The 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
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The feature below is brought to you by The Peaceful Project, 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.   Discovery, Trust, and Living from Your Values In fourth grade, his face was a rigid mask. Throughout the exercise where the students related to experiences where they had felt sad, hurt, happy, scared, and mad, he only related to mad. He said that he felt angry all of the time. It was later in the small group, when we were talking, that he began to cry. He sobbed, surrounded by supportive classmates, and shared how his two-year-old brother had died. He had no one to talk to about it. He was afraid to talk to his father. His mother was out of the country. We spent two hours with his class, and when it came time to leave, his face was alive with a brilliant smile. He hugged me goodbye and wouldn’t let go. This was the most profound time of gratitude for me in teaching The Peaceful Project’s Community in Unity Program. There are more stories about fourth and fifth graders seeing how courageous they are: stories of students sitting at The Peace Table learning to respectfully resolve conflicts, and of children discovering their core values and examining how they will handle challenging situations from those values. There is such gravity in this work. We applied to See Beautiful to further Community in Unity in Ferguson, Missouri, where we have been working with fourth and fifth graders. Community in Unity is The Peaceful Project’s social-emotional learning program focused on peaceful conflict resolution, developing trust, understanding feelings, and discovering values. Discovery In many character-building programs, traits are laid out as something lofty to aspire to and something that is ever so slightly out of reach. Students are encouraged to display a particular character trait over a course of time, and there are awards given to a select group. We approach values and character traits as the beginning of a great, continuing discovery! In Community in Unity, all students discover those traits within themselves. They begin by identifying the traits they highly admire in someone else. It could be their mother who is loving, devoted, and kind. It could be Martin Luther King who was compassionate, patient, and eloquent. It could be a cousin who is supportive, funny, and smart. They use three of those traits in an “I AM Statement” that they will then practice. That statement is a springboard for their relationships and for how they show up at home, with friends, and in the classroom. They learn that those traits admired in others are actually within them and are indeed who they are! Teachers have the children read their statements before tests or at challenging times as a reminder of who they are. The “I AM Statement” not only sets the foundation for the classroom community, but it is also a powerful tool for teachers to use throughout the year. When there is an argument, teachers can guide students to remember their statement and choose how to respond from their values. Trust During Community in Unity, every student makes a Trust Agreement with one another. They agree to respect one another, to come directly to the individual with a problem rather than talking about it with others, and to honor each other’s opinions. This agreement sets the tone for the classroom. Knowing that others commit to being trustworthy makes a huge difference in how students view their classroom lives and in the level of safety and comfort they feel. When there is gossip, the teacher can discuss the value of the Trust Agreement and how gossip creates mistrust, judgement, and fear without solving the problem. Teachers can have the class remake their agreement throughout the year, especially when new students join the classroom. Students learn to hold themselves and each other accountable. Living from Your Values The students live from their values through The Peace Table, where they come together to peacefully resolve conflict. Everywhere we have introduced The Peace Table, students have loved it and have always reached resolution, sometimes after long standing feuds. The Peaceful Project’s mission is to guide young people to live their unique lives’ purposes. A large part of that is recognizing the beautiful in themselves as well as the beautiful in others. It is a shift in the way they view the world. Others become compatriots rather than adversaries. Students become their own advocates as well as compassionate advocates for one another. Our programs provide opportunities for participants to experience the often unexpected power of peace in their lives and to connect to a vision of the future that they truly desire. We have worked with young people in the juvenile justice system, members of the LGBTQ community, and students in elementary through high school. Each heart that opens to new possibilities is a chance for peace. Community in Unity is a heart-opening experience that embraces peace building from the inside out. Written by Maggie Macaulay for The Peaceful ProjectEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by For 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 