The feature below is brought to you by Global Conservation Corps, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. The Future of African Conservation The shrill cry of an African Fish Eagle pierces the peaceful morning silence, and a group of unseen birds begins chattering noisily. The sun has just risen, and the temperature increases with it, but there still remains a faint pink glow on the horizon, with a waterbuck grazing not far into the bush. This is the setting at the Timbavati Foundation, which has joined forces with the Global Conservation Corps, to develop the Future Rangers Program. Set just outside Kruger National Park in South Africa, the center is teeming with wildlife and it is impossible not to feel the wonder of nature here. This is truly a place to build a connection with the natural world, and that’s what the children have come here to do. We sit in the classroom before the children arrive. It’s bright, well lit and clean, and covered from wall to wall with stuffed and mounted South African wildlife, along with detailed descriptions of the natural history of their live counterparts. For a child who has never seen their native wildlife, alive or dead, this classroom is a learning paradise. When you look out one sliding glass door, there’s a beautiful garden and reflective pool leading to a widely branching Amarula tree, an icon of Africa. Behind that, there’s a waterhole that regularly attracts wildlife. Look out the other side of the building, and you see a garden with displayed skulls, the most prominent being a massive rhino skull, a stark reminder of what’s a stake. The facilitators, bright eyed and smiling, tell us their favorite part of environmental education. Karen tells stories of growing up with animals, and following his father, a ranger, through the bush looking for tracks. He says what drives him in this field is the opportunity “to have an imprint on someone’s life”. Chico tells of how she grew up with no connection to nature, following the example of many and throwing trash on the ground. Once she connected with the natural world at the Southern African Wildlife College, it changed her life. She doesn’t want the students to miss out of the love she feels for nature, that she discovered later in life (and is also adamant to her students about throwing trash in the appropriate bins). The passion of the people positioned to change these children’s lives is overwhelming and contagious. If you don’t love something, you won’t work to save it. That’s the underlying message of the Future Rangers Program, and one that is increasingly urgent and important in our current time. The children in the communities surrounding the national parks often never see the wildlife that their continent is known for. It is many times too expensive and unobtainable to go into the national parks. Growing up without this connection, there is no investment to protect the wildlife, and why should there be? The Future Rangers Program is working to fix this problem at its root. Using an environmental curriculum that builds over a young person’s lifetime, the program helps to build passionate leaders in conservation, from the ground up. If a child shows the initiative, Future Rangers has the potential to lead to internships and jobs in the environmental sector, letting them pursue their passion while supporting themselves or their family. Even if the student decides to pursue a different career path, that love of wildlife and nature that was instilled early on is potentially with them forever. Ask any career conservationist. It all started when we were kids. With wildlife rapidly declining and many species, such as the iconic African rhino, disappearing due to human greed, there is no better time to invest in people to save wildlife. Without the inclusion and involvement of the communities who surround conservation areas, there will be no wildlife left to speak of. Children possess an inquisitive demeanor and an open mind, and are fascinated by the natural world. There is no better place to start building a passion for wildlife and nature than during childhood, and this is what Future Rangers aims to do. Written by Matt Lindenberg, President and Founder of Global Conservation Corp
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The feature below is brought to you by Lead to Life, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. We live in a time of intense social and environmental injustice, and these issues are not separate. We are re-membering that the interconnectedness of social and environmental destruction are rooted in the same cultural underpinnings: from deforestation to the prison-industrial complex. We dwell in a myth of separation, separation from each other and separation from the Earth. This is how some can kill so easily, consume so mindlessly, and how life can be paved over on the planet. Systems of oppression interrupt our possibility to grieve and honor those we have lost to violence - we find ourselves in the wake of violence fighting for freedom - in resistance, in protest, in the courthouse, on the news. Our collective, Lead to Life was born to embody that freedom, that breath - inviting communities together in ceremony to grieve, to heal, to restore, to repair, to reconnect, to be. We are transforming weapons into shovels and holding ceremonial tree