one more

I think I'll venture back over to this fountain today with my Hassie. For now, here's another image made with my SLR.

first full day in portland

This afternoon we went on a blues boat cruise on the Willamette River. Afterward, in Waterfront Park, I saw some kids playing in a fountain. Kids, water... well, I'm there. I'm glad I had my camera with me.

pics from ctt's 5th annual friendraiser/fundraiser

Silent item auction

Art auction 

                           
                      

                                    CTT friends Atem, Rebecca and John

     
                   

                 Former team member Shane Evans with new paintings for his art collection

Sarah Biegelsen, Dawn Taylor, Emily Biegelsen and Phil Gayter (all volunteers, and Dawn is a former team member)

Volunteer Emily Ramza with her painting by Nicky

CTT friends Gail and Richard Lozoff with their purchases and with filmmaker, former team member and CTT board member Lynne Melcher

Former team members Suzanne Garr, J. Leroy Beasley and Bobbi Newman

Grannies Gloria Feinstein and Jennifer Heinemann with dolls (handmade by former team member Emily Collins) purchased for their grandchildren

Doll artist and former team member Suzanne Garr

Doll artist and former team member Emily Collins

Doll artist Gail Spahr

Doll artist Cathy Broski

Doll artist Charmalee Gunaratne

Volunteers/former team members Max and Eddie Feinstein (Eddie is also a CTT board member)

photos courtesy Michael Spillers

petapixel

Estate Sale Portraits featured again here.

new york times lens bog

Amid all the excitement of the fundraiser, my Estate Sale Portraits were featured on the NYT Lens Blog! My fifteen minutes of fame came on Friday morning. Thank you James Estrin and Kristen Joy Watts for making that happen! I'm thrilled beyond words to have my work included in this amazing venue.

Please check out the article here.

in case you missed it

In case you weren't able to attend our event, you may want to read my welcoming remarks. You'll certainly want to watch Lynne's new film!


Thanks to all 400 of you who came to the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center on Friday night. It was a tremendous turnout and huge show of support for the work we're doing in Uganda. There was a big love-fest going on all night, and it felt really good. 


 We still like to call this event a friendraiser, because part of the reason we gather together each year is to spread the word about the children in Uganda who have stolen our hearts. We don’t charge a fee to attend this event. We don’t have a fancy dinner. We don’t even ask you to dress up. We’d like to think that some of you will become friends of Change the Truth for the first time tonight. All that really means is that you will keep the names and faces of these children in your heart. And when it comes time for our volunteers to travel to the orphanage in December, maybe you’ll find some gently used clothes in your kids’ closets to send over with them. Or you’ll go to Michaels and buy a few sets of watercolors and markers. Or you’ll arrange for a Change the Truth presentation at your school, church or synagogue. Or maybe you’ll decide you want to sponsor an orphan so that he or she can attend school. Or maybe you’ll even think about traveling to the orphanage to volunteer there. There are 30 wonderful people who have made that trip already. Seven more volunteers will be going this December. And two very kind souls, both of whom have been there once already, are heading over to the orphanage on Monday! A lot of these folks are here tonight. I hope they know how grateful I am for their generosity, their commitment to improving lives and their unwavering devotion to these special and deserving children.

We also call this a fundraiser, of course. This is our one big chance each year to raise the money it takes to provide school fees, food, clothing, medical care and a full time social worker for the 180 kids living at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage.

Let me tell you just how far we’ve come.

In early 2007, when CTT was granted its status as a 501(c)(3), we were able to pay school fees for five children. There were about twenty people on the mailing list (and that included my father, my two brothers, my sister and three cousins).  I knew very little about the world of non-profits, and, I’ll admit to you now, I absolutely did not know what I was getting into.

