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The feature below is brought to you by Hello Hope, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Creating community through adversityThe journey for helloHOPE began nine years ago. Just after our oldest daughter celebrated her first birthday, she began exhibiting alarming symptoms and started to lose weight. In our search for answers, the next several months held visits to specialists, numerous medical procedures, and lots of fear surrounding what our daughter’s future held. During this season, we were immersed in the world of medical adversity. We discovered that it can take months to get an appointment with a specialist. Every waiting room we sat in was full of parents wearing brave faces as they waited for answers for their sons or daughters. Isolation and fear came easily. And an overwhelming amount of clinical words and information pointed more toward what was “wrong” with children than what was to be celebrated in them. In the winter of 2012, our daughter was diagnosed with EoE, a chronic GI disease that occurs when white blood cells attack the lining of the esophagus. In his wisdom, our doctor advised us not to search online for the diagnosis, but we were anxious to learn everything we could about what life was going to be like with this disease. Every website or story that we found pointed to either worst-case scenario stories or, at best, perpetuated the fear and questions in our hearts. We finally stepped away from the computer, looked at our daughter, and with the help of our community and prayer, we decided that it was time to turn off the stream of negative information. We carefully followed all of her doctor’s instructions, but our focus shifted. Rather than obsessing over all that was wrong, we started paying attention to the things that made our daughter’s face light up. The things that made her come alive. Exploring outside or running through the grass with her infectious giggle. As we watched her grow and gradually come to a place of healing, we knew that we wanted to steward the story we had been given. A little bit of research uncovered that 1 in 5 children in America faces special health care needs. That explained the full waiting rooms. And the place those parents are turning to for more information? The Internet.  We began dreaming together about creating an online community built on hope for families walking through a diagnosis with their child. Families could share how they navigated through their journey with hope and faith. We could share resources that provided truth and encouragement to parents who are feeling overwhelmed or alone. In July of 2015, helloHOPE was born with a mission of providing hope-filled stories and resources to families facing medical adversity. It has been a privilege to share 27 real, honest, stories of families who have walked through a childhood diagnosis with hope. These stories reflect a diverse array of childhood diagnoses from allergies and dermatology to oncology, neurology, and even stories of hope through loss. Every story is unique, yet each one has a thread of hope running through even the darkest and most difficult moments. And every story of hope that is shared leads the way for more families to discover that hope is possible for their family, too. In addition to the stories, more than 100 resource articles have been published, providing parents with much-needed support and encouragement. These resources include encouragement for the heart, prayers, and expert interviews. It has been beautiful to see our community grow over the last five years. In 2020 alone, more than 72,000 people visited our website and found that there is a community of families who are holding on to these core tenets: a diagnosis isn’t everything, you are not alone, and your story matters. It is a gift to be able to come alongside parents and celebrate their uniquely beautiful children and the transforming power of hope. Submitted by Mary Beth ThomasCo-founder, HelloHope
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The feature below is brought to you by St. Anne's Center/Lantern House, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  A story in numbersI am not a numbers person, which is why I really appreciate the way the See Beautiful Foundation highlights personal blogs and stories from the great organizations they support. During past awards I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to talk less about the number of homeless we serve and more about who they really are – where they are from, what challenges they have faced, and so often, their strength. But, as we submitted our application this round, I found myself unable to think of anything but the numbers. The heartbreaking numbers. As of January 21, 2021, the CDC reported 24,323,846 total cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. A number that is nearly the population of all of Australia. 