plantings at sacred sites and sites impacted by violence. We accompany our plantings with offerings for popular education centered in disrupting environmental racism, reimagining violence and inspiring radical imagination. This past April, in Atlanta, GA, we held our first ceremonies in honor of the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination; our work will continue into the fall of 2018 in Oakland, CA with a similar arc of gatherings rooted in healing justice. In Atlanta we held a public alchemy ceremony where we transformed weapons into 50 shovels with families directly impacted by gun violence. And over the next two days, we planted 50 trees around Atlanta at sites impacted by violence and sacred sites - the trees were planted with soil collected from the lynching site of Mack Brown in GA in service to the National Lynching Memorial work by Equal Justice Initiative. You can read about some of the stories that came out about our work on Upworthy, HuffPost, and Truthout. Lead to Life’s ceremonies are committed to radical aesthetic - beauty that brings us towards justice. When we utilize radical and aesthetic in their etymologies, we engage our senses at the root or root our senses. This rooting our senses brings us into a deeper attunement to repairing our relationship to environments impacted by persistent-traumatic stress. Making healing work a visible intervention grounds us in Cornel West’s prayer that “justice is what love looks like in public.” Through intergenerational ceremony, we live into the declaration by Mark-Anthony Johnson that “black wellness is the antithesis to state violence.” By centering the wellness of the most marginalized and weaving together activists, community leaders, faith groups, farmers, scientists, healers, environmentalists and artists we witness the ways repairing relationship and connection invokes liberation for both the human and more-than-human world. Our physical act of "turning swords into plowshares," creatively fulfills the prophecy Dr. King invoked throughout his speeches— gun metal is liberated from their histories of murder and the soil & air where violence took place is remediated by the trees. Following February’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida followed by the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, millions in despair are empowered to continue their commitment to nonviolence at the personal, community, and systemic level. After our April gatherings, we have been met by a plethora of folks asking us how they can liberate themselves from their weapons who previously did not know what to do with them. They are able to connect to a direct channel to transform a material of violence into a material of life! And now we are gearing up for another momentous gathering - A Time for Healing Justice in Oakland this November - mobilizing hundreds of people to wield shovels made from melted down guns to plant trees and other food-producing plants at sites impacted by violence and colonization, as well as black-led urban farms and community gardens across the city. We invite you to join us to co-liberate in Oakland or from afar! Check out our website and sign up for our newsletter and see how you can get involved! Written by Brontë Velez, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Lead to LifeThe feature below is brought to you by Oasis Center for Hope, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here.   Daring to Own Your Story™ Retreats There is such beauty and connection in coming together and knowing you are not alone. These retreats bring 10-15 women who are blind, visually impaired, or newly diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition together from across the country to explore their shame, vulnerability, and strengths through activities and group discussions. The group is kept small with three facilitators (two licensed therapists, one like myself who is blind, and a student who is also blind completing her master's in social work). Through these retreats, a beautiful sisterhood is formed of shared understanding, connection, laughter, stories and tools of empowerment. They leave with the desire to show up in their lives in new ways. This beautiful empowerment felt inside is taken back to their families and communities. In the past two years, we have conducted four retreats- each with ten blind women. These women have stayed in touch - through email, phone calls, WhatsApp, and even reunions. These women have helped one another in the transitions of blindness. They truly have helped one another See Beautiful in themselves and others and in their unique struggles and triumphs. Our goal of these retreats is increased empowerment, connection, and sisterhood. When we know we are not alone in our struggles, we feel empowered to help each other and show up with empathy and courage in our lives. We achieve this goal through activities like hiking, ropes course, foot soaks, yoga, tandem cycling, and thoughtful, research-based processes identifying where we want to show up in our life and what is holding us back. Time each day is spent on exploring courage, vulnerability, shame and worthiness. As we say, if I can climb that beautiful mountain, what else can I do in my life? 2018 RETREAT WILL BE SEPTEMBER 20-23, 2018 AT THE NATIONAL ABILITY CENTER IN PARK CITY, UTAH. THE COST FOR THE RETREAT IS $595 (SHARING A ROOM) AND $695 (SINGLE) AND INCLUDES ACTIVITIES LISTED ABOVE, LODGING, AND FOOD AND TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE SLC AIRPORT!WHAT PARTICIPANTS OF THE 2016/2017 RETREATS ARE SAYING: “I really treasured everything about this experience more than I ever imagined. I will definitely recommend this program!” – J “I felt such a sense of renewal after the retreat. The facilitators were fantastic. Felt like you kept things safe and compassionate for everyone. Really appreciate all the details and planning.” –S "I continually feel like I dare show up in my life after coming to the retreat. When I am scared I have a tribe to turn to for support. Shame is not in the driver's seat any more in my life." -- Ann “Location was perfect, liked the variety too. It was awesome to walk about in two cities using my cane skills with visually impaired ladies. Made me feel like a warrior at times! The food was amazing!” – K "Not only was the program excellent. I learned so many practical tips and tools from the other attendees. Forever grateful." -- K “I learned a lot from the curriculum. It helped me understand myself better. I can now talk about being in the arena of life and really living wholeheartedly. Blog posts of women who have attended: https://adventuresinlowvision.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/truth-and-daring/ https://adventuresinlowvision.wordpress.com/2017/07/11/on-the-boat-again/ http://doublevisionblog.com/2018/05/16/now-is-the-time/ Tag us! Instagram: @becky__andrews Facebook: Oasis Center for Hope & Becky Andrews, Resilient Vision Blog: [email protected] Written by Becky Andrews, President of Oasis Center for HopeEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Heart of Courage, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. Uniting Families. Changing Futures. Heart of Courage focuses on mentoring and advocating for women who have had their children placed in Child Protective Services and wish to be reunited with their children and create better lives for themselves. Since our inception, we have been able to extend our reach to working with mothers who have aged out of foster care and whose children are either in foster care, or have a strong possibility of being placed in foster care themselves. The overall purpose of our program is to help the mothers in our program become self-sufficient both mentally, emotionally and physically so that they can become better individuals and better mothers to their children. The end result being children united with their mothers into loving and sustainable environments . Our original goal was to help with the large number of placements in foster care. We believed that if possible, children should be with their mothers if their mothers are willing to work hard to make the changes in their lives to create positive and sustainable futures for their children. What we begin to learn, and continue to learn, is that these mothers need a voice. That many of them have a story and their story deserves to be told. We learned that these mothers have incredible strengths, strengths they don’t realize that they have until you as their mentor point it out to them. These mothers have fought abuse of all kinds, teen parents at 12 and 13, addictions, homelessness, abandonment, mental health... and yet they continue to fight for their children. They continue to desire to provide a better life for their children than they had. They just need the support and encouragement- encouragement that they may have never had. We try to offer that to them. Heart of Courage is completely volunteer based. We know that the women in our program, genuinely want to benefit from our array of services, such as education and advocacy, one on one mentoring, parent support groups, job readiness, educational services and community outreach. When we mentor these mothers, they become so excited to have our support because many feel alone. But it is a reward for all of us. The joy we feel when we see a mother, 9 months clean from meth, and know that her child will be coming home to live with her next month is amazing. When we witnessed first-hand the sacrifices she made by making the decision to not go back to the friends and family that she knew would try to keep her in that negative environment. Or the excitement as a few of our mothers enrolled in school, and you watch tears in their eyes because people in their past had told them they weren’t smart. We have one mom, whose goal is to get her GED before she turns 30, which is later this year. She is now in a GED program! We work with each mother to see how she can become self-sufficient and come up with her own set of goals. Each week we work on those goals as well as talk about other things going on in her life. Sometimes it is just listening to her, sometimes it is encouraging her, and sometimes it delivering her tough support and telling her she has to be patient. Telling her to be patient is probably the most difficult because she can easily get disappointed or discouraged. Sometime she gets tired of fighting because she feels like she has been fighting most of her life. It’s during those times that we show her how special she really is and that she has to ignore people’s misjudgments of her and that negative voice inside her head. Instead we tell her to look at how far she has come and to remember that child who she is fighting to make a difference for. That child just sees her as his or her beautiful mommy. We want her to see that same beautiful inside herself and see beautiful in the world. Instead of just living each day as it comes, we see her now living for the future. To get further insight into Heart of Courage and meet one of the mothers we are helping you can watch us on Plugged Into DFW: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/show/plugged-into-dfw/video-3804719-heart-of-courage-3-4/ Written by Dania Carter, Founder/ CEO of Heart of CourageEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Safe Haven Transitional, Inc., an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here.  