A ceramics workshop creates confidence in a mother recovering from a substance use disorder. A jingle dress-making class empowers a girl to explore her Indigenous heritage. A drum circle inspires an at-risk teen to finish high school.
These are some of the expected outcomes soon to be reality at eight local human service-focused nonprofit organizations, thanks to $13,450 in grants awarded by The Arts Partnership through its Art for All program.
Tania Blanich, interim executive director of The Arts Partnership, said, “The funded projects directly reach those who may not have the resources to access the healing powers that the arts possess. We share the excitement of the funders in seeing these projects develop over the next months.”
Awardees
- Epic Charities Inc.: $1,750 for youth art classes as part of the organization’s community outreach.
- Fraser, Ltd.: $1,750 so that youth in Fraser’s Transitional Youth Services can make their own drums, learn basic drumming techniques, and participate in a drumming circle led by an artisan and drummer.
- Immigrant Development Center: $1,750 toward artwork/murals that celebrate the International Market Plaza on Main Avenue in Fargo, and to replace artwork destroyed by vandals.
- Indigenous Legacies: $1,750 toward a project in which Indigenous youth learn from their elders how to create traditional items relevant to their cultural identity, such as jingle dresses and hand drums.
- Jasmin Child Care and Preschool: $1,750 for the development of an art program that reconnects the children at Jasmin to their cultural art traditions and honors the diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the children served.
- Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity: $1,750 to provide families moving into a new house with a painting of the home as an acknowledgement of how the families’ lives have changed.
- Red River Human Services Foundation: $1,200 for supplies to support weekly adaptive ceramic classes for people with intellectual disabilities.
- Soul Solutions Recovery Center: $1,750 toward a kiln for the ceramics room; creating ceramics provides those in their treatment groups with opportunities to connect with others and use art as a therapeutic tool.
About Art for All Grants
Art for All Grants are generously funded by Choice Bank, a longstanding supporter of local arts in the Metro. Awardees received funding anywhere from $1,200 to $1,750 to initiate art-focused projects that positively impact their clients. The grantees are a diverse group in terms of mission, populations served, size and length of time they have been serving the area.
Choice Bank’s contributions
As the inaugural funder for these grants, Choice Bank was pleased to be joined by additional corporate funders to support this year’s grants. For Choice Bank, this program is a natural extension of their commitment to making genuine connections through passionate and empowered people. They hope that other businesses that share this commitment to our community will join them in funding the program going forward.
“We are thrilled with the breadth and depth of the projects funded in this second round of grants,” Edward Sheeley, Choice Bank Fargo market president, said. “We know from the previous grantees’ work just how impactful these grants can be. It will be exciting to see how this year’s funded projects develop and launch in our community. Choice is pleased to partner with The Arts Partnership to support the presence and accessibility of the arts to better serve the area.”
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Choice Bank is a people first financial services organization that remains locally owned and built around long-term customer relationships, well-rounded products and services, and authentic community banking. For more on Choice Bank’s history visit bankwithchoice.com/our-story. Choice Bank is a division of Choice Financial Group.
The Arts Partnership (TAP) cultivates community through the arts. Founded in 1970, TAP is a nonprofit arts organization that supports the endeavors of arts organizations and artists in the communities of Fargo and West Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN. TAP propels its vision by communicating about the arts, advocating for the arts and providing funding and other support to artists and organizations that make our community a vibrant place to live, work and play. Contact communications@theartspartnership.net for more information.