Do Beautiful They say to make a difference in this world, you must dream big. It started with the death of our founder’s father. Upon returning home, Madame Athena recognized that her birth home in Manchester, Jamaica had become plagued with hardship; increased crime rate, food shortage, an increase in diet related disorders, limited education for youth and adults, and lack of access to running water played out before her and she returned to the states with a yearning that penetrated her dreams and made its way into her everyday. On Christmas morning of 2011, she decided to put desire into action and wrote a letter to friends and family asking them to assist her in empowering her community. With donated funds in hand, she returned home in August 2012 and launched the Jamaica for Life project, the first of the For Life programs. Created from a place of passion and love, For Life Inc is a non-profit organization that houses education and wellness projects globally. Our projects are formulated to fit the needs of the local populous and are centered around empowerment rather than dependence. We assist individuals, families and communities in becoming healthier and self sufficient. Our mission is to increase access to education, raise health awareness, decrease the risk of obesity, malnutrition, and diet related disorders in underrepresented communities around the world. Presently, we have For Life projects in the United States, Jamaica and Cape Verde, West Africa. Our LA for Life project focuses on decreasing the obesity rate within Black and Latino communities. For Life classes are taught within schools and are formulated according to region, age and needs. Classes range from yoga to cooking. Through the Adopt a Family Program, high risk families work one on one with our Health and Wellness Coach and Personal Trainer to create healthy lifestyle changes. Believing that the way out of poverty is by lessening barriers to education, we adopted 4 schools in Cape Verde and Jamaica. Through the Jamaica for Life and Cape Verde for Life projects, we provide students with school supplies and book bags; we also assist in making healthy breakfast programs available at school sites. On an individual basis, we sponsor students and work closely with their families providing them with additional educational support and healthy food bag deliveries. The See Beautiful grant will assist For Life in providing uniforms to students with the greatest need in Cape Verde and Jamaica. The high cost of uniforms keeps many students at home due to the families’ inability to purchase them. With removing this barrier, we are able to increase attendance rates. With the money awarded, our goal is to supply 392 families with uniforms. With a team of volunteers and all monies raised going directly to the communities we serve, we create beautiful. We live beautiful. We do beautiful. To make a difference, we will continue to dream big eradicating barriers and always remembering the vision that became reality. Written by Madame Athena Chang, Founder and President of For LifeThe feature below is brought to you by LOTUS Legal Clinic, 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.  Mending broken into BeautifulIntroducing LOTUS Legal Clinic! LOTUS was founded in 2013 to provide Legal Options for Trafficked and Under-served Survivors (LOTUS) in Wisconsin. Our mission is to serve victims of gender-based violence and human trafficking (labor and sex) through trauma informed legal advocacy, policy initiatives, education, and survivor empowerment. Gender Based violence is an ugly problem! Rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking are forms of gender- based violence that are not typically addressed in regular legal practice; LOTUS is fighting to change that. “Creating a beautiful life.. with what is left” LOTUS sees the inherent worth and humanity of every survivor. We give each client a beautiful quilt handmade by the Material Girls. The Material Girls is a group of 25 women in Baraboo, Wisconsin, who have provided LOTUS more than 200 quilts for survivors. These extraordinary quilts are gifts to lift up fellow women, girls, and boys who have been abused and trafficked. The quilts given to LOTUS’s clients remind them there is beautiful in the world and someone cares about them with no expectations- no strings attached. “Many of the fabrics are less than top-of-the line since quilters are a frugal bunch who often make do with what is left. Sort of like creating a beautiful life or a gift with what is left”  “This quilt reminds me every day that people care. Especially in times of self-doubt and difficulty, I like to wrap up and it makes me feel safe” Samantha’s Story LOTUS met Samantha, a fifteen-year old survivor of human sex trafficking, last year. While she was in “the life” everything had been controlled by her trafficker including food, clothes and possessions. When she left the exploitation and went into a state-sponsored care program, she had nothing to call her own. For Samantha, her inability to trust others made her sometimes feel like the state took the trafficker’s place in providing her physical necessities. She still had nothing to call her own. Despite her strong spirit and intelligence, her