Safe Haven Transitional Inc. offers SAFE dwelling Transitional Housing for abused single women and women with children living in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. Our program provides a variety of supportive services with the necessary tools that will strengthen and equip the women as they re-enter society as healthy independent people. One of our goals is to transform the abused from being Victims to living Victoriously as we educate, empower and raise awareness of the various types of abuse and crimes in the home and in our communities. The Transformers Youth Intervention Program focuses on breaking the inter-generational cycle of abuse and decreasing children’s use of aggressive and internalizing behaviors and the negative effects that domestic violence has on children. The second component of the Transformers Youth Intervention Program is the Haven Girlz and Haven Boyz Program, entitled “No More Pain No More Drama”! This entails regular meetings/sessions for teens in a therapeutic environment that addresses the effects of dysfunctional and unhealthy friendships and relationships such as peer pressure, bullying, abuse, teen pregnancies, self-hatred, sexual molestation, neglect, and abandonment. Please visit our website for more information please visit www.safehaventransitional.org Remember: NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE ABUSED and ABUSE OF ANY KIND IS UNACCEPTABLE! Written by Mary Winfrey, Executive Director of Safe Haven Transitional, Inc.Edited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by helloHope, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. Hi, See Beautiful community! Thank you for the invitation to write a guest post today! It is a joy to share about our organization, and we are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to be considered for this grant. The journey for helloHOPE began seven years ago this month. 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 into 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 Google 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 this 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 face special healthcare 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 a 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 for 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 21 real, honest, stories of families who have walked through a childhood diagnosis with hope. Additionally, more than 100 resource articles have been published, providing parents with much-needed support and encouragement. The feedback that comes through our website continues to both humble us and propel us forward in our mission.  Based in Atlanta, helloHOPE has also had the unique opportunity to serve families at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta through in-person events. Our team has partnered with the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Egleston campus to support patient families in various ways, including serving dinner to patient families in the PICU waiting room several times a year. We have expanded our program offerings at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to reach even more families by introducing Free Parking Day. The last two summers, we have surprised more than 2,000 patient families by paying for their parking, and the response is phenomenal every time. From tears of relief and gratitude to cheerful smiles, each family is reminded that they are not alone. Here’s a glimpse into this year’s Free Parking Day for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, powered by helloHOPE: We have applied for See Beautiful’s grant in order to lay an important foundation for our next Free Parking Day. The fundraising model for next year’s event is through corporate sponsorships, and See Beautiful’s grant opportunity would allow them to join us in spreading hope to more than a thousand families at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta next year. A diagnosis isn’t everything. You are not alone. Your story matters. helloHOPE. https://www.hellohope.com Find us on Facebook and Instagram! Writte by Mary Beth Thomas, Co-founder of helloHopeThe feature below is brought to you by Helping Mamas, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here.  