A couple months ago, I was asked to be on a task force.
I have no idea why I was invited, but of course I jumped at
the chance.
Wow!
To be part of a TASK FORCE!
For me, the whole thing conjured up images of an amazing
team working together to change the world – kind of like the Super Friends.
I thought that if I was lucky, I might get an exciting
skyped-in special assignment, a secret identity, or quite possibly (if I was
Super Friends SUPER lucky)…
a cape.
Then I went to my first meeting and, well…
I lowered my expectations.
Maybe there will at
least be doughnuts, I thought.
Alas
No.
Apparently, there is a lot of TASK to being on a task force.
However, it turns out that my team’s task is actually pretty
interesting –
We are trying to determine the best use for some vacant
building space, and one of the possibilities would be to create…
An AWESOME ART CENTER for young people!
Now that is cool.
In fact, that is Super Friends cool!
Through my super-top-secret task force research, I
discovered a few things about at-risk young people who are involved in arts
programs vs. those who are not…
·
They are 31% more likely to say that they plan
to continue education after high school.
·
They are twice as likely to win an award for
academic achievement.
·
They are 8 times more likely to receive a
community service award.
·
And they are 4 times more likely to participate
in a science or math fair.
ART can do all that.
In fact, art is why I am here writing to you today.
It may be why you are reading this.
Yeah…
ART is a pretty super superpower.
Capes are optional.
PROMPT: Your
mission – should you choose to accept it, Super Friends – is to make ART happen
for a kid this week. Donate a box of crayons, take poetry dictation from a
4-year-old, or take time out to see some teen theater and cheer wildly from the
cheap seats. Meanwhile, don’t forget to make art happen for YOU, as well.
Together we can change the world – one finger painting at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment