JOY THROUGH ART. Remember that name. JOY. THROUGH. ART. Essentially, that's all you need to know about this post, until you get to the end. JOY THROUGH ART.
Art, music, dance and theatre. Common denominators that enrich our lives, right? The arts are the essence of who we are and how we view the world. If you have art in your life, you feel love. The arts, if experienced with passion, vigor and humility, weave a pattern that is flecked with joy and wisdom in the tapestry of our lives.
Love is all you need, and in the purest sense of that phrase, it's true. Except when you have a cognitive, emotional or physical disability, and some people look at you "funny," and wonder about your impairment. And ask questions of you, and say awkward things because they don't know what else to say. Like it or not, that still happens to many people with disabilities.
There's a tiny non-profit in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that is trying to change that paradigm. The name of that non-profit is Arts in Motion, and it's in contention for a $ 25,000 grant through the Joy Through Art proposal from the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program. There's a contest whereby people vote up to 10x a day on Facebook until May 17 for their favorite non-profit, and the Top 40 organizations will each receive a $ 25,000 grant. That's a hell of a lot of money for a small non-profit that supports diversity and inclusion for all.
Vote for Joy Through Art. You can vote up to 10x each day until Friday.
Joy Through Art supports the expression of Art, Music, Dance and Theatre by engaging the community, including those who have disabilities, to revel in the experience of the arts. The program fosters creativity, independence, joy and learning. It's fantastic!
SO, I’m writing on behalf of Arts in Motion, which specializes in adaptive instruction in the creative arts for the physically, emotionally and mentally challenged. Arts in Motion’s mission is to enrich the community and lives of individuals with disabilities through expressive arts.
We really need the support to help to promote “Joy Through Art” on behalf of Arts in Motion. Over 5,000 people sent in nomination requests for their favorite charities, and the “Joy Through Art” program was selected in the Top 200 to compete for one of the Top 40 spots during a three week Facebook contest. We’re into week three of the contest, and "Joy Through Art" is hovering near the Top 40 spot, but we sure could use some love/publicity to help us stabilize in the Top 40! The voting ends on Friday, the 16th of May. We can use all the votes we can muster between now and then.
We would love to have your vote! Every day for the next three days! If you're a blogger or a media specialist, would you be willing to do a little spot on the contest, or promote it on your website, to help us drive votes to Joy Through Art as the voting nears completion? Arts in Motion is a fantastic organization and would use the money from the Joy Through Art grant to offer more art classes for students with disabilities and to help foster a sense of inclusion in the arts community for those who live with disabilities.
If you’d like to learn more about the contest, please visit the Joy Through Art Facebook Event Page, here: https://www.facebook.com/....
If you’d like to read the Joy Through Art grant proposal, go here: https://apps.facebook.com/...
Thank you for your consideration in helping this fine organization. You can contact me or the founder and executive director, Delight Lester, at this number: (616) 446-7452 or e-mail at dalca@aol.com.
OH, and most important of all, this is where you vote: https://apps.facebook.com/...
Please vote for Joy Through Art 10x each day.
Thank you.
11:06 AM PT: UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who voted today! We bumped up a bit to 38, but then we dropped back down to 41, So your vote would really, really help!
THANKS YOU.