Five years later, the Change the Truth office is still at my kitchen counter, and my family members still send money, but oh so much has changed! Our mailing list has grown to over 650 people. We now sponsor 29 students, not only in secondary school, but also in vocational school and at University. Our first professional school graduate, Douglas, is currently the nurse at the orphanage clinic. He attends to burns, broken bones, malaria, coughs and stomachaches. His salary is paid by Change the Truth, and he is currently working on ways to make the clinic self-sustaining by providing medical care for a small charge to the entire community. We’ve set up a fully equipped computer lab. Change the Truth established a textbook library this past year.  There is tutoring available during the school holidays. The children go to school wearing spiffy uniforms and new shoes.  There are rainwater collection tanks on the grounds of the orphanage thanks to Change the Truth. There are sustainable vegetable gardens. There is a marching band now, complete with tubas and saxophones and classy green uniforms. The children are fed three meals a day. They sleep on new sheets and mattresses, under new blankets and mosquito nets. The soccer team no longer has to complete in their bare feet with bare chests – now they have uniforms, shin guards and cleats. Those children who need glasses now wear them. One child who was severely hearing impaired now has hearing aids. Finally, the children can turn to a full time on-the-ground social worker, Melissa Mosher, whenever they need help… whether they need a new bar of soap, a backpack for their books or a shoulder to cry on when their emotions get the best of them.

I’d say that’s a lot of progress in just five years! Thank you for making that possible.

Some people ask me: “Why Africa? There are plenty of children right here in Kansas City who need food, new clothes and money for school. Why direct your attention half way around the world when your own neighbors are in need?” It’s a valid question and one I think about a lot. My trips to Africa have enriched my life in a way I could never have predicted. Each time I share the experience with others, their lives become fuller, too.

All of us who have been to Uganda have a changed perspective on giving, on helping, on hoping. I believe the work we do there has made us more insightful and empathetic. And that allows us to do better work in our own neighborhoods. The richer and broader our life experiences become, the better we can serve others. My fellow team members and I enjoy helping children here AND there. Young people in need – all around the world - belong to the family of humankind. That’s our family – yours and mine. I hope at some point to expand the reach of Change the Truth to include more of these children – children from other countries, including this one. That’s my dream for the future.

Though we have made great strides at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage, we still, of course, have much work to do.  Change the Truth has made a commitment to these kids. Those we currently sponsor are counting on us to see them through their academic careers, and the younger kids coming up are hoping to be included in our scholarship program. The children have come a long way from the bedraggled, underfed, unsure, lonely young people they were just five short years ago. But, as you know, it takes a village to help children like this develop into successful and secure young adults. Please don’t look at this night as an opportunity to pick up a bargain or two. Please do consider this your chance to ensure a healthy and bright future for the kids at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage. If they were here tonight, they’d hug you to pieces for doing so.

Now it’s time to watch Lynne Melcher’s new film! After the movie, we will have a special treat for you. If all goes well with the cyberspace gods ands goddesses, we will have a video Skype chat with Melissa and a few of the children at the orphanage. You will meet the talented Okecha brothers – Oscar, Brian and Willy. Their artwork dominates the collection of drawings and paintings you’ll be bidding on tonight. You’ll meet the star of Lynne’s film – Nicky. And you’ll hear a few words from two precious young girls, Tina and Petra. Remember, it’s 4 in the morning in Uganda, so the kids, while very excited to speak with us, may be a little sleepy.

If the call doesn’t work, no problem--- that just means you’ll have more time to bid!

Have fun, and thank you so, so much for sticking with us these five years and for believing in these awesome children. 


[The video posted here is small for ease of viewing.] 

it's all about the kids

During the yearly cycle of running my non-profit, Change the Truth, there are two days that rise above all the rest: the day my volunteer team leaves for Uganda and the day of our annual friendraiser/fundraiser.

I was awakened way too early this morning when a swarm of bumble bees starting buzzing around and dive bombing in my stomach. Today is the big day: our 5th annual event to raise awareness of and funds for the 180 children who live at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood in Kajjansi Uganda. This day has required a lot of preparation on the part of a lot of people. There have been donations of time, talent, money and products. I am always amazed and humbled by the outpouring of love toward these beautiful, hard working and deserving Ugandan children - children who have lost one or both parents to war or disease. I am so fortunate to be involved in such a love-fest. It restores my faith in humankind.

When it comes right down to it, these important days in the life of Change the Truth are really all about the children - the loving, hopeful, inspiring young people who live at the orphanage. They stole my heart six years ago and never quite remembered to give it back. I dedicate today, all the other important days and even the days when nothing too special happens - to them. 

