boxing!). He earned local recognition as a Golden Gloves winner and was set to break new ground with his first official professional boxing match this coming November in Las Vegas.
But, as we said, not all stories end as we hope. As a result of a routine traffic violation, it was found that Giovanni, who relocated with his parents to America from Guatemala at the age of one, is not lawfully a citizen of the United States. He has been held for six months in a detention center, and numerous people in the community were advocating for his release, including Art from Ashes staff and volunteers, his boxing coach, his family (although his mom and dad weren't allowed in the detention center or in court), his friends and attorney Brett Davis, our neighbor who worked diligently to free Giovanni. Giovanni was deported last week—to a country where he knew no one, had no means of livelihood and no place to live. Our government generously provided him with two shirts, two pairs of pants, and a pair of shoes with which to start his new life, away from everything he's ever known.
We could hang our heads and consider this setback a tragedy—Giovanni’s trajectory seemed finally on a steady rise—and it would be easy to do so. But that’s not how he looked at life. He’d see the community rallying behind him; the pro bono services of Brett Davis, esq. and the efforts of Art from Ashes to keep him in the country, the calls of “We Love You” in the courtroom, the letters, the reaching out to the Guatemalan community to ease his transition to his native country as a victory. So should we.
At his hearing, the judge asked Giovanni why so many people were in the courtroom to support him. Giovanni's answer was simple..."They have faith in me."
Yes. We do.
...Going with the current, not against it
Live a day at a time
don't worry 'bout your future
worry about today
about what to accomplish...
Just keep dreaming
my voice tells me.
Don't hope—hopes are for those who wait.
Follow and you will catch it;
seek it and you will find it.
Have faith,
and at the end of the world it will await.
Free your mind,
and you will go between extreme imagination
finding new creations.
—by Giovanni Lopez
To help other struggling youth, we encourage you to contribute so our future can hold more successful youth like Giovanni.
ANOTHER GOODBYE TO A FRIEND :: Rest In Peace Rinu
The Art from Ashes family mourns the loss of one of our youth poets. Andrea "Rinu" Scherer succumbed to the streets after an attack one week before her 21st birthday. Rinu regularly attended the Phoenix Rising therapeutic poetry workshops at the Spot and had recently moved off the streets into transitional housing. She needed to report to a judge once a week, and each week she presented him with a poem she had written. Her life seemed to be improving, which makes the news of her death that much more troubling. We wish Rinu’s family well in their moment of grief and we thank Tina Griego for illustrating the love Rinu received from her family and friends. Tina wrote two articles about the tragedy, featured in The Denver Post, CLICK HERE for "Streets Kid Didn’t Wander Alone" or download a pdf; CLICK HERE to read "Radiance Stills the Crowd Gathered Around Grim."
There is at least one hopeful consequence of Rinu's untimely death: Art from Ashes is even more committed to providing a drop-in youth center for young people to engage in therapeutic arts programs as they need us. Our intention is to name this center the Rinu Transformation Center for Creative Arts.
Please donate below to support our work with young people in our community.
POETRY IN MOTION!
Read the article, about Art from Ashes youth poet Dominic Perez:
Young poets' work to hit the streets
Buses to display writing again as part of Poetry in Motion program
By Annette Espinoza, The Denver Post
PREVIOUS NEWS
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, ALSO A TOP MODEL
Art from Ashes director wins the Readers' Choice vote from thousands of national finalists
Denver - March 2009
Marie Verrett, our own Director of Operations, was chosen from among thousands of applicants nationwide not only for her physical beauty, but for her description of the work she does for Art from Ashes. The pool of top ten models was chosen by readers and editors of "AARP The Magazine."
AARP The Magazine featured its top models in its March and April 2009 editions titled "Why do you represent the face of 50+?"
Marie's description of her dedication to Art from Ashes and her transition from board member to full-time volunteer staff at a grassroots agency working with a high-risk population was considered inspirational enough to confirm her as a national winner.
Before volunteering at Art from Ashes, she was a decorated officer with 23 years with the U.S. Air Force. [read her bio]
AARP The Magazine launched the Faces of 50+ model search in 2005 to show that beauty and style don't expire at any age.
Link to the AARP press release or read The Denver Post article.
RAVEN SOLUTIONS
Thanks to Steve Sande of Raven Solutions, a Mac expert and new donor of in-kind services, for including us in his blog on "Pay It Forward" Click here to read it.
ARCHIVED ARTICLES
VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY by Catherine O'Neill Thorn (April 2007)
Because of my work with Columbine students after that shooting, BBC World News called to discuss the impact of violent acts such as these on young people and the ways in which poetry helped them. One of the Columbine survivors, Devon Adams, joined me to discuss the effect our poetry writing workshops had on her healing process (click to hear the BBC interview).
CLICK HERE for the rest of the article...