trauma made it hard to adjust and to sleep, get back on track with education, and form healthy relationships. In time, she came to LOTUS for legal assistance related to her victimization. After the first meeting, Samantha received a vivid handmade quilt from LOTUS’s executive director and staff attorney. This quilt was her very own. She helped pick the patterns and the colors that felt most like her “Soulmatch,” and said that it was something that belonged to her that no one could ever take back. LOTUS hopes for $3,500 in support from See Beautiful. The Material Girls intend to continue making quilts for survivors and even have plans to recruit other quilt guilds in Wisconsin to help. Although the Material Girls have an unlimited desire to help, they have limited resources to acquire the materials and make recruiting trips. Support from See Beautiful would offset some of these costs. The price of materials (fabric, batting, machine quilting) is about $200-$250 (minimum) per quilt. Additional costs for other supplies (e.g., thread, needles, fusible webbing, binding; cost of electricity; cost for trips to shop for supplies and deliver quilts to LOTUS) are extra. In addition to materials, a lot of time and talent are required to make the quilts. Volunteers contribute many hours to making this project successful (shopping for materials, design, sewing, machine quilting; washing, drying, cutting, and ironing fabric; piecing together the fabric; etc.). The volunteer commitment alone is estimated at between $14,500- $48,000! You can’t put a price on feeling valued and respected for who you really are, “as is”; there’s nothing you can buy that says Made From the Heart like the work of human hands who put love in every stitch. LOTUS knows this project changes lives. Written by Madeline Monien for LOTUS LegalEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Aidan Cares, 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. Aidan Cares is what we call our awareness initiative; we are in our tenth year now with the single mission of imparting the joy and necessity of giving to all. It started with four year old Aidan Anderson (now 17) declaring he would not wait until he was 18 to become a difference maker. As his Mom, I was a bit taken aback, but decided to take it literally and we embarked on a road to give and serve. A few years later, at age 7, he made $80 while playing his toy harmonica outside restrooms in a fancy restaurant in Vinings, Georgia. He planned many ways to spend his new found wealth, but ultimately, just an hour later, he decided to send it to a charity serving those suffering with parasites in Africa. He remembered it from a newsletter we read together. A few weeks later he was asked to share his story downtown and raised several thousand dollars to buy more medication. Then we just kept going. This has been about a child and his mother saying yes to serving, sharing, and most of all, modeling giving to others. Along the way, Aidan became a speaker and has given 4 TEDx Talks, spoken at Leadercast and shared his unique and wise perspective that if we aren’t giving from our God given giftings and passions, then we cannot have wellbeing. Aidan wants to activate as many givers as possible by encouraging them to follow their hearts into their paths of giving. Aidan has now served thousands of hours and has been a part of raising millions of dollars in donations for over 500 charities and individuals in need since our journey began. We serve by sharing our message in each city we visit. Pediatric cancer patients, VA hospitals, shelters, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America are especially dear to us. Aidan is now a singer songwriter, blues musician and guitar player; his passions of music and helping people come together when he plays his music and shares his message. He hopes to continue sharing, singing, speaking, mentoring and reaching out for the rest of his life. This is our most inspiring hopeful summer yet, as we have recently created a Youth Giving Initiative Pilot Program that began with middle school students in Savannah and will expand to high school students in the coming school year. We are providing dozens of giving opportunities to youth of all economic backgrounds so they may serve people, animals or environmental efforts- their choice. We have been asked to extend the program through the fall semester and help facilitate school leaders, non-profits, partners (we hope) and students to take it forward year round. We are living in Savannah during this launch and working with our young volunteers to create art, play music, read to little ones, clean the beach, participate in etiquette-that-matters classes, music lessons for toddlers at low income daycares, and make art pieces for pediatric cancer patients, hospice patients and veterans at the VA hospitals. We are also working with Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s youth so they can serve too. This is the platform we want to take forward. We launch July 9, 2018. The most amazing thing is that children from all walks of life learn that their hearts and time matter. That touching fewer screens and more lives really really does makes a difference. Our project goes