| The Ascent :: A newsletter & calendar for supporters of Art from Ashes :: Holiday 2009 |
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"We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation."
--Francis Scovel Shinn
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Featured Youth Poet
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by Stephanie, age 17
3-minute poem on choosing to release the pain of our experiences ... although we can never deny the past, we can choose how to carry it.
Past Grief
There have been a lot of f--ed up things in my life,
but believe me....
I can make the best of them.
I can overrule the memories
they have left behind.
I can forget about that period of time.
I can be happy with the good things now.
I can just let the deep well
that the past grief
has etched in me
be my watering hole of Joy,
of Happiness.[note: Sometimes I want so badly for you to know what these wonderful young people are dealing with, because of how strong they are to have survived and how amazing they are to write such hope into their poetry. But we honor that they want to focus on what they've left behind, not what they've suffered. Stephanie is a very strong young woman.]
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Poetry Prompt
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Find an object around you right now that you would consider sacred...something that engenders the idea of spirituality in a physical form. Study it for one entire minute, using each of your senses. At the end of the minute, without referring back to the object (place it out of sight, if possible), write about what you noticed, describing the object in great detail for 3 minutes. Don't think, just freewrite! [don't read ahead] · · · · ·Read the poem aloud in the "I am..." For example: "The snow is graceful and gently moves with each silent breath" becomes "I am graceful and gently move with each silent breath."  |
Featured Business Donors · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Chris Blair (scroll down to read his bio), a Reiki Master & Reflexologist at Botanica Wellness Center, is donating his income for Tuesday sessions. Please contact Botanica at 720.279.8726 to set up an appointment with Chris for any Tuesday and you'll be supporting Art from Ashes. · · · · · · · · · · · ·
The owners and managers of Appaloosa Grill will host our Appreciation/Benefit Party on the 16th, donating the income generated from the bar!
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Colorado's Macintosh Resource
Steven Shepperd of has pledged to donate 25% of all income generated through
Art from Ashes referrals.steven@revisionaries.com303.303.495.5941 or 1.866.474.8042 · · · · · · · · · · · ·
EPIC LEVEL sponsor
:: Gill Enterprises ::
click here for a list of Art from Ashes sponsors. |
Items & Services We'll Gratefully Accept
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:: in-kind items ::
a late model Mac computer
floor lamps
journals / pens / glue sticks / scissors
:: volunteer services ::
events coordinator
grant writer
graphic / web designer
:: other opportunities ::
finance committee member (contact AfA Finance Committee Chair, Ben Martin)
fundraising committee member (contact AfA Fundraising Committee Chair, Joe Giglio)
advisory board member (contact Director of Operations Marie Verrett)
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 Letter from Catherine
STILL GRATEFUL
after all these years...
Grateful: from the Latin gratus "pleasing" (see also grace: "favor; approval")
Greetings!
Interestingly, the word grateful is one of the only cases in the English language where an adjective has been created from an another adjective. It could easily be translated as "to be full of grace." (I'm sure I've heard that before, somewhere...)
At Art from Ashes it is an intentional practice for us to be grateful year-round. In particular during this season, we reflect with gratitude on the love and support we've received during the past challenging year. But the challenges have all been worth it. We had more than 2,500 youth in more than 300 workshops in 2009, impacting the lives of 1,500 [unduplicated] young people with the message that they are creative geniuses, worthy of respect, worthy of love. This message has helped so many struggling youth begin to believe in a future that isn't filled with the pain of the past. All because they have discovered the power and beauty of their creative voice.
As we move into 2010, we also are instituting other creative programs to provide hope and transformation. Our new drama program, Casting Shadows, is getting started under the leadership of facilitator and drama therapist Martha Crouse, and plans are in the making for a visual arts program.
We hope those of you who support our work are as blessed as we are to do it. It doesn't take a lot to convince young people of their value, but their own creative genius is pretty convincing. We're privileged to help thousands of youth discover their innate creativity and use it to redefine their lives.
We ask that you continue to consider us when giving. You'll find numerous opportunities to give in this newsletter and on our website. In particular, I'm presenting a spiritual challenge called the "10% Experiment" (not for the faint of heart). If you'd like to learn more about that challenge, click here or read online.
We also have several events coming up, and we offer gift certificates
 1) to give a donation in someone's honor; and 2) to give an Art from Ashes adult workshop.