ALWAYS A NEW BLESSING!
by Catherine O'Neill Thorn (April 2007)
Here's a challenging one. Our building at 1535 Grant St. was recently purchased and the new owners want to bring the offices up to marketable value—as well as the rents. A large portion of our rent had been donated for the past three years by realtor Jim Smith, the previous owner. We're being asked to provide three times more a month (from $300 to $900!) starting in six weeks!
CLICK HERE for the rest of the article...
THE POWER OF PERCEPTION by Catherine O'Neill Thorn (March 2007)
Early in March someone broke into our office and stole
our computer...A new computer (MacBookPro) would have cost us $3,000. That's hard to spend when $2,400 pays for an
8-week program for 20 youth. But we trusted that something
wonderful would come of it, and you can probably tell from the past tense, that it did.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the article...
Art from Ashes Executive Director Catherine O'Neill Thorn was presented with an Outstanding Service Award by the Women's Information Network at the International Women's Day Conference on March 8th, 2011. The award is for outstanding leaders who perform at the highest level in her career and community and who help other women excel.
In 2010 Art from Ashes was chosen by the American Association of Law
Libraries (AALL) as their community outreach organization in Denver. Each year the AALL researches different non-profit organizations in the host city of its annual meeting and selects one group for their outreach.
2008 MasterMind Award for Literary Arts.
...Art From Ashes has shown itself deserving of a MasterMind award. But Thorn insists that the real brains are the people her organization serves. "We know that arts are intrinsically healing, but Art from Ashes goes one step beyond that,‘ she says. "There is a cathartic process, where kids use poetry to talk about their pain and their rage. They listen to each other's poems and find out that they're not as isolated as they thought... We believe in the power of words, because words create and because these kids are creative geniuses. We lead them to a place where they start to create a different reality for themselves." —Amber Taufen, Westword
photo by Mark Manger
Westword's Best of Denver 2007 award for Best Therapeutic Poetry Organization
"Life isn't always easy for the young. And high-risk youth whose lives are impacted by violence, drugs and alcohol sometimes don't have the opportunity to find their voices or learn to express themselves. To combat that, Art From Ashes collaborates with other youth-service organizations to offer poetry and spoken-word workshops for kids who are homeless, incarcerated, in the court system or residing in treatment centers or just urban settings. Art From Ashes encourages emotional catharsis and expression through writing therapy, giving kids their voices before they lose them forever."
The Pan African Arts Society awarded Catherine O'Neill Thorn, executive director of Art from Ashes, the 2006 Community "Artivist" Award for "years of consistent commitment to the urban art scene in the Denver Metro area." Awards are presented to organizations and individuals who "work to encourage and support arts education, personal creativity and community engagement."
CONFERENCES
MARCH 25, 2010: Safe City Youth Summit 2010: “Flow With the Rhythm of Life” at the Tivoli on Auraria Campus
For the past 15 years, the annual Safe City Youth Leadership Conference has received recognition as one of the State’s foremost youth-adult community partnerships. The conference is designed to allow youth to interact positively in the discussion of programs and policies to improve the lives of all youth within the Denver Metro Area.
Conference Goals
• Provide education around youth issues
• Encourage youth-led prevention activities
• Build a strong local and national prevention network
• Give youth the chance to discuss issues with local leaders
• Develop a plan to enlist young people in creating safe environments
• Promote youth-adult partnership as a catalyst for community prevention
• Provide youth a forum to express their visions as today and tomorrow’s leaders
OCT 18, 2009: Conferencia Anual Familias Hispanas Enfocando :: el Futuro XII Art from Ashes provided two workshops at the Annual Conference on Hispanic Families with Disabled Youth: ¡Descubre el genio y líder que todos llevamos dentro!
OCT 10, 2009: Cultural Competency Conference of the CDDC
Art from Ashes provided a workshop/presentation at the 2nd Annual Cultural Competence and Responsiveness Conference "Learning from Each Other: Things We Share," hosted by the Colorado Development Disabilities Council. Click here for more information.
MAY 24, 2009: Girls Empowerment Conference Art from Ashes provided a series of six short workshops to more than 300 young women. Workshops were designed to enhance girls’ self-confidence through participating in various artistic activities. The focus was on on career options in the arts and seeking ways to learn more about how to express themselves artistically. The conference also featured a youth performance by two Art from Ashes youth poets Jay Jay Davis (Reality) and Chance Two Crow, both from the program at Urban Peak's The Spot, funded by the Colorado Council on the Art YouthReach grant.
MAY 8, 2009: MHCD/ABC Recovery Conference "Recovery Happens: Charting a New Course" Art from Ashes provided two workshops to participants at the 10th Annual Colorado Access Behavioral Care and the Mental Health Center of Denver’s annual Recovery Conference, which featured the latest innovations in recovery strategies.
APRIL 25, 2009: La Raza Youth Leadership Conference: ““Tu Cultura, Tu Libertad, Tu Vida!” Art from Ashes provided two workshops in both English and Spanish to conference participants: Raza youth ages 12 through 18. Presentation topics fit into the four conference workshop tracks: Careers, Cultural Awareness, Self-Awareness, and Leadership.