404,689 – That is the number of those who have died from COVID-19 in the United States thus far. During World War II, America lost approximately 290,000 men in combat. In Utah alone, 328,308 people have been infected with COVID-19. That is like the entire city of Pittsburg, Cincinnati, or St. Louis becoming infected. As of today, 1,548 people have died from COVID-19 in the state of Utah. The numbers really are shocking. Even more shocking, although not surprising, is the number of infections and deaths among marginalized populations like the homeless. Homeless, and those from a low socio-economic background continue to lack access to quality food and healthcare. This leaves them at a higher risk for developing co-morbidities (e.g., diabetes and heart disease), and more likely to suffer extreme COVID-19 symptoms if infected. Without a shelter like Lantern House, the homeless and those struggling to make ends meet would not have a place to turn during this crisis. This leads me to the number I have been thinking most about lately – 30. On a given day there are about 30 staff at our shelter. 30 staff working to support 300+ homeless and hungry clients, some suffering from COVID-19, some doing their best to not to get infected. Only 30 staff! As a grant writer, I work from home far removed from the day-to-day hardships Lantern House staff are experiencing. But I do know them, and I have seen them in action. 30 people – an awe-inspiring number, keeping the shelter open 24/7, 365 days a year. They do a job each day I am not emotionally strong enough to do in the best of times, let alone a global pandemic.
Each day they log long hours in complete protective gear. Despite the risks of working near clients who are positive for COVID-19, they show great empathy and care for every person that walks through the doors. They were not trained in medicine, and yet they continue to rise to the occasion by supporting the testing, tracing, and quarantine measures currently in place. So, while I feel shock and sorrow by the climbing number of COVID cases and deaths, I feel hope by the immense impact such a small group of individuals can create. I do not get a chance to write about them in our normal grant requests, but who they are and what they do is essential to all of us. They are the unsung heroes of the pandemic in our community. Submitted by Hannah BowcutGrant Writer, St. Anne's Center/Lantern House The feature below is brought to you by Down 7 Up 8, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  How Down 7 Up 8 Incorporated sees BeautifulAt Down 7 Up 8 Incorporated, we see beautiful that lies within the souls of our children. Whether it’s a foster, adopted or at-risk child, we work towards providing knowledge and experiences that help to restore hope and dignity to all. We understand that each child’s situation is different, but Down 7 Up 8 Incorporated strives to show the children that life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. Our outreach programs such as, “Princess for A Day,” “Boys to Men,” “Tutoring for Success,” and the “Teach Me How To” series are all designed to curate, enrich, and enhance the lives of these children. “Princess for A Day” gives the girls an opportunity to release the Princess within. “Boys to Men” present information to help our young men understand that it is not where you start, but where you finish. “Tutor for Success” helps to support the children who are struggling with their education, and “Teach Me How To” teaches them life’s lessons. Our Holiday Hearts program brings out the beautiful smiles on Christmas morning. As quoted, “I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!” Submitted by David VitterThe feature below is brought to you by Mothers Advocacy Project, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Harry Potter Jelly Beans. You can’t judge a book by its cover.2020 has been a year of “mishaps and learnings”, a year of “lets try better tomorrow”, and a year of “will tomorrow ever be better?” And if there is anything we have learned, it is that things are never what they seem. In the first four years of our organization, Mothers Advocacy Project, (which went through a name change from Foster Care Alliance this year) we have had a lot of tweaking and trying and figuring out the best course forward. And for the mothers In our program, they have done the same to find their best selves and be the best mothers they can be. Making changes and learning from failures is hard as an organization and maybe even harder as a human being. However, even when it is hard, it becomes less scary and less risky, when you know you have someone who believes the best in you, who will be your safety net when you stumble. I saw a quote one time that I really loved and it really struck me. The quote said “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” I am not sure who said it or where it came from, but the words rang true in my soul. No one really cares about being invited to a meeting or being offered an acceptance into a program. What they really care about is having a sense of belonging and value and feeling deep down that their presence matters in a place. The Mothers Advocacy Project (MAP) is a unique program designed specifically for single birth mothers whose families are at risk of involvement with the Division of Family and Children Services, due to harsh life experiences and traumatic events. The mothers in our program are given an opportunity to establish independence, autonomy, and stability for themselves and their children through a series of interventions including group and individual psychotherapy, social support, education, and engagement in participatory arts. All of our mothers are so different from one another. But, diversity is not enough to create true beauty. True beauty comes from within. True