Helping Mamas began as a labor of love by two social workers and moms. After 15 years in the social service field, we noticed a huge gap in services. This gap was preventing families from being able to move out of poverty, feel confident in their parenting skills and provide the most basic needs for their children. Prior to Helping Mamas there was no coordinated effort to collect and distribute essential infant and children items. Diapers, wipes, car seats, and cribs are critical to the health and safety of children and are often the most expensive items to purchase. These items cannot be purchased through Public Assistance Programs like WIC and SNAP (formerly Food Stamps). 1 in 3 moms in the United States has to choose between diapers and food for her children. Without an adequate supply of diapers, children can’t attend early childhood education programs. Without childcare, parents can’t work. This gap in services was keeping families stuck in the diaper gap and unable to see the beautiful of being a parent. If you are constantly worried about providing for your child’s most basic needs, you can’t stop and feel the joy of parenting. Helping Mamas was formed to provide these essential basic needs for families who need them the most. At Helping Mamas our mission is to connect helping mamas to mamas needing help. We collect and distribute essential infant and child items to organizations that serve women and children in need. We are the baby supply bank of metro Atlanta. In 2017 we distributed over 500,000 essential items to over 15,000 children living in poverty in Atlanta. We collect and distribute diapers, wipes, clothes, bottles, car seats, cribs, strollers and so much more. We are able to serve children birth to age 12 with our services. We currently partner with over 95 agencies throughout the state of Georgia to provide these items.  Our team was thrilled to learn of the See Beautiful grant! One of our biggest and most effective program to help others see beautiful is our Volunteer Program. We have over 200 volunteers that donate over 2000 hours a year in service to our mission. Helping Mamas is requesting funding to support creating a space in our new building that is solely dedicated to our volunteers. In this space we will have a wall of recognition of our volunteers and a break area that is specifically for them to rest and recharge. The funds from See Beautiful will also help us create more user-friendly work spaces for our volunteers. Our organization is 90% volunteer run. Without their help, the 15,000 children we serve every year wouldn’t get near the amount of items they need to be successful. Our volunteers sort and organize our warehouse, fill wish lists for the families we serve and volunteer at our play date events. Our volunteers help the parents we serve see the beautiful in parenting again. They pack the wish lists with so much love and kindness! Our volunteers help us see beautiful through their service every day. Without them, our work wouldn’t be possible. We want to create an efficient and comfortable work space for them while they are here. We want Helping Mamas to be the place to volunteer in Atlanta. When we encourage others to give back, they are then able to see the beautiful in themselves as well! This funding will also help us create a special place for children to come and volunteer. We love having two generations of volunteers impacting two generations of poverty. This funding will allow us to create a space where kids want to come and give back. They will have tables their size, projects they can complete to help other children and art to go out with each of our wish lists. Engaging children in service is critical in helping us to promote beautiful in every generation. This space will allow for individuals, families, children, and groups to come and help families living in poverty see the beautiful in the world. For more information on how to volunteer with Helping Mamas, please visit their volunteer page of their website, here. Written by Jamie Lackey, CEO and Founder of Helping MamasEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Kids Boost, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here.  Kids Boost and See Beautiful Partnership Can you imagine a world where children could sign up to make the world a better place just as easily as sign up for soccer or guitar lessons? Kids want to make a difference. They want to help others. They just need a little help. They need the opportunity. This is where Kids Boost comes in. Kids Boost is a non-profit organization designed to empower kids to give back to the world. Kids Boost helps children (ages 8-14) use their gifts, talents and passions to raise money for a charity of their choice. Every Kids Boost participant receives $100 start-up funds, a one-on-one coach and resources to help them with their project. Throughout the project, the child will become a philanthropist and social entrepreneur, while learning important lessons in money management, civil engagement and communication. And don’t forget the best part… all of this is done in way that’s fun for the child. Once the Kids Booster has completed the project, he or she will get the honor of presenting a check to the organization of their choice. 