APRIL 3, 2009: Safe City Youth Summit 2009: “Dare to be a Leader! Are you up for the Challenge?” at the Tivoli on Auraria Campus
JANUARY 31, 2009: The 16th Annual Cherry Creek Diversity Conference
Art from Ashes provided two youth workshops designed to promote diversity and understanding among students attending Colorado's public and private high schools.
JULY 19 & 20, 2008: Art from Ashes provided two two-hour workshops a day at the Veterans of Hope conference The Welcome Table, the first of an annual event held at the Iliff School of Theology.
MAY 1–3, 2008: Art from Ashes gave a presentation and two workshops—a youth workshop and an adult workshop—on our program at the national Assets for Colorado Youth Voices of Strength Conference held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center.
APRIL 11, 2008: Safe City Youth Summit 2008: “Learn from the past, Live in the present, Look to the future” at the Tivoli on Auraria Campus
JULY 13, 2007: Open Dialogue XI: Global Connections to Cultural Democracy
Art from Ashes youth provided a spoken word performance and presentation on our work to promote non-violence through self-empowerment among youth in the community using poetry and the arts.
MAY 3, 2007: Art from Ashes gave a presentation and conducted a youth workshop and an adult workshop on poetry and spoken word at the national Assets for Colorado Youth Voices of Strength Conference held in Denver on May 3 and 4.
MARCH 21, 2007: Youth Crime Watch of America's 18th National Youth Crime Prevention Conference & International Forum
Art from Ashes presented a workshop on poetry and spoken word on March 21 at the YCW Conference on prevention and intervention methods available to counteract youth crime March 20-23. We were made famous (infamous?) shortly thereafter by a Kenny Be cartoon in Westword... check out www.bullypoet.com
JUNE 14 & 15, 2006: Art from Ashes gave a presentation and conducted a youth workshop and an adult workshop on poetry and spoken word at the national Assets for Colorado Youth Voices of Strength Conference in Denver.
MEDIA
VIDEO
Watch a 4-minute video produced by Rachel Julkowski
:: Low Res (small file)
:: High Res (large file)
or check it out on youtube!
We're in the Flobots video :: RISE!
Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit have been guest poets at Art from Ashes workshops and Jonny 5 also is a trained facilitator. When they produced their RISE! video, Denver nonprofit organizations with which Flobots had worked were included in the making of it. Art from Ashes is featured toward the end (after Mackenzie's solo).
Check it out here: Flobots :: Rise!
TELEVISION
Watch a 15-minute interview with Executive Director Catherine O'Neill Thorn, Program Director Lindsey Wise, and Youth Poet Chance Two Crow, produced by CNTV
9NEWS STORY ON ART FROM ASHES' PARTNERSHIP WITH URBAN PEAK
Youth poets at The Spot, the Phoenix Rising poetry program in collaboration with Urban Peak, were featured on Channel 9 News at 10 on Sunday, February 21st. CLICK HERE to read the article online or if you're having trouble viewing the video below.
AfA FEATURED IN A COMMERCIAL FOR MSCD ON CHANNELS 7 AND 9
Metropolitan State College is featuring Art from Ashes in a 30-second commercial on channels 9 and 7. As a graduate, Catherine O'Neill Thorn talks about how instrumental her experience at Metro was in preparing her to help young people find their voice.
Watch the commercial!
KBDI Studio 12 FEATURES YOUTH HOMELESSNESS
Art from Ashes was featured on a July 8, 2009
KBDI panel on youth homelessness with Urban Peak and Volunteers of America. Tamara Banks, host of KBDI's Studio 12, interviewed our own Catherine O'Neill Thorn, executive director; Robert Ham and Andrew McClure of Urban Peak; and Sheila Rae Stephens of VOA. Read the YourHub.com article here or download either the YourHub.com article or the KBDI article.
RADIO
:: COMING SOON: a 30-minute interview with Catherine O'Neill Thorn, Bianca Mikahn and youth poet Chance Two Crow on HOT 107.1.
:: LISTEN to an interview with Catherine O'Neill Thorn and youth poet Chance Two Crow on January 3, 2010 on Entercom Radio's four Denver stations: KALC Alice 105.9 FM, KEZW 1430 AM, KQMT The Mountain 99.5 FM and KOSI 101 FM.
:: LISTEN to our interview with BBC World News following the Virginia Tech tragedy (featuring Devon Adams, Columbine student and participant of the therapeutic poetry workshops 1999-2003)
:: LISTEN to a KGNU radio interview with Catherine O'Neill Thorn about the August 2007 First Friday Art Walk performance
:: LISTEN to a 2006 KGNU radio interview with Catherine O'Neill Thorn about Art from Ashes therapeutic workshops
PUBLICATIONS
:: 2009 Examiner.com Art from Ashes was featured in an online magazine article by Zack Kopp
:: 2004 Denver Post article about our work at The Spot
:: 2004 Denver Radio article
:: 2003 Rocky Mountain News article by Tina Griego
:: 2000 Rocky Mountain News article on Columbine High School workshops