beauty is deep. That Is why building lasting relationships with other moms is so powerful. I mean, weren’t we taught as children not to judge a book by its cover? Did the Harry Potter jelly beans teach us nothing, when we saw two jelly beans that looked the same and yet one was buttered popcorn and one was earwax? Value is not assigned to our mothers based upon merit or achievement. Dignity is not earned. And family is not questioned. Generosity is not extended with strings attached. All of this is assumed from the moment a family steps in our doors. Too many of these women, if not all of them, have been written off by someone as not worthy of a second chance. Many of them have been labeled “unsuitable” as mothers because they don’t have the socio-economic means to provide all the opportunities assumed to be the standard. But, to us, they all have a chance to break cycles of maltreatment and trauma in their families. We see beyond the exterior shell. We see their hearts, we see their beauty and potential, and we call them into the thriving we know they can achieve. Submitted by Chelsea SaboThe feature below is brought to you by MV Arts - The Mount Vernon School, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Design a better worldAt MV Arts, we seek to DESIGN A BETTER WORLD. With students as the designers and teachers as the facilitators that help make their dreams come to life, we seek to design a world that is just, equal, peaceful and inclusive FOR ALL. We think the best way to do that is through creating original artistic work FOR and WITH our community. Over the past 6 years, our arts program has sought to connect with our community in ways that are both deeply authentic and widely available. While the goal of many educational art programs is to simply create for beauty, we know that beauty is just one of the reasons why we create. In 2017, we identified 8 reasons to create and pledged to be a place where diverse narratives are ILLUMINATED and social justice is ACCELERATED through the arts. But what does it look like to illuminate DIVERSE narratives? It looks like “The Arrival,” a wordless immersive theatre experience that explored the concept of immigration and being a refugee. Using Shaun Tan’s award winning graphic art novel, our theatre team spent four months developing a piece that employed movement, dozens of puppets, a team of puppetry arts experts, projection, lighting, and live electro-acoustic Foley music to take the audience on the journey of a man leaving his family and journeying to a new and strange place. Illuminating diverse narratives could also look like a group of students working with local art-activist Charmaine Minniefield to understand social justice and activism through studying and visiting murals around Atlanta. Students then created their own original pieces that explored social topics while employing materials like spray paint and mixed-media. What does INCLUSION look like in an arts setting? It looks like partnering with the organization Los Niños Primeros for our Christmas Arts Showcase. These children had the opportunity to perform for their community in the 1,000 seat Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center during its inaugural year. As we celebrated the Christmas season, our theme “...for all people,”compelled us to widen our view of community and what it means to be a collaborator. Inclusion is also developing a touring musical based on the book, “The Adventures of Flat Stanley” that visits local public schools, libraries, and nursing homes. Students don’t just perform for their parents, but co-create opportunities to nurture literacy and a love for the arts across their city. What does INCLUSION look like in an arts setting? It looks like partnering with the organization Los Niños Primeros for our Christmas Arts Showcase. These children had the opportunity to perform for their community in the 1,000 seat Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center during its inaugural year. As we celebrated the Christmas season, our theme “...for all people,”compelled us to widen our view of community and what it means to be a collaborator. Inclusion is also developing a touring musical based on the book, “The Adventures of Flat Stanley” that visits local public schools, libraries, and nursing homes. Students don’t just perform for their parents, but co-create opportunities to nurture literacy and a love for the arts across their city. What does EQUITY mean for MV Arts? It means not telling students that they need to wait until they graduate to make an impact on their world. We want our students to work alongside industry professionals as they create original works TOGETHER that have an impact NOW. Equity looks like offering professional development for arts educators at a deeply discounted or free rate for public schools at our co:CREATE Arts Innovation Conference because their funding is disproportionately lower than that of private schools. What does PEACE look like? It looks like 60 students recording a world music celebration using dance, song, and acting during the holiday season with songs in Hebrew, Swahili, German, English, and Spanish so that our community knows that “PEACE TO ALL” requires “JUSTICE FOR ALL”. We strive to be a place where students understand the problems and inequities of our world. We want to empower our students to connect