beyond just giving, it’s about creating relationships no matter how different the initial approach may seem. We plan to, for a brief moment, stop the world from spinning long enough to truly connect and see what we can all learn from each other. We are creating more beautiful by the sense of wellbeing that replaces doubt, entitlement, and lack of connection. This truth that will shine forth. We aren’t that different after all, and giving feels so good. We want these children to know that when you have purpose your life changes forever. You can see Aidan speak and learn more at www.aidancares.org Our Mission To inspire people of all generations and economic backgrounds to share in the joy and necessity of giving, partnering with non-profits, communities and individuals to magnify the good they want to see in the world. Our Vision A world where the power of gratitude is unleashed, where the measure of generosity is not a size but a sacrifice, and where all children grow into giving adults through a lifelong culture of compassion. Written by Toren Anderson, Director of Aidan CaresEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Foster Care Alliance, 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 best way for us to introduce to you the work that we do is to share with you a story of one of our moms and her daughter. To see the beautiful in the faces of moms who want second chances and precious children who are always ready with pure forgiveness. A precious 3 year old girl, so excited to see her mommy, came in from the car. I walked them through our building, offering fresh coffee on the way down. And then we walked into the visitation room, a giant wooden playhouse in the middle with a bright blue slide caught her attention. She ran straight to the slide, then to the coloring books, then the fishing poles with magnetic fish, then the kiddie kitchen and so on. So many toys, so many windows with the sun shining in on the beautiful mural! Val: "She is in heaven! This is the most beautiful visitation center I have ever seen! Can we do visits here every week?" Chelsea: "I am so glad you all love it. Make yourself at home. And yes, we would love to have you every week!" Kate arrives 15 minutes later. A friend had dropped her off. She walked in the front door. Kate: "Hi I'm Kate. Is my baby here?" Kate's daughter hadn't seen her mom in several months. But, it was as if no time had passed. She heard her mom's voice as we walked down the stairs and you heard her sweet voice get super quiet. Then she said, "Is that my mommy?" She squealed with excitement and hugged her momma's neck. // Isn't it amazing how much we can learn from children? The ability to forgive and forget.The ability to love with no strings attached. And the ability to always give second, third, and fiftieth chances! // They played and laughed. My heart was glad. After their visit, Kate and I met. Our time was sweet. Her story was typical. No family, so support, no education, and no resources. So, where does she start? We talked through the Reunification Readiness Process at the Foster Care Alliance: - Initial Reunification Readiness Assessment (Reassessed for progress every 3 months) - Weekly Birth Parent Coaching Group - 2 hours/ week - Employment Coaching - Weekly Visitation with her daughter - 2 hours/ week CONSISTENT AND MOTIVATED ATTITUDE FOR 1 MONTH - Place in an apartment. - Write reports and attend court hearings to document progress. - Reunification with children (DFCS lead). CONTINUE IN THE PROGRAM TO COMPLETE 12 MONTH I told her that we are not a service provider, but a community program. Kate: "What does that mean?" Chelsea: "That means we don't check boxes and send you on your way. We are your community, your safe place. You don't have a mom, or a person to ask questions? We can stand in that gap and be that for you." Kate: "Really? I want all of that!" She signed the program agreement and signed up. She wanted to better herself. She wanted to get her GED. She wanted help, but no one had offered before.... UNTIL NOW We have asked for this grant to help pay the fees for mothers like this one to be able to participate in our program and become healthy parents for their children. Written By Chelsea Sabo, Executive Director of Foster Care AllianceEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Every Woman Works, 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. Kamp Kids SEE BEAUTIFUL! How Every Kids Kamp got started… Hello See Beautiful Community! My name is Sonia and in order to share about what we do at Every Woman Works (EWW) and the program this grant was written for - Every Kids Kamp, I will have to share a little about my background. As mentioned in our SEE BEAUTIFUL application, Every Woman Works is a job readiness program serving a portion of Atlanta's disadvantaged and displaced women as they move from homelessness (to include homeless female veterans), alcohol and substance abuse, domestic abuse and system dependency to a life of self sufficiency. In January of 2013, as an Army veteran of 9 years and combat veteran, I found myself homeless due to PTSD, depression and anxiety. While at a transitional housing program in Atlanta called Mary Hall Freedom House (MHFH), I was referred