The holidays are a time to believe in magic and miracles. But for some young people in our community, painful events and circumstances have eroded their faith in such ideas. They no longer believe in magic and miracles. They don't even believe in themselves anymore. But we do. Faith is something hoped for yet unseen. Some may have a difficult time seeing the beauty and power in our youth, but through their poetry you can hear the love and wisdom that is unseen.

At Art from Ashes, we help young people feel heard, develop a sense of self, and relate to others, so that they can create a positive future for themselves and their communities. We believe in magic and miracles, because we witness it every day in our powerful workshops.

Rather than declaring the behavior of high-risk youth an outrage and filling our correctional institutions with discarded young lives, consider supporting our poetry programs with a tax-deductible donation instead.

· $2,000 supports a year's worth of weekly 2-hour workshops for a struggling young person.

· $1,400 provides one-month's rent (ooh, if 12 people did that...)

· $250 allows us to publish the youth poems from one 8-week session.

· $100 purchases writing materials for two workshops.

· $35 allows us to bring in one guest poet/artist to inspire and encourage the youth in our programs.