with artists and community members by giving them the tools to create original work that provokes/challenges/inspires, and then share that work with the wider community for maximum impact. Putting the right equipment in the hands of our students and compensating the BIPOC (black, Indigenous, and people of color) artists we interact with is the linchpin to the success and quality of this mission. We are so thankful for the opportunity to partner with See Beautiful as we design a more beautiful and equitable world TOGETHER. Submitted by Matthew NeylonDirector of Visual & Performing Arts, Mount Vernon School The feature below is brought to you by Art in the Paint, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Art can speak to you Art in the Paint is a nonprofit organization that meshes art, basketball, and community support. Created by AR Cooper, a former basketball player and coach from Southwest Atlanta. Because of basketball, he has been able to see the world and experience beauty in all of the places he played and traveled. One thing that always stuck out to him in each location was the artwork and how that artwork united communities, celebrated cultures and encouraged positivity. Sports and art are both entities that bring communities together, which sparked the idea for Art in the Paint. Art in the Paint works together to find basketball courts in communities that need a little love and attention. We then find artists that are ready to create and work with those communities to determine need and focus. The artist and a diverse team of volunteers from all over Metro Atlanta, of all races and cultures, work to install a unique mural designed specifically for the community at hand. We’ve had kids as young as 4 year olds and Grammy nominated producers show up and paint on our courts. These murals have images that are focused on inspiring positivity and change, images that are amazingly beautiful, and images that are designed to promote discussions of peace and improvement within that community and the world at large. The basketball court then becomes the access point for Art in the Paint to promote physical activity and provide access to resources for the community. Courts are much more accessible, within walking distance for many of the neighbors. Our hope is that by bringing the resources and programs to the court, transportation and scheduling will become less of a barrier for the neighborhood youth and families to enjoy. The accessible central location allows our organization and partners to not only show people amazing art, but to also provide consistent hot meals, produce boxes for pick up, flu shots and COVID testing, voter registration, mentoring services, and many other necessities. Along with those amenities we work with the community to create and structure a basketball program for the youth that includes hot meals at practices and games, coaching mentors, and teams that encourage education and careers as well as strong characters and making positive choices. Messaging in art is very powerful and can close gaps in communities without any conversation. No matter what language you speak or understand, art can speak to you. Through our first three courts in East Point and College Park we have encouraged “Power and Peace”, “Changing Our Image,” and reminded neighbors to “Vote.” No matter where you are from originally, what race, culture, political belief, or religious ideas one has, they can find connection to the art and a smile just naturally follows. The beauty of the artwork is just the beginning, the interwoven partnerships and programs that follow the installation allow us and the wide array of all within the community to see beautiful for years to come. We work to decrease the impact of food deserts and lack of transportation resources and really provide the neighborhood with what is needed to ensure their basic human needs are being met and surpassed. When finished with an installation we not only leave an amazing piece of art, we ensure that the people of that community know Art in the Paint is with them, and working to support them, forever. Submitted by A.R. CooperExecutive Director, Art in thePaint The feature below is brought to you by CoachArt, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Creating beautiful in the face of adversityCharlotte, age 14, was born two months prematurely and diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia. This condition involves the death of small areas of brain tissue, which affected her motor control. As a toddler, Charlotte needed physical therapy and assistance to sit up, roll over, and crawl. Seeking a way for Charlotte to live a fuller life, her parents enrolled her with CoachArt when she was 8 years old. CoachArt enabled Charlotte to try a range of inclusive arts and athletics activities she couldn’t participate in elsewhere. Because CoachArt sports are ADA-friendly, Charlotte was able to use her walker while playing soccer, baseball, and basketball with other children on a team. “A lot of kids don’t feel like they can do things because of their limitations, but I tell them that CoachArt is incredibly supportive and they will help you do the things that you never thought you would do,” Charlotte told us. “CoachArt has challenged me. They have inspired me to take up things that I would have never taken up in the first place.” CoachArt’s