Here are some portraits I made at the orphanage in 2009.

Caleb

Billy

Claire Faith

Willy

Tony

Godfrey

it takes a few days and a lot of people to make this happen!

CTT is lucky to have so many hard-working and dedicated volunteers. That's been true since the very beginning - in 2007.

Some of the same people continue to dig deep and help. And then there are some new faces among the CTT family of friends. I'd like to thank all of them for what they do to make our annual fundraiser - our biggest and most important event of the year - such a huge success.

The volunteer committee for this year's event includes:

Kathy Tracy
Lynne Melcher
Wynne Winter
Lee Winter
Jennifer Smith
Jeff Mildner
Gail Lozoff
Avis Smith
Hazel Brown
Augi Grassis
Paula Shteamer
Eddie Feinstein
Kim Davis
Mary Yeager
Michael Spillers
EG Schempf
Emily Ramza
Paige Peppitone
Dawn Taylor
Phil Gayter
Emily Biegelsen
Sarah Biegelsen
Isabella Pallotto
Jennifer Schoenwetter
Suzanne Garr
Max Feinstein
Jennifer Heinemann
Elizabeth Gerson
Catherine Fredette
Emily Collins
Jake Bowers

Without these folks, the CTT Friendraiser/Fundraiser would not be the seriously sizzlin' event that has become a fixture on Kansas City's June calendar of events.

Here are a few snaps from today's set-up. It has taken a bunch of people to put this together this week, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Eddie

Jennifer and Jake

Kathy

caterer Linda and gallerist Erin

Then, of course, there are the 23 artists who took the time to adorn a doll. They are just wonderful people, I am running out of ways to say "thank you" to them, especially those who do this year after year.

Lisa Lala stopped by to see the show today and posed with her doll

Hope to see you all tomorrow night! I think you'll really enjoy yourselves.

school sponsorship

Did you know that Change the Truth is now sponsoring a total of 29 students in secondary school, vocational school and in University?

The young people who are chosen to receive our scholarships must maintain a high level of performance, both in and out of the classroom.

And they are grateful beyond words for this opportunity to succeed. They know, better than anyone, that an education is their passport to a better life.

I'd like to introduce you to one of our sponsored students, Caleb.

Tusingwire Caleb

Something About Me:  I am now 14 years old.  I am a full orphan with 2 younger siblings (a brother and a sister) in Primary at St. Mary Kevin’s Primary School.  I attend Senior 2 at Kajjansi Progressive Senior Secondary School.

My Future Aspiration:  To become a doctor.

My Favorite Subjects to study:  Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry… I am proud of my performance and I am ranking within top 10 of my entire class of about 240 students.

Activities I Enjoy Outside of Class:  Football (Soccer), Art

Ways CTT has Helped Me in My Life:  CTT has helped me to know my future, gain talents in art, and assisted me with my academics.

CTT Team Member Who Is Important to Me: Dawn, cause I really liked her sports.  I also thank her for the Wayne Rooney jersey.  I think it made me more talented in football.

Special Message to CTT friends and supporters:  All the CTT team, I really thank you for all of the support you have given to me.  You have helped me a lot, and I am glad of that.  I appreciate all of your love and support.  Thanks.

support our supporters!

Can you identify these super cool places where our event posters are hanging? Definitely some of our favorite KC haunts.

We will have 75 items in our silent auction Friday night! Everything from a fabulously gorgeous amethyst and pearl handcrafted bracelet from Tom Tivol to a certificate for a rescued pup from Wayside Waifs. In between are haircuts, facials, massages, dinners at great KC restaurants, bottles of wine, a camera, a Kindle, pilates classes and an impressive array of original artwork.


Please make a point to support the businesses who are supporting us. These places rock!

