Create Now - Transforming LIves Through Arts Mentoring
February 2012
Donate Now
Vivian Campbell Dinner Party
About Create Now
Mythic Challenges
Oscar Pool
Growing Fast
Donate
Create Now needs your help. Every penny counts so please click here to donate online, or send your contribution to: 1611 S. Hope Street, Suite # E, Los Angeles, CA  90015.
Vivian and Demond
Many thanks to Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard for hosting our Fourth Annual Dinner Party at the Cat and the Fiddle Restaurant and Pub in Hollywood. Everyone had a blast! We hired our alumnus Demond Nelson as a security guard.

Shout-outs go to Tammy Thiessens, Mary Beth Powers and photographer Ash Newell for their auction donation items. Megan Baker took really fantastic photographs. Of course, we're indebted to the Cat and the Fiddle, too.
Vivian 2
Viv spent quality time dining and mingling with 25 of his fans who won the opportunity on eBay. Create Now is very grateful for his support.
Create Now is a 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, are left homeless, runaways, teen parents, victims of domestic violence, children of prisoners, substance abusers, gang members or incarcerated. In the past sixteen years, we've reached over 28,000 of these vulnerable kids through our unique arts mentoring and cultural programs and services.   
Mythic Challenges
Gang arrested
Our youth are in crisis. Dropout rates and gang involvement are at record highs. Students' literacy scores are far below their peers in other parts of the world. Create Now and mythology expert/author Pamela Jaye Smith of MYTHWORKS have partnered to address this concern.

Mythic Challenges is a unique, two-part program that teaches high school students how to fuse Global Challenges with Mythic Themes to create powerful short scripts that can be produced as videos. 

We recently piloted the program at Cleveland High School in Reseda, where Pamela presented Mythic Challenges to 40 students, and then mentored seven youth for three classes. This group is now going to write a script and produce a group video project by June 2012Mythic Challenges.

Student Tianen said, "It gets the creative juices flowing in your head and I've noticed my classmates have been more responsible with deadlines."

Media Arts teacher James Gleason remarked, "My students were immediately engaged and motivated by Pamela's presentation. In just a short time, the group she worked with was able to go to a higher level of thinking about their stories."

Teacher Evelyn Seubert was so impressed with Mythic Challenges that she asked us to collaborate on a projecAfghanistant for Arts xChange. Pamela is currently teaching students at Cleveland High School how to create Mythic Challenges stories and videos, while  also mentoring a classroom of students in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The kids will then collaborate to create videos of their Mythic Challenges stories.

                                                        Click here to read more
Host a Fun Oscar Pool to Raise Funds for Create Now
 Here's a fun activity that you can easily organize at your Academy Awardsworkplace or with friends that will bring some zest to the upcoming Academy Awards show while providing the healing power of arts mentoring to thousands of the most troubled children in our community. Putting an Oscar Pool together is simple. Download easy-to-follow instructions, along with an Oscar Ballot and a promotional flyer. Thank you for your support!  
Create Now is Growing Fast!  
Ruby Medina
We're excited that Ruby Medina, who has been our part-time Program Coordinator for the past four years, is now working for Create Now full-time as Director of Programs and Operations. Ruby will be supervising all of our programs and staff, while working with our Founder and Executive Director Jill Gurr to improve and expand our operations.

Kelly NoonanWe'd also like to welcome our new AmeriCorps VISTA Development Assistant Kelly Noonan, who taught art for several years at an elementary school near Boston. Kelly has great experience with grant writing and her creative talents have already helped us with fundraising.
Mohammad
And last but not least, Create Now is delighted to have Mohammad Sharifi join our team part-time as a Program Assistant. He has a strong IT background, as well as many other excellent traits. We're grateful to have him with us.