mission is to create a transformative arts and athletics community for families impacted by childhood chronic illness. Due to frequent hospital visits, deficient immune systems, and physical challenges, children with chronic illness often miss school and feel isolated. Families, overwhelmed by the cost and demands of ongoing medical care, lack the resources to afford extracurricular activities. While in the hospital, children can participate in art therapy programs, but lose access when they move to outpatient care despite being at an increased risk of mental health challenges. Rates of depression among chronically ill children are 5 to 7 times higher than their peers. CoachArt programs create beautiful in the face of adversity by reducing stress, restoring fun, building self-confidence, igniting passion, and connecting families to a supportive community. CoachArt’s model is to match caring adult volunteers who have a skill with children (ages 5 - 18) who want to learn or improve that skill, in groups or one-on-one. Group lessons, or “clubs,” typically meet once a week for about a month. One-on-one lessons involve eight weekly hour-long meetings, after which the volunteer coach and the child can renew for another series of lessons. CoachArt provides the volunteer coaches and the families with any materials the lessons require, so there’s no cost to participants. Our programs improve the social and emotional wellness of our students, while features like our online podcast The UpBeat provide parents with resources and inspirational anecdotes on their journey. Many students become power-users, like Charlotte who has completed 204 lesson hours in various activities, and has discovered a passion for voice and theatre arts. Charlotte’s mom told us, “CoachArt never ceases to amaze me, how they can make all sorts of activities accessible to kids. They’ve really created a unique solution to a problem that I think most people don’t know exists.” In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, CoachArt was aware that families impacted by chronic illness would have to adhere to strict shelter-in-place guidelines due to their greater vulnerability. As a result, their children needed accessible extracurricular activities more than ever, with the role of “play” becoming all the more important in decreasing stress, fatigue, and depression—and in cultivating community and fostering belonging. On March 25 of 2020, CoachArt launched interactive online programming models to serve our community and keep kids connected: 1-on-1 and group lessons via Zoom video-conferencing, and Facebook Live tutorials. Lessons included arts and crafts, painting, drawing, music, cooking, acting, coding, martial arts, yoga, creative writing, and more. The response to online programming was positive. 96% of parents reported that online lessons were engaging for their child, and 87% of parents expressed an interest in continuing online programming after COVID-19 safety guidelines are lifted—underlying the need for including accessible, online lessons moving forward. One parent, overwhelmed with joy, told us, “CoachArt is doing more than just teaching. [The organization is providing] warmth, comfort, and structure during a scary and uncertain time.” With prior geographic barriers now removed, CoachArt officially started serving chronically ill kids and their siblings outside of California in 2020. Our team organized free virtual summer camp programs not only in our traditional services areas of Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area, but also in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, New York City, and Portland. The five-day virtual summer camps featured a different 1-hour arts or athletics activity each day, with all materials provided at no cost to participants. CoachArt promotes volunteerism and advocates for arts and athletics education for every child impacted by chronic illness, regardless of physical limitations or socioeconomic background. As CoachArt serves nine locations across the U.S. and continues to expand nationally, our transformative community will make each city we serve more inclusive of disability and difference, while creating a skillshare network that inspires chronically ill children to see the beauty in themselves and their capabilities. A society is more harmonious when all children thrive. CoachArt restores happiness from stress, hope from fear, and confidence from self-doubt for over 1,400 students and continues to grow. Thanks to the ongoing success of online programming, CoachArt plans to offer online programming to ANY child impacted by chronic illness in ANY city nationwide in 2021. Our vision is that every family impacted by childhood chronic illness will be connected to a community of support and an opportunity to learn and grow together. Submitted by Colton Alexio Associate Development Director, CoachArt The feature below is brought to you by World Peace Connection, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Giving back to communities in need World Peace Connection advocates for courageous change-makers who want to bring solutions to problems happening within their communities. In order to create a better future, we must invest in the youth. The Young change-makers will be the ones to reshape the world ahead by using their creative skills to solve social problems happening right