As the year ends, remember that your charitable donation also can reduce your taxes! Here's some info from the H&R Block website:
If you itemize income tax deductions, you may deduct your charitable
donations. You'll want to keep good records or all your donations.- Money Donations - Receipts are required for all money donations [AfA and GivingFirst provide receipts].
- Item Donations
- Give new or used goods to charity and deduct their fair market value.
Special rules apply to donations of vehicles and to donations of
appreciated property (property that is worth more than you paid for it).
- Volunteering - Deduct 14¢ per mile while driving for charity. You can also deduct other out-of-pocket expenses.
Cheers,
Catherine
GivingFirst.org allows you to make regular automatic donations for as long as you wish.
PS. While you're thinking about it, please VOTE FOR US ON CHASE COMMUNITY GIVING! It's one click. Easy. But the contest is only through Dec. 11th!
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Appaloosa Grill hosts an Art from Ashes Appreciation/Benefit Party
Wed., Dec. 16 from 5.30 to 8 pm
Complimentary Appetizers with Cash Bar
~ proceeds from the cash bar donated to our creative programs for youth ~
Youth Poetry Reading at 7 pm
Art from Ashes would like to thank all of our donors, friends, volunteers,
board members and people in the community who have to graciously supported our work with youth over the past six years. Please join us on Dec. 16th at one of the finest bars and restaurants in downtown Denver to celebrate our success and to meet some of the youth poets with whom we've worked this past year.
Get there between 5.30 and 6 for Happy Hour, then stay 'till 8
for appetizers, poetry and schmoozin'.
It's kind of a win-win!
Appaloosa Grill is on the 16th Street Mall
(NE Corner of 16th and Welton)
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SHOP ONLINE AND GIVE TWICE!
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The
following two sites allow you to donate to Art from Ashes without any
additional expense when you shop online. Just click below and shop at
your usual sites, including Apple, Amazon, Expedia, Barnes and Noble,
Target... you get the idea. Kind of everywhere you'd want to shop
online. Give it a shop!
Just remember to connect to a store through one of these sites OR utilize their downloadable handy-dandy toolbars. Also,
if you make GoodSearch your search engine of choice, every time you search online, we get a penny! Hey, it's painless...except for the setting it up part, which is easy but can take up to 5
minutes. So please take a few minutes and get GoodSearch
(unless you're savvy... the gauntlet has been thrown!). They make it
really simple. Just select Art from Ashes where it says "WHO DO YOU
GOODSEARCH FOR?"(I know, the sentence ends in a preposition, but their heart's in the right place...) You can make it your default search engine and
your homepage. One more thing. Please vote for us through Dec. 11th to help us get a grant from Chase: 
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New Adult Workshops in January
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INTRODUCTORY
The Phoenix Rising transformational workshops use the latest
research in left-brain/right-brain functioning and the role of
creativity in healing to encourage participants to access the creative
subconscious in order to facilitate transformation. The process is
designed to allow participants to recognize our inherent creative power
and the importance of perception in how we live.
:: Tuesdays from 6 to 7.15 pm, Jan 19-Feb 23
Cost is $175 for 6 workshops; payment due by Jan 15
:: Pay online with PayPal
ADVANCED :: (participants must have completed an Introductory & an Intermediate Session)
LIVING LIFE WITH BOLDNESS :: Achieving Your Dreams
Guided writing prompts that will help you determine your true
desires and reach out with confidence and boldness to achieve them."
:: Wednesdays from 6 to 7.15 pm, Jan 20-Feb 24
Cost is $175 for 6 workshops; payment due by Jan 15
:: Pay online with PayPal
 Buy a gift certificate for a workshop session for someone who needs a little transformation this season. CLICK HERE(can be used for any session in 2010)
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 The 10% Experiment
It's not just for religion anymore!
(read online)
Many people have heard of the "tithe," the concept of giving 10% of income and goods to care for the poor.
Although it is associated with the Israelites in order to support those
who served God and to care for those less fortunate, the practice can
also be found in various cultures and belief systems around the world.
From Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonia to the temples of Apollo in Delphi and
Athena in Athens, pre-Christian centers of worship collected tithes for
their gods. Ancient cultures as disparate as the Greeks and
Chinese-including the Arabians, Phoenicians, Romans, and
Carthaginians-gave in ways mirroring the tithe. Many Christians believe
in "joyful giving," which takes the flat 10% out of the equation and
encourages abundant and sacrificial giving without regard to specific
amounts.