Stuff
Tom Tivol Jewlery
Salon Mission
Creative Candles
Hollyday
Crick Camera
Bangs
Brookside Toy and Science
Eden Alley
Café Sebastienne
Chai Shai
Stem Salon
Coterie Theatre
Missouri Repertory Theatre
Carmen’s
Amigoni’s Winery
Pryde’s of Westport
Brookside Optical
Strouds
The Mixx
Shop Girls
Frameworks
Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions
Bijin Salon and Spa
Miriam Garvey
In Clover
Salon Cheveux
Personal Best Pilates Studio 
Bellezza Tan and Salon
The Roasterie
Crestwood Flowers
Black Bamboo
Kwanzaa Martial Arts Academy
Spin!
Extra Virgin
Wayside Waifs
Steven C. Mingos, DDS
The Upper Crust
Carpe Diem Aesthetics
Panera Bread
Kenna Bergman Jewelry
Reading Reptile

welcome FYI readers

I'd like to welcome those of you who have found your way to this blog via the FYI section of today's Kansas City Star. You're here to learn more about the 5th Annual Change the Truth Friendraiser/Fundraiser, and you've come to the right place!

The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

It will take place from 7 - 10 PM Friday, June 29th at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore.

7:00 - Shane Evans will take the stage along with singers from the KC Boys and Girls Choirs

7:30 - short documentary film by Lynne Melcher about Change the Truth and its current work at an orphanage in Uganda

8:00 - The BCR Allstar Band takes the stage

Throughout the evening there will be silent auctions for: 

Unique and fabulous banana fiber dolls made by the children at the orphanage and adorned by area artists, including Jason Pollen, Miki Baird, Archie Scott Gobber, Marie Mason, Marcus Cain, Nedra Bonds, Allan Winkler, Anne Austin Pearce, Susan White, Joe Lorusso, Lisa Lala/Wil Lala and Tom Corbin.

Beautiful framed drawings and paintings by the children who live at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage in the east African country of Uganda. These children have lost one or both parents to war or disease. There are 180 children who live at the orphanage; for the past five years, they have depended on Change the Truth to provide them with financial assistance for food, school fees, medical care and various special projects. The sale of their own artwork empowers these talented, deserving children by giving them the profound opportunity to bring in some of that support themselves.

Items that have been donated by caring KC businesses and artists, including gift cards to many fine restaurants, gift certificates for hair and spa treatments, tickets for the Chiefs and Sporting KC, gorgeous jewelry, a winery tour and tasting, original artwork and even teeth whitening and karate lessons!

There will be a raffle for an Apple iPad. Tickets are $10... 3 for $25.

Munchies, a cash bar and valet parking round out the rest of the evening.

Now that you've (hopefully) cleared your calendar for Friday night, please take a few minutes to view some of the dolls and children's artwork on the preceding posts. To see the entire collection of dolls, simply click here.

To read all about Change the Truth, click here.

It's a fun event. Great art, great music, great people, great cause! Hope to see you Friday night!!

oliva

Auma Oliva

Something About Me:   I am 12 years old.  I am a half orphan.  My older brother (David) and younger sister (Beatrice) are also featured artists.  I have 2 younger brothers at SMKOM with me, too.  I attend Primary 5 at St. Mary Kevin’s Primary School.

My Future Aspiration:   To become an accountant.

My Favorite Subjects to Study:   English

Activities I Enjoy Outside of Class:   Reading books

Best thing about CTT visiting us at SMKOM:   They help us by bringing good friends and things to do during the holiday.

One of My Best CTT Friends:  Avis, cause she is kind to me and my family.  We do nice things with her, and she makes us to be happy.

Special Message to You Seeing My Painting:    Hello. I thank you for helping us.  You make us happy every day, every time.  Thank you for being a friend to us.  God bless you!

willy

Okecha Willy

Something About Me:   I am 19 years old.  My younger brothers (Oscar and Brian) are also featured artists.  I also have 2 other brothers (1 younger, 1 older) with me at St. Mary Kevin, too.  I am a CTT sponsored student attending Senior 3 at Kajjansi Progressive Senior Secondary School.

My Future Aspiration:   To become a computer engineer or artist/painter.

My Favorite Subjects to Study:   Computer, Physics, Mathematics, and Fine Art

Activities I Enjoy Outside of Class:   Painting on students’ clothes and assisting my friends with computer software and applications.

Best thing about CTT visiting us at SMKOM:   CTT has come to build our nation through putting in much effort and funds for the Ugandan child so that he/she acquires education and other development opportunities and skills for a brighter future.  They show us great love when they are here at SMKOM.