now. However, many young change-makers lack educational resources, safe spaces, and a community, which will help them fully launch their social initiative. In our experience, 70% of young change-makers face a lack of financial support; 80% feel they do not have enough community and mentorship guidance, and 85% do not have a strategy for the social impact they want to make. Change makes the world go around and without it, we stay stagnant. We know the importance of shaping young leaders to be equipped, educated, and heard. The conversations around social justice, diversity, and inclusion has quickly accelerated and has demanded our attention. We realized to address social issues; new methods of innovations are not just between policymakers but the inclusion of our future, the youth. We create beauty throughout our programs by providing a safe space for changemakers to experience transformative methods of self-discovery, leadership skills, and materials to launch their social initiative. Each young changemaker launches a social initiative to bring solutions to problems happening within their community by utilizing what they learned throughout our 6-week program. We prepare them to launch and activate. Fully equipped to make an impact! In order to lead change makers, we must lead by example. In 2015, Dane and I launched our social initiative World Peace Connection. Backpacking across 50 cities. We noticed a common thread among each person we met. Many of them had the desire to make a change but didn’t believe they could bring it to reality by putting action behind their inspiration. We identified that as an aspiring changemaker in need of resources, education, and an ear that will listen. Human to human connection. A community dedicated to nurturing their ideas and igniting their passions to fire up change. We created a program that takes an aspiring change-maker to become one. In order to discover that person, we lead with one question. “What inspires you the most about life and living?”. Sparking impactful conversation with strangers. We did this for two years. We traveled to many places, such as southeast Asia, Africa, Dubai, and Europe. Sharing their stories diversity, we interviewed over 200+ aspiring changemakers. Meeting changemakers around the world inspired us to continue our mission of World Peace Connection. Pulling from our experience traveling and conversations with wise mentors led us to the development of our curriculum. That will guide young changemakers through the process of self-development, leadership, and how to execute their own social initiative. In 2018, we launched our educational curriculum “Peace Projects” helping minority high school students to become changemakers. So they can lead their own social initiatives addressing problems within their communities. Peace Projects has launched over 30 student-led initiatives within various communities, many of which are still sustaining today. In 2019, we traveled to Bogota, Colombia with two graduating seniors, who launched a plan to educate inquiring minds more about the Colombian community in hopes to better create a better future for their local community. This project was in partnership with Impact 46, called Common-unity. In 2019, we launched a series called “The Connection Series”, a travel web-series interviewing changemakers around the world who are making productive contributions with their work. We also have conducted over 20 Connected Spaces globally. We have met changemakers in Ghana, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Budapest, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Jamaica, Dubai, the Bahamas, England, Iceland, Amsterdam, and the USA. This year, due to Covid-19 our programs and traveling have shifted. We can no longer physically be in schools or launch Connected spaces abroad. In 2021, we planned to launch the Changemaker Connection Program, a three-phase program, providing a space for marginalized changemakers to work at and bring their ideas to life. A home away from home. Our digital workshops teach the start to finish process of launching a social initiative. As well as travel outside of their community. In addition to how to apply and receive microgrants for their project. With foundations like See Beautiful, with your help, we can acquire proper software to host our educational workshops and provide funding and more opportunities for changemakers to launch their impact projects. See Beautiful will help us give at least 6 creatives micro-funding to launch their impact project and participate in a 6-week educational course. The Changemaker Connection program anticipates each participant to increase the ability to launch and sustain a problem-solving project that matters to them and brings awareness to their community. Our program births the changemakers we need to address community issues with creative solutions providing a productive impact. Each phase in the program equips the future change-makers with everything they need to succeed. To be leaders within their communities and have the skill set to address social issues. Resulting in a better future, and a more beautiful tomorrow. Change makes the world go around and without it, we stay stagnant. Each person has a special gift to offer the world, and especially their community. We are grateful for the opportunity that Sees Beautiful is providing for us. In closing, we want to invite you to take the first step to become a changemaker. By asking yourself one question “What inspires you the most about life and living?” Now go make the world more beautiful! Submitted by Chari Chin-Young Casto Founder, World Peace Connection The feature below is brought to you by Pebble Tossers, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Rainbows of peaceROYGBIV. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. These are the colors of the rainbow that we learned in kindergarten. Each color stands strong alone, but together, they create a beautiful wonder to behold. Recently, other letter groups have been circulating around - DEIJP. What do these letters stand for? Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Peace, Justice. The events throughout 2020 bring more meaning to each of these words. Each word has power alone, but when working together, they can represent a beautiful world. How can we create a rainbow in our world through diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and peace? Pebble Tossers, a youth development nonprofit with a mission to equip and empower youth to lead through service, brings together youth from all socio-economic backgrounds to serve those most vulnerable in our community, regardless of their skin color, position in society or last name. Pebble Tossers partners with nonprofits all around Atlanta, linking volunteers to service projects and organizing our own projects covering 12 major cause areas including The Arts, Animals, Citizenship, Education and Literacy, Elderly, Environment, Families in Crisis, Fragile Children, Global Awareness, Homeless, Hunger, and US Troops and Veterans. Pebble Tossers recognizes a community-wide need and provides service-related youth development programming including socio-emotional learning, character-building and leadership development workshops and enrichment opportunities. Our causes are global, local, and societal and our individual and family volunteers come from all walks of life and bring valuable diversity. These programs help youth serve, lead and succeed through hands-on experiences. Through our weekly service projects, we introduce community needs to youth and families. Teaching kids that they can have a voice and can take responsibility for helping others empowers them to want to learn more about who they are helping and why people may find themselves in certain situations. Pebble Tossers reinforces dignity by teaching that everyone we serve deserves to be treated with respect and with a smile. Valuable lessons of diversity, equity and inclusion happen through small moments, like sharing a s’more with someone experiencing homelessness. It’s hard not to smile at someone taking their first bite of the tasty marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker treat. That s’more and smile lead to an introduction and a conversation. Our youth volunteers walk away from that experience with a new outlook and also more questions. Once you see, you can’t unsee. They can see beautiful and see the value in each person they serve and also in those they serve alongside. During a team meeting, an intern mentioned that she wished she had the opportunity to be a part of an organization like Pebble Tossers when she was younger. She shared that as a middle school student, she remembers the death of Trayvon Martin and how sad and helpless she and her friends felt. As kids, they brought Skittles and Arizona tea to school to do something, to show their solidarity in some way. She wished that she had something like our Teen Leadership Program that would empower her with knowledge of what she could do by actively engaging in community service. She could have had a platform to speak out as well as access to other resources. Pebble Tossers engages with young people where they are developmentally and demographically. This alone broadens the scope by which our youth see the world. In turn, they become empathetic and turn that empathy into action. Through our Teen Leadership Program (TLP) we focus on social-emotional learning to help young leaders become confident and self-aware to see the beauty within themselves, others, and the world around them. Our TLP centers around an ethical skillset: self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision making, and both social and self-awareness. Teaching this skillset allows us to foster their creativity and passion to fuel service so they become active leaders in the community and society at large. Every third Sunday, we have a guest speaker talk to the TLP about leadership and their particular field. In preparation for these guest speakers, we present the teens with an ethical dilemma to ponder and respond to. This fall, retired NFL player, Malcolm Mitchell, discussed the importance of literacy and how he came to success. Mr. Mitchell encouraged the youth to “think about what you would’ve needed and give it to someone else”. Throughout his discussion, Mr. Mitchell shared his life experiences and lessons he learned when he was in school. The teens asked him questions and for advice in their own pursuits. At the end, breakout rooms were formed where the teens conversed and brainstormed ideas for service projects that would be done in the coming year. Aside from monthly meetings, we also engage with the teens through life-skill workshops, peer-to-peer