Now businesspeople and motivational speakers are encouraging people to give from another perspective. Multiple
sources from Nightingale-Conant to wealth management coaches say that
individual giving serves to increase peace of mind and helps create a
more stable financial attitude for the giver, as well as puts the giver
into a position of receiving by reducing a perception of need. In this
current climate of financial fear, who wouldn't want freedom from
anxiety and increased reciprocity when it comes to money? So in
addition to the financial benefits of donating to the poor promised in
the Torah, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Koran, and other
holy books, according to philanthropists and business gurus, the
benefits to the giver are multiple:
"I remember when I first heard about the idea of giving. Like many, I was
skeptical. I thought it was a
scheme to get me to give money to the people who were telling me to do the
giving...But then one day I decided to test the theory
of giving. And then something wonderful began to happen. I suddenly got a call
from a person who wanted me to co-author his book, a job that ended up paying
me many times over what I had given away. And then a publisher in Japan
contacted me...[and] offered me many
times what I had given my friend as a gift...There is way too much scarcity mentality being
talked about in our media today. While people are being unnecessarily
frightened and holding back, YOU can be that person who steps out in faith and
makes that one piece of the world better..."
-- Dr. Joe Vitale, bestselling
author, professional development coach
"Gift exchanges actually build community. In fact, the word
'community' derives from the Latin cum munere, which literally
means, 'to give among each other.' So in our language itself,
there is the recognition that community is related to the
act of giving to one another...gifts
tend to become reciprocal. When I give you something, someday
you will give something back--either to me or to someone
else in my community."
-- Bernard Lietaer, More Than Money
"In giving and sharing you always have more. It seems
arithmetically as though one would have less but, in fact, giving expands
whatever one has... the simple act of giving simultaneously creates more good and
blessings seemingly out of nowhere...That's why givers give more. They have experienced this amazing formula, even
if they cannot articulate it. They know that it works to their and everyone's
benefit."
-- Mark Victor Hansen, Co-Founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul
In this time of financial stress, Art from
Ashes would like to propose an experiment... the 10% Experiment. We'll provide a brief online questionnaire
about your financial state of mind (no details about your finances) and for the
next six months (October through March), you choose to give 10% of your income
to Art from Ashes as a tax-deductible donation. At the
end of that time, we'll ask you to review the original questionnaire. We're
willing to bet you will have received multiple blessings that will include
greater financial stability after only six months of giving. Art from Ashes
also will submit to you a list of great things your money has helped accomplish
for the youth we serve, including testimonials, statistics and poems.
Although giving joyfully without expectation is often taught, it may seems like a huge
expectation for those who feel they have too little. That's
why this is a short-term experiment. It's
an investment combined with an act of faith. It doesn't even need to be
the traditional amount of 10% (although it's a good place to start).
There will naturally be
some anxiety, but if you're willing to take a chance, you'll see why
thousands
of people swear by it. After a while you won't need to worry about the
return
on your investment, because without fear, giving becomes a bigger part
of
your life than you ever thought possible. In many belief systems,
actions move the faith, rather than the idea that you need enough faith
to
make a move.
"In a day and age when money
and the comforts it buys are the tangible outcome of our time spent toiling to
make ends meet, ends that seem to grow faster than our income, a 10%
commitment of that income to something that does not tangibly benefit us,
exercises our faith. In the same way that exercising our muscles improves our
ability to perform physically, each time we practice our faith we strengthen
our faith."
-- Michael Burgwin, Helium
Nobody "owns" a nonprofit organization, it is
a public trust--every one of you is an integral part of the work we do. And when the young people in our society are
receiving care, we all profit: less court costs and fewer prisons (which cost
taxpayers far more than programs like ours--with worse results); less crime;
fewer teen pregnancies; less poverty; less cyclical domestic and child abuse;
increased literacy; improved mental health--the benefits of restoring hope
to a struggling young person are innumerable. We hope you will give to Art from
Ashes and to the youth we serve, but the principle also works when giving to any
good cause you believe in.
If you feel unsure
about trying the 10% Experiment, please consider either a smaller percentage on a regular basis or make a commitment
to any amount you determine to be generous.
Cheers,
Catherine
GivingFirst.org allows you to make regular automatic donations as often as you wish for as long as you wish. |
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