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We are looking for the dedicated and talented
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Interested in becoming a member of our board?
view our team
Contact us at
info@createnow.org
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Join us - $10 a month can transform a child's life
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Please consider joining us in transforming lives of troubled youth by donating $10 per month to help us ensure that we keep our valuable programs running. Automatic monthly deductions can be made thorough our secure website. Thank you for your generosity.
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Our Founder Honored by Museum of Tolerance
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Watch Video on YouTube
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Create Now is an independent, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1996. Our mission is to transform the lives of high-risk and at-risk youth through creative arts mentoring, education, resources and opportunities. The organization serves kids who have been abused, neglected, abandoned and orphaned (foster youth), are left homeless, runaways, teen parents, victims of domestic violence, children of prisoners, substance abusers, gang members or incarcerated. In the past thirteen years, we've reached over 19,000 of these vulnerable kids through our unique arts mentoring and cultural programs and services.
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Theatre Heals Abuse, Neglect and Violence
From Hollywood to Hollygrove - by Laura Fryer, Mentor and The Vesper Theatre Company
Mentor Laura Fryer shares the experience that  she and other members of Vesper Theatre Company had while teaching Improvisational Theatre, as part of our Show Off program. The workshop took place from June to July 2009 at Hollygrove in Hollywood. It included six children, ages 7 to 14, who receive outpatient services there because of abuse, neglect, abandonment or exposure to violence. "These children were so powerful and creative that the only thing to do was to allow each meeting to unfold organically. We played improv game after improv game, explored animal studies, plot and character development, among other things, and soon began to witness the most remarkable transformations."  "On our first day, we met six students and on our last, we said goodbye to six teachers. What we learned, not only as actors, but as people will never be forgotten. We were not privy to the details of their circumstances, but to walk into the classroom every Monday with such joy and zest for life, despite everything else, was inspirational." The Behavior Specialist at Hollygrove told Create Now, "As a facilitator, I had the pleasure to see certain clients come out of the defensive shell that they had put up for the majority of their young lives, and witness clients who usually dominated social interactions be able to step back and support their peers. The children seemed to address emotional issues like abandonment or anger through scene work, which would have proved very difficult in a one-on-one session. Their "characters" actually told more about what they were feeling and how they dealt with those feelings than the children themselves could have ever expressed. I am immensely grateful to your organization and The Vesper Theatre Company for allowing our children to experience the magic of theatre." |
Writer Helps Six Foster Girls in Hollywood
Our Mentor, Deborah
Cloyed, Empowers Girls at Aviva Center
Deborah
Cloyed has lived all over the world, working as a travel writer and
photographer in over thirty countries on five continents. For
six weeks, Deborah mentored six girls in Creative Writing at Aviva Center, a
group home for teenage foster girls in Hollywood. In Deborah's workshop, she encouraged the girls to share ideas for
poems, essays, articles and stories. Each class focused on different types of
writing: poetry and rap, positive affirmations, screenwriting and
photojournalism. " I liked taking pictures
and hearing Deborah talk about how it all works. She was very nice." - Natasha
"I had a good time. I love to write and take a
picture. Deborah was wonderful!" - Dynasty 
" I now have a better
view and understanding of the field of pictures. Deborah was very helpful." -
Tiffany
"Deborah took her time
and listened to what we have to say. She was patient with us and there for us."
- Alexandra
"She never missed a
class. She cared in so many ways. I learned that poetry is life." - Dyonna
Rose
Marquez Blādh, Volunteer Coordinator at Aviva Center
said, "The girls in Deborah's Creative Writing Workshop have widened their eyes
to more creative career opportunities in writing and photography. Through
volunteers and access to performances, Create
Now has provided these girls with new creative and cultural experiences
that they might not otherwise have had." |
Thank You Sponsors!
We thank the Employees
Community Fund of Boeing, CA, the Office Depot Foundation, Verizon Foundation
and the Wells Fargo Foundation for making our Creative Writing Workshop at Aviva Center possible through their
support of our Write Now literacy
program, and to the Good News for Kids Foundation for their operating support.
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Kidz Kreationz
"I Am Determined"I am determined to
make it past what everyone
said I can't do
Push past everything that
I've been through
Look forward and pursue my dreams and goals
And those new shoes (lol)
I am determined
I will do it
no matter what comes my way
If I get knocked down
there's always another
day so I'm on a journey through life
and I plan to reach my dreams
because I am determined.
No matter how hard it seems.
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Thank you!
Thanks to you, Create Now
programs prove that the arts can impact the lives of high-risk and at-risk
youth in ways that other intervention programs cannot.
Working together, we are transforming lives through creative arts!
Sincerely,
The Create Now Team
Phone: (213) 484-8500 Email: info@createnow.org Website: www.createnow.org
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