A Reason to Give to Gemini Ink

Dear Friends:

Anyone who knows me at all knows of my respect for and commitment to Gemini Ink, so there's no surprise in my agreeing to write this fundraising appeal.

I am, however, wondering whether any such appeals will have positive results this year since there seems to be a lack of interest in helping others these days - even those who need assistance finding jobs, keeping their homes, or obtaining health care.

If caring about the plight of the less fortunate is out of style, I fret over the wisdom of admitting that I care about the goals and vision of Gemini Ink - increasing literacy and building community by providing opportunities for meaningful reading and writing to thousands in our community - and offering these without charge to more than 80% of the participants. (You can look quickly at the Gemini Ink website to marvel at the many productive, life-altering services and programs.)

A favorite quotation I've used for years to inspire and to motivate Trinity University students and alums comes from a former president of the country's humane society: "Figure out what you care about and live a life that shows it."

I hope you care about many of Gemini Ink's goals and, as we enter this holy season and beyond, that you will live a life that shows your values by supporting reading and writing for all and nurturing "the essential power of language that every human being needs to succeed."

Sincerely,
Coleen Grissom
Professor of English, Trinity University

Here's what you need to know:

Every year, your donations to Gemini Ink support community literary arts programs like Writers in Communities, The Autograph Series, Dramatic Readers Theater and University Without Walls. And every year, these programs help more than 5,000 San Antonians find the magic in books and discover themselves through the power of their own words. Our work builds the critical thinking, reading, writing, and verbal skills essential to a healthy and economically thriving populace.

Here's where your money goes:

$25 pays for ...
one hour of creative writing tutelage for an incarcerated teen, a homeless woman, a grade-school child, or any of our Writers In Communities students - many of whom have their first positive experience with language in one of our classes and all of whom attend our workshops free of charge

$50 pays for ...
50 pocket-sized notebooks for our WIC students to maintain a relationship with their own words long after their workshops are over

$75 pays for ...
an actor's performance in one of our Dramatic Readers Theater productions

$100 pays for ...
ten 8 1/2 by 11 anthologies of poems and stories fro

And, let's not forget ...

You are helping Gemini Ink continue to nurture writers and readers and
build a community through literature and the related arts.

GINK Thanks