to Every Woman Works - a holistic job readiness program for women. Even though I needed help, I didn’t know how to let others in because of the walls I had built due to challenges I’d been facing. The staff at EWW helped me to break down those walls and find healing as I took the necessary steps towards gainful employment and regaining my identity. This was in 2013. That summer, I was employed but still in transitional housing. The most challenging thing about being in transition with a child(ren), is knowing that you’re receiving the help and support you need emotionally and mentally but not having the necessary resources to help your child(ren) as they transition. I found an AMAZING summer camp 2 hours south of Atlanta called Camp Grace for my then 9 year old son Michael. After spending a week with nothing but unlimited fun tailored to him, as we drove back to MHFH, I literally heard… “Is Michael the only child in transition that needs camp?” So I’m having this conversation with God like, “G, really? I’m homeless right now dude AND you want me to take other kids to camp? I’m barely making ends meet in taking care of the one I have! Come on, really?” I know, G and I have a unique relationship. One day at EWW, I shared with a board member that my son Michael had the most amazing time at Camp Grace and I mentioned how much it costed for him to attend. She was blown away and wrote the check that provided sponsorship to take 7 kids to camp. That’s how Every Kids Kamp was started. Since then, I have been partnering with other camps throughout the Atlanta Metro area that cultivates relationships with these kids for years to come. Every Kids Kamp serves not just the children of the women at Every Woman Works but MHFH, AutoGift and kids from several other nonprofits as well as children in low income families or families facing financial hardships. How are you creating more beautiful? There is nothing more beautiful than helping to change a child's heart and mind from doubt, fear, and hopelessness to acceptance, inclusiveness, fun and love. One week in nature, surrounded and supported by kind, authentic, loving people, free to just be kids and play, creates beautiful, lasting memories for children whose life experience have been challenging thus far. I am the mother of one of those boys who experienced the saving grace of summer camp and his life has forever been changed because of it. His mind was expanded and challenged and camp provided him with opportunities to discover who he is truly meant to be. As the mothers of these children are breaking the cycle of dependency, their children are experiencing the potential that life has to offer and I am helping pay it forward so other kids (and parents) can experience the change that summer camp brings. Since graduating from Every Woman Works, I’ve started Every Kids Kamp, served on the board of Every Woman Works and currently serve as their Camp Director (this is a volunteer position). I’m also on the board of directors of Mary Hall Freedom House and another non-profit called AutoGift where we gift single moms with minor children, and no access to a vehicle, with ownership of debt free transportation. We’ve also partnered with Camp Grace for the past 5 years. We are so excited to be a part of the SEE BEAUTIFUL community, and even more excited to learn about all the other amazing programs that are creating beautiful in the life of others. Please visit us at www.everywomanworks.org or take a look at our brochure to learn more about who we are and what we do. Thank you guys for SEEING and SUPPORTING Beautiful! Summer 2016   Summer 2015 Written by Sonia Simon of Every Woman WorksThe feature below is brought to you by Realize Your Beauty, 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. “I learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover but by the details inside. Everyone has the same problems; everyone is unique, original and beautiful. I got to let out my thoughts and experiences in a peaceful fun way. I also got to let everything out to people in a group”. – Raynell, age 14 Realize Your Beauty is so excited for the opportunity to share our work with the See Beautiful community! To begin, we’d love to tell you more about who we are and what we do. Let’s start with our mission statement: Realize Your Beauty promotes positive body image to youth through theatre arts. We bring plays, workshops & summer camps to youth to promote self-esteem & kindness. Our workshops focus on fostering inner beauty- taking the focus away from societal standards and the pressure to be 'pretty'. We encourage students to put their energy into kindness, integrity and respect towards themselves and others and to focus on developing their own unique inner qualities. For our older students, we also teach eating disorder awareness. Teaching them the signs & symptoms of an eating disorder, and how to reach out for help if they or a friend need support. RYB is a 501c3 based in NYC, with program offerings in New York and Colorado. Our website can be found here: http://realizeyourbeauty.org  The Project Currently, Realize Your Beauty is hard at work preparing for our summer camps. This summer we are creating more beautiful by helping our campers fully discover