80% of the total funds raised goes directly to the charity of choice while 20% goes back to Kids Boost to allow another child to start their Kids Boost project. So as you can see, Kids Boost is a cycle of giving that allows kids to learn the power of giving back at an early age. In just a few years, Kids Boosters have turned $6500 into more than $116,000 for 50 different non-profit organizations. They have done this by hosting events like dance parties, tennis tournaments, bake sales and dog washes. We are thrilled to tell you that there is not a shortage of kids who want to participate. We currently have more than 200 kids on a waiting list to get started on a Kids Boost project. Yep, that’s 200 kids who are actually waiting on their chance to make a difference in the world. Kids Boost applied for a See Beautiful Grant to help us reach these kids. $5,000 would help us provide one-on-one coaching, startup funds, and all materials to help kids through their projects. Six children will have the opportunity to create their “beautiful” in the world. These kids will also see the beautiful within themselves as our primary goal at Kids Boost is to enhance self-esteem and self-worth through giving back. In addition, nonprofits throughout the world will receive the funds they need to sustain and create more beauty in the world. On average, Kids Boosters turn $100 into more than $1500 for a nonprofit. So these six kids are likely to turn your $5000 grant into more than $9,000 for beautiful causes. So while this is a grant, it’s also an investment… an investment in non-profits and an investment in the life of a child. We think that’s a pretty beautiful thing! We would love your help and support in empowering kids to give. See Beautiful can help us create a world where signing up to make a difference is just as easy as signing up for baseball! Written by Kristen Witzel, Founder & Executive Director of Kids BoostThe feature below is brought to you by Little Lambs of Utah an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here.  Hello from everyone at Little Lambs Foundation for Kids! Our foundation is thrilled to be featured on the See Beautiful blog. We are honored to share our mission of love and service with you today. Little Lambs is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides diapers and baby supplies to low-income families and comfort kits to children who are placed in foster-care, entering emergency shelters and escaping domestic violence. This year Little Lambs added a new resource for our community, which we call the Little Lambs Diaper Bank. With 1 in 3 Mothers struggling to provide diapers for their babies here in the United States, and a 15% poverty rate in our county (higher than the national average), we recognized this unmet need in our community. We were truly inspired to further our reach and help struggling Mothers and families. Little Lambs is dedicated to providing basic necessities that no child should ever have to go without. Every Thursday, volunteers gather to prepare diapers and supplies for foster children and children in desperate need. Our community has an urgent need for diapers at this time. There are no other local resources for struggling families to receive diapers and therefore they rely on our foundation for support. We truly believe there is incredible value in being of service to others, especially children. We hope to send the message of hope and love to the children and families who need it the most. We hope you all see BEAUTIFUL in serving others. For more information on our foundation and how you can get involved visit our website at www.littlelambsofutah.org Written by Edward Chalfant, Executive Director of Little Lambs of UtahThe feature below is brought to you by Love Beyond Walls, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. To see the Voiceless Documentary, please click the link below: https://vimeo.com/222830083 To see the Voiceless Documentary Trailer, please click the link below: https://vimeo.com/186256582 To see the First Screening Recap, please click the link below. https://vimeo.com/231732059 Love Beyond Walls was created as a hopeful response to a society building higher and higher walls. We are an organization that focuses on telling the stories of and working with those wrestling with poverty and homelessness. As an organization, we believe that tangible love overcomes these barriers. Walls exist more than ever in our current society. We looked around and saw nations building higher and higher barriers between one another. These walls separated people in different classes, sexes, races, and everything in between. We are an organization that is not afraid to address these barriers and we are committed to breaking them down. We believe in action over words and making service a part of our daily lives. One of the most distinguishable characteristics about our organization is our focus on telling the stories of the unseen and building relationships with people as a way of walking with them to get out of poverty and homelessness. We are committed to people that the world passes by because we believe the people struggling with poverty and sleeping on the streets have lives and stories that are just as valuable as ours. We exist to provide dignity to the homeless and poor by providing a voice, visibility, shelter, community, and grooming and support services to achieve self-sufficiency. Since our beginning, we have been committed to telling stories in ways that are both empowering to those we serve and also educational for those who are unaware of what people dealing with poverty face day to day. Currently, our political and social climate has pointed to that fact that we need a moral centering and healing. More and more, we