collaboration, and fun out-of-the-box ways to develop their leadership. We strive to shape youth into social-emotional intelligent, altruistic leaders. Pebble Tossers recognizes the vast array of resources young people now have at their disposal and their overall passion for world change. By engaging kids in service at a young age, we’re able to assist in identifying their passions and finding ways to make a positive impact surrounding them. Pebble Tossers recognizes the power that comes with motivation, but we also know it’s what happens in the valleys of life that truly make a leader. Overall, we encourage and empower youth to see the beauty in themselves as well as the potential and power they have to make this world a better place. With this, they can see the true beauty in the world and the endless possibilities for rainbows of peace. We are teaching this generation to be empathetic and ethical global citizens who will “start a ripple of giving”, fueled by kindness, inclusivity, justice and compassion. Submitted by Jennifer GuynnThe feature below is brought to you by Girls Gotta Run, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about our giving initiatives, please click here. To learn more about the featured organization, please visit their website here.  Running Towards Education and Economic Opportunity in EthiopiaThe story of Girls Gotta Run Foundation is much the same as the communities it serves – a story of tenacious girls and women coming together to overcome gender-based barriers and empower a new generation of female leaders in Ethiopia through the power of running. In a nation plagued by girls’ and women’s limited access to education and economic opportunities, Ethiopia’s national sport of running is viewed as the great gender equalizer. It is a sport where girls are encouraged to be just as successful as boys and therefore ensures girls equal access to opportunities to succeed in the sport. Girls Gotta Run uses running as an innovative approach to creating safe spaces for girls, ending child marriage, and expanding access to secondary school for girls. Consider this: • Only half of Ethiopian girls who enroll in primary school ever make it grade 5. • 40% of Ethiopian girls are married off as children. • 47% of adolescent girls in Ethiopia today have already been subjected to female genital cutting. • One in three women in Ethiopia experience physical, emotional, or sexual violence in their lifetimes. • Ethiopian women provide the majority of agricultural labor across the nation but have limited or no access to financial resources or decision making in their homes and communities. If you feel uncomfortable grappling with this reality, know this - Girls Gotta Run is on a mission to change these statistics. Through our Athletic Scholarship Program, we focus on four key investment strategies for girls and their mothers to ensure they have the ability to design the future of their choosing: EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS Girls Gotta Run provides full scholarship for girls to attend secondary school which covers school costs including tuition, books, supplies, and uniforms; healthcare subsidies for girls and their mothers; hot lunches and clean water every school day; and hygiene products including sanitary pads, soap, space to wash clothes, female-only hygiene facilities. LIFE SKILLS TRAINING Girls in our program meet weekly with a female mentor to train in life skills. The weekly workshops were developed to create safe spaces for girls and provide experiential learning modules on financial literacy, HIV/AIDS awareness, nutrition, healthy relationships, leadership, family planning, and creative expression. RUN CLUBS FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Girls in our program are trained in leadership development through their participation in run clubs where they not only train for races, but learn to set goals, build plans to achieve goals, and discipline themselves to pursue their dreams. Every girl is provided with a full running kit, two pairs of shoes, training gear, oversight of a female coach, and entrance and transportation to Ethiopian races throughout the year. MOTHERS SAVINGS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Girls Gotta Run establishes savings and entrepreneurship groups with the mothers of the girls to whom we provide scholarships. Mothers are provided with a 5-day business development workshop, seed capital to establish a savings group, and the oversight of a trained community mobilizer for 3 years. Our Athletic Scholarship Program does more than just provide adolescent girls with full scholarships to attend secondary school in Ethiopia. We use running as a means of promoting change in the lives of Ethiopia's most vulnerable girls. Combining sport with education provides our girls with a pathway to success, instilling in them the life skills they need to successfully navigate adolescence and adulthood. Since its inception, Girls Gotta Run has seen 96% of our program participants avoid early marriage, complete the Girls Gotta Run program in full, and enter higher levels of education. Over our 14-year history, Girls Gotta Run has impacted more than 1,300 people in four regions in Ethiopia. Submitted by Danielle TaylorExecutive Director, Girls Gotta Run |
See beautiful in yourself.
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