the incredible gifts they have to offer to this world! We teach them that they are the most beautiful when they are the most themselves. Encouraging campers to understand that beauty comes from within and helping them to build their confidence allows them to grow and create their own beautiful in this world! “Never judge someone based on how they look. Get to know them better and their personality before you say something. I learned you must accept yourself for others to accept you”. – Rabeenah, age 14 More about camp: Every summer we hold Camp Realize Your Beauty- a 5-night summer sleepaway camp at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado. The summer camp teaches classic theatre techniques, while also including ‘empowerment’ workshops throughout the day. Our campers learn acting, play writing & directing skills, with a special emphasis placed on developing a positive sense of self. We cover the following topics of ‘empowerment’: self-esteem, kindness (towards self and others) and anti-bullying. Our course also includes tons of traditional camp fun – including nature walks, archery, arts & crafts, fire rings and s’mores! Throughout the week, the campers use their new knowledge and skills to create their own theatre piece, to be performed for parents on the final day of camp, at pick-up time. “I learned that I don’t have to say bad things about other people. They taught us that we are beautiful how we are, not how we look.” – Eloidy, age 13  The Need Camp Realize Your Beauty highly values a diverse and inclusive camp. We prioritize making camp a safe and judgment-free zone, and to include campers and counselors of all backgrounds. Among the ways that Camp RYB focuses on these philosophies is by making sure that campers of all financial backgrounds have access to our programs. For this reason, it is extremely important to us that camp remains affordable and accessible to children of all backgrounds. To that end, we keep our tuition as low as we possibly can and provide discounts and scholarships for those campers in financial need. This summer, 1/3 of our campers will attend camp on reduced tuition. However, the low tuition means that without support, it’s very difficult for us to meet our expenses. This summer is no exception, and Realize Your Beauty is in urgent need of support to bridge the gap between our summer camp expenses and the income we will receive from campers. With support, our summer camp can grow and thrive, and we can encourage a whole new generation to create beautiful in this world! We’re very grateful to See Beautiful for the opportunity to share our story! To learn more about our programs, please visit our website: realizeyourbeauty.org “I am now working towards being fully confident in my own skin & have tips on how to do it in the right way.” – Danielle, age 12   Written by Stacey Lorin Merkl, Founder and Executive Directory of Realize Your BeautyEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Diversify Dietetics, 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. Registered dietitians nutritionists (RDNs) are the nation’s nutrition experts. We are the healthcare providers you come to in order to learn how to navigate eating out when your child has a life-threatening food allergy, when you’re diagnosed with gestational diabetes during your first pregnancy, or when your friend is in a traumatic car accident and placed on a feeding tube as his only source of nutrition. We can be found in every hospital caring for patients, every school system creating healthy meals for kids, and pretty much at any other community organization or corporation that has anything to do with food. If you’ve eaten a meal anytime lately (read: all of us!) an RDN has influenced your food choices somewhere along the way. But here’s the problem: our profession is comprised of only 9% professionals of color. We do not reflect the diverse populations that we serve. This lack of diversityin our profession has persisted for years. For some groups, such as for African Americans, the number of students choosing to study nutrition in accredited programs (the only pathway of becoming an RDN) has fallen in recent years. This lack of diversity affects the quality of care that we give to the clients, patients and students that we serve. When there is less diversity amongst healthcare professionals, research has shown that the care for patients and students of color also suffers. Our patients and students are more receptive to taking recommendations from providers that look like them because they feel that the provider or educator might understand them and their needs better. The nation’s population is rapidly becoming more diverse and needs its food and nutrition healthcare experts to reflect its diversity.  