are starting to see issues and walls being formed surrounding the issues of race and poverty. We recently launched a campaign called MAP18 (March Against Poverty 2018) to bring attention to both poverty and racial injustice and reconciliation in our country. The 386 mile journey beginning March 3rd and ended on April 4th commemorates Dr. King’s legacy and brings awareness to the fight against systemic poverty and racial injustice. Before Dr. King was killed, he planned his next initiative, “The Poor People’s Campaign.” Dr. King believed that the next step towards equality was to eradicate a system that even today keeps members of society enslaved to poverty. This march was a testament to the legacy of Dr. King and to shed light on the millions of people across the nation from all walks of life and nationalities who experience the harsh realities of homelessness and poverty. My personal connection to the story starts with my desire to bridge the gap between groups that are divided. I am a social activist, and work with many race groups, and clearly see the distance between many different groups of people. Some people don't realize that racism still exists; through my journey from Atlanta to Memphis I experienced the good, the bad and the ugly. In fact, I wrote a blog on my journey to Memphis that documented the threats I received, number of times the police were called on me, and the encounters I had while attempting to advocate on behalf of the poor. Here are some of those words: “For instance, yesterday I was walking with my friends and had three experiences that made my flesh crawl and eyes water. The first experience was when a young guy threatened to hit my friend and I. Harvey and I were walking on the side of the road with a good shoulder between us and the actual road. We thought we were safe because we were not in the road. We were feeling good, and then I saw a car coming at us. Yes. A car intentionally coming at us.The driver was not texting and driving, and he was not distracted. I know this because he looked me dead in my eyes as he pointed the moving vehicle towards us. As he got closer, at the last minute he swerved the car and flipped us the finger and sped off. What would make this guy do that? Racism? Hate? I don’t know but it made me feel unwanted as I walked through a city where people were looking at us strange and dealing with tons of poverty. As soon as we got past that incident, we encountered another incident. I’ll never forget 10 minutes later two guys in a red pick up truck (with a confederate flag on the bumper) pulled up beside Harvey and I and stared us down and pulled off fast and yelled out the window, “Be safe out here.” After the second incident, I then noticed I wasn’t wanted in the city. But, I continued to walk. Why? Because although I was being treated wrong I still saw their poverty. I saw that many of people that were being mean towards us also were in poverty.” I applied for the See Beautiful grant for to create a film that will highlight our need to bring peace and healing to a nation divided racially and economically. This docs-series will explore conversations from many different people that will give insights into the tension, but also talk about ways in which the gap between groups can be closed through unity. It is our hope to create a film that not only creates conversation, but brings unity to different race groups. The name of the film is called, “Divided We Stand: A Docu-Series on Racial Justice & Reconciliation”. It has been said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. What, then, can be said of the racial tension in The United States of America? America has a deep and dark history with racial tension, and still continues to be divided amidst the current political and cultural climate. What happens if the country continues down a divided path? The house eventually crumbles. History reveals that oppression has always been the dividing force that still separates many today. The See Beautiful grant will help us with some special equipment and help us tell this story in a way that could possibly bring people together from all walks of life in love. In the same way that MLK Jr. dreamed about it while here. We are aiming to create more beautiful in the world. For me, I measure success through conversations, connectivity, and diverse community involvement. Since I lead an organization that leverages community service as a reconciler between races, I desire to see this film inspire more people to build intentional relationships with people opposite of them as a way of joining forces to do justice work in the community. We currently have a digital following of over 30K followers. We plan to use local media, the power of social media via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Additionally, our last film (Voiceless) was aired on the AIB Network and they have a audience of 2 million people. Lastly, we plan on doing screenings. We completed over 52 screenings of our last film with an average audience of 300-400 people in attendance at each screening. Will you help us bring love into the world through truth, love, and conversation? Written by Terence Lester, Founder of Love Beyond WallsEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful |
See beautiful in yourself.
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