One of My Best CTT Friends:  Sarah and her mother Linda.  They brought band instruments to SMKOM which is another opportunity for us to develop our musical talents.  The sounds of music are always heard now. 

Special Message to You Seeing My Painting:    Thank you for putting a brick in Uganda’s foundation.  Thank you for appreciating my artwork, and may God bless you.  Thanks a lot.

nicky

Opio Nicholas

Something About Me:   I am 16 years old.  I am a full orphan.  My younger sisters (Isabella and Petra) are also featured artists.  I have 1 younger brother with me at St. Mary Kevin, too.  I am a CTT sponsored student attending Senior 3 at Kajjansi Progressive Senior Secondary School

My Future Aspiration:   To become an artist, musician, activist, and book illustrator.

My Favorite Subjects to Study:   Fine Art, Music, French, Literature

Activities I Enjoy Outside of Class:   Creating art, writing music, and singing

Best thing about CTT visiting us at SMKOM:   They bring us so much, like friends, art supplies, holiday gifts, opportunity for us to perform, fun times away from our school.  We look forward to their arrival every year. 

One of My Best CTT Friends:  Lonnie and Jane, cause they were our first art teachers.  They taught us their skills and inspired other artists to come visit us, too.

Special Message to You Seeing My Painting:    Every painting is special to me and comes from some place in my mind.  Thank you for appreciating my efforts, and I hope you enjoy the finished product.  

petra

Now it's time to feature some of the young artists from St. Mary Kevin Orphanage - those whose work will be included in the exhibition/auction this coming Friday night at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center.

Abalo Petra

Something About Me:   I am 9 years old.  I am a full orphan.  My older brother (Nicky) and older sister (Isabella) are also featured artists.  I have 1 younger brother with me at St. Mary Kevin, too.  I attend Primary 4 at St. Mary Kevin’s Primary School.

My Future Aspiration:   To become an artist.

My Favorite Subjects to Study:   English

Activities I Enjoy Outside of Class:   Singing, Dancing, and Playing

Best thing about CTT visiting us at SMKOM:   We always do fun things when they are here with us.

One of My Best CTT Friends:  Christy, cause she sang songs and played games with us. She was always happy to be with us.

Special Message to You Seeing My Painting:    Thank you for liking my picture, and I will love that you saw my picture.  

[Thanks to Melissa for interviewing the artists!]

gail spahr and tom corbin

"I was born in Chicago and moved to the Kansas City area when I was four years old.  Some of my earliest memories are always of drawing and coloring on whatever I could find. Most times my abstract art was not always appreciated probably because of the chosen surfaces. I always knew I wanted to be an artist."

Gail worked for Hallmark for twenty-seven years and is now retired, focusing on her own art. She has recently starting combining painting and collage in various assemblages. This is the first year she has taken part in the doll project.

Tom Corbin’s introduction and subsequent career in sculpture has been based more on serendipity than calculation. Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1954, Tom’s early fascination in art was inspired by his mother, an art teacher by trade. Despite studying painting and drawing at Miami University, Tom’s original career pursuit was Business as an advertising executive. Tom’s first brush with the third dimension came in a chance meeting with a bronze sculptor in 1982. Classes with this sculptor led to a deepened interest in bronze casting and thoughts of a career in art. In 1986, Tom left the secure confines of his advertising agency job for the unpredictability of life as a full time sculptor.

Tom landed his first major public commission in 1988. Additional commissions followed, along with the financial freedom for Tom to develop his own “speculative” sculpture. During this period, Tom was also experimenting with furniture design, an area that would soon play a major role in the growth of his studio operation.

Today, Tom’s work appears in 22 showrooms and galleries internationally. Individual collectors include Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Danielle Steel and the late Frank Sinatra. Public installation sites include the United Nations, The Kauffman Foundation, the Firefighter’s Memorial, the Children’s Fountain, University of Oregon and Florida State University. In addition to important public and private collections, his work has found its way onto the sets of some major motion pictures, among them True Lies, A Perfect Murder, It’s Complicated and Transformers.