How do we create a more diverse RDN workforce? It’s simple: by increasing the number of dietetics students of color. Except that it’s not so simple: the educational pathway to dietetics is not an easy one. It requires a student to complete a bachelor’s degree in a science-heavy curriculum, with courses such as biochemistry, metabolism, microbiology, organic chemistry (I and II!). Students must also compete to be accepted into a post-baccalaureate internship, where only about 50% of students who apply are accepted. These internships are not only unpaid, the students usually have to pay tuition to attend. This all culminates to the largest exam any of us RDNs ever take: The Registration Exam for Dietitians. If you don’t pass this exam, you don’t become an RDN. Oh yes, and in 2024, a master’s degree will become the minimum requirement to become an RDN. All of this means: barriers along the way for students of color who want to become RDNs. This is where Diversify Dietetics comes in. After all of this seemingly bad news for students of color it was time to See Beautiful! Diversify Dietetics’ mission is to increase diversity in the field of nutrition by empowering students and young professionals from underrepresented minority groups to join the next generation of nutrition experts. We are aiming to achieve this by creating a community for students, professionals and educators, dedicated to increasing ethnic and racial diversity in the field of nutrition and dietetics. In just our first few months of launching, we have connected with hundreds of current students and dietetic interns of color, finding them where students are these days: on Instagram and Facebook. We are offering free or low-cost, high quality programming that uses social media and technology to extend our reach. Some of the programs are our RDN Spotlight Series, where we highlight RDNs of color, because we believe representation matters. We are also recruiting mentors and mentees for our 2018-19 Mentor Program. Our program is a little different from other mentor programs, because where we don’t see success in a current method, we always aim to go beyond the status quo and find a more effective way. We have also launched our “Feed Me the Facts” Facebook Live Series, which covers topics and offers resources critical to the educational success, specifically targeted to students of color.  Tamara Melton with her students at Georgia State University We have also connected with hundreds of educators- which is critical to our mission. Educators are the gatekeepers- the ones who get to decide who is accepted into these accredited dietetics programs and internships. Using ideas stemming from our own lived experiences, and from the feedback from the students we’ve connected with, we are developing training webinars and workshops for dietetics educators to better prepare them for recruiting, retaining and supporting students of color. These professional development experiences will include such skills as unconscious-bias training for faculty, admissions committees and preceptors, will showcase effective recruitment techniques, and will offer examples for promoting cultural and structural sensitivity throughout the curriculum and in student advisement. If we are selected for to receive the See Beautiful grant, we will be using this support to host our first large-scale Educators’ Workshop during this fall’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE). FNCE is the largest annual conference for RDNs; it will allow us to offer this workshop to educators from all over the country. We will then tweak the workshop based on evaluations from our attendees and our own observations. The funds generated at this first workshop will provide us the capital needed to refine and offer an improved and more focused workshop to educators on their campuses all around the country. All of these initiatives will help us to increase the number of RDNs of color, and better serve all of our patients, clients and students. We are so excited to have found the See Beautiful community, and are thankful for this opportunity to share our story! You can read more about the co-founders of Diversify Dietetics, Deanna Belleny and Tamara Melton, here. Written by Tamara Melton, Co-founder of Diversify DieteticsEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful The feature below is brought to you by Paint Love, 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. Paint Love brings free, high-quality arts programming to youth facing poverty or trauma. “Sometimes when I feel mad at myself, I will say mean things about myself like I’m stupid, or I’m ugly. But since we did this Paint Love project, now I will think about myself that I’m smart, and unique, and perfect just the way I am.” Fourth grader at Powder Springs Elementary School, working with Artfully Made Club The ten-year-old girl smiles and goes back to creating a mosaic border around a mirror on which she has written “I am smart and quirky,” as a daily reminder to herself. Being a kid is hard enough- facing self-doubt, bullying, and peer pressure. But for the two thousand young people Paint Love works with each year, growing up is even more stressful. Most of the kids in this project, this school, and throughout other schools and nonprofits Paint Love serves, are growing up facing poverty or trauma.  Paint Love empowers kids through art. Our programs go above and beyond the ordinary. Paint Love projects introduce youth to new ways of seeing beautiful in the world, their community, and themselves. Through projects like screen printing, wax encaustics, collaborative murals, metal pours and metalsmithing, writing and storytelling, design and illustration, stop-motion animation, glass blowing, quilt making, sculpture, paper making, photography, and more, our programs teach new mediums while incorporating intentional themes and social-emotional skill building focused on seeing and creating beauty and goodness. Paint Love serves young people who often have the least access to the arts and creative self- expression, but could benefit the most. To reach youth who face, or risk facing, poverty or trauma, we pair local, professional artists with Title 1 schools and youth-serving nonprofits. Paint Love takes care of all the planning and provides all the supplies to create extraordinary projects that our partners wouldn’t be able to do on their own.  Our nonprofit partners serve children fleeing domestic violence, facing sexual abuse, grieving after the loss of a parent or sibling, homeless youth, new immigrants and refugees, and more. Our school partners are designated Title 1 by the GA Department of Education based on the number of students eligible for free/ reduced lunch (FRL). On average, 65-95% of their students are eligible for FRL. Over half of the art teachers have zero budget for supplies, and at best, serve between 500-1000 students with a supply budget of $1- $3 per student for the entire year. Since Atlanta is a hub for newcomer refugees and immigrants, most school partners have a high rate of English language learners and children who do not speak English as well as high numbers of transient students- including homeless children and those in the foster care system.  Studies show that constant stress (like growing up in poverty) or trauma (like losing a parent or being abused) impacts kids’ developing brains and has a permanent effect on their lifelong ability to do everything from have healthy relationships to manage emotions. Arts engagement is actually proven to reduce stress and teach skills that can help them live healthy, happy lives. Here is one example of how Paint Love’s art programs make a difference in kids’ lives: Cat Goolsby, a professional metalsmith and Paint Love artist, works often with teens from Wellspring Living, a residential program for girls who have been removed from sex trafficking. A young woman participating in Cat’s jewelry making workshop is trusted with real tools like a motorized drill and experiences how good it feels to earn trust, and even overcomes a little bit of fear operating the machine or stamping a piece of metal. When she gets discouraged that her pendant didn’t come out how she wanted, she is supported and encouraged to try again and she learns persistence. When she is finished, she gifted the necklace to a friend, and she feels pride that she created something beautiful and unique and happy to have something to give away. Through this project, she learns new skills and her mind is challenged in new ways with designing and creating. She acknowledges and manages tough emotions, and thinks of a way to do something kind for someone else. She sees that everyone’s projects came out differently and there is more than one way to do the project. She learns to control her anger and frustration, maybe she realizes that drawing designs is calming to her and recognizes that is something she can do next time she gets upset. She has fun and leaves feeling good about herself, and like she can successfully tackle new challenges.  Paint Love would use support from See Beautiful to bring empowering arts programming to new Title 1 school partners in the upcoming school year. We currently have a waiting list of teachers and principals from Title 1 schools across the Metro-Atlanta area who want to bring Paint Love projects to their students. Our school partners receive a minimum of 8-12 hours of programming, but sometimes, with funding support from the community, we have the capacity to offer even more, like the recent 200- foot mural artist Brent Coleman created with students at Clarkdale Elementary. At Clarkdale, 86% of students are economically disadvantaged and receive free or reduced lunch. Brent volunteered over 80 hours and worked with all 800 students during every stage from planning the mural to the final touches. The mural highlights the STEAM focus at Clarkdale and the international community at the school, as well as includes sections where the kids could paint anything they wanted to represent themselves and leave their mark on their school in a big way!  We believe every child should have access to programming that helps them see beautiful and encourages them to spread that beauty. Paint Love serves See Beautiful’s priorities of equity, inclusion, justice, and peace, as our core mission is built around providing opportunities to youth across the spectrum of access, ability, and privilege, with a special focus on those who are often overlooked and underserved. At Paint Love, we choose art as our tool because we know how transformational it can be, but our main priority is always empowering youth to create and see the beautiful in themselves and their world, even beyond the time they are holding a paintbrush.  Written by Laura Shaw, Operations Manager at Paint LoveEdited by Rachel McLeroy for See Beautiful |
See beautiful in yourself.
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