Tuesday, July 21, 2009
July Update
Today, we launched our Poetry Street/RNA Web site. It is a simple, yet informative site about the Poetry Street Project,Royal Neighbors of America Chapter 20039 and all its current efforts and projects. You can visit that site at http://poetrystreet.viviti.com.
We have set it up with donation buttons from PayPal and links to this blog, the Unity Fest, etc.
The issue is nearly ready to go to press. We have one more illustration to add and we are waiting for the proofreading feedback from Mary Ellen (Kibling) and Kate (King). I have requested the printer's quote and am currently making arrangements to host a launch party for the contributors and supporters at the Midwest Writing Center sometime in September, before the public launch at the Unity Fest on September 26.
We will have a booth there again this year--to learn more about attending or participating, visit http://www.qcunited.org.
We are always looking for new members to join our Royal Neighbors chapter, and we always accept donations to help support our work
One of the new things for the Poetry Street Project is supplying under-privileged artists and writers with needed supplies such as paper, pencils, erasers. We hope to eventually expand that to include laptops, printers, ink, paints, brushes, memberships in the Quad City Arts or the Midwest Writing Center, or tuition for classes in the creative arts. Help us grow by making a donation today! (And thanks in advance for your kind generosity.)
Also, click on the ads on the left--each click helps us raise money!
We have set it up with donation buttons from PayPal and links to this blog, the Unity Fest, etc.
The issue is nearly ready to go to press. We have one more illustration to add and we are waiting for the proofreading feedback from Mary Ellen (Kibling) and Kate (King). I have requested the printer's quote and am currently making arrangements to host a launch party for the contributors and supporters at the Midwest Writing Center sometime in September, before the public launch at the Unity Fest on September 26.
We will have a booth there again this year--to learn more about attending or participating, visit http://www.qcunited.org.
We are always looking for new members to join our Royal Neighbors chapter, and we always accept donations to help support our work
One of the new things for the Poetry Street Project is supplying under-privileged artists and writers with needed supplies such as paper, pencils, erasers. We hope to eventually expand that to include laptops, printers, ink, paints, brushes, memberships in the Quad City Arts or the Midwest Writing Center, or tuition for classes in the creative arts. Help us grow by making a donation today! (And thanks in advance for your kind generosity.)
Also, click on the ads on the left--each click helps us raise money!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Second Issue in Works
Now that I am home again full-time, I can turn my energy toward producing the second issue of the Poetry Street Project. My time spent at the Humility of Mary Shelter yielded a number of lovely submissions. Our Royal Neighbors Chapter (20039)recently completed a fund-raiser selling flower bulbs and we hope to go to press sometime in June.
We did not get the grant from the Iowa Arts Council, but did receive some encouraging words and an opportunity to improve our application and try again when funds are available. Maybe next time, eh?
We are still accepting illustrations, sketches and photographs. These can be turned in at the Davenport Public Library, the Midwest Writing Center or the Humility of Mary Shelter, or sent to me via email at cattfoy@earthlink.net.
We welcome any donations to help cover printing and production costs!
We did not get the grant from the Iowa Arts Council, but did receive some encouraging words and an opportunity to improve our application and try again when funds are available. Maybe next time, eh?
We are still accepting illustrations, sketches and photographs. These can be turned in at the Davenport Public Library, the Midwest Writing Center or the Humility of Mary Shelter, or sent to me via email at cattfoy@earthlink.net.
We welcome any donations to help cover printing and production costs!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Poetry Street Issue #2 and Update
Today I officially launched the beginning of the second issue of the Poetry Street Project. The mark the occasion, I applied for an artist's mini-grant from the Iowa Arts Council.
Other things have changed in both my life and our community since the last blog entry. In October I went to Montana to visit my best friend, Robin. I flew into Idaho Falls, ID, where she picked me up. Within an hour, we were driving north in a great western Rocky Mountain blizzard, when I received a phone call from Kate King, the former director of the Midwest Writing Center. It seems she had taken a new job as the property manager of the Humility of Mary Shelter and wanted me to bring in my resume for a position there.
After the news that the John Lewis homeless shelter was going to close, the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, who currently ran a housing program for homeless single parents, had stepped forward and offered to take over the shelter so there would be no loss of services for the homeless community. The citizens of Davenport also stepped forward, with many area businesses pledging support for the Humility of Mary Shelter, Inc., as it is now known.
Needless to say, I could not bring my resume right in for a job interview, being stuck in an Idaho/Montana blizzard, but I had my husband email it for me, and was called to interview when I returned from vacation.
Shortly before Halloween, I was hired as a service coordinator, providing information and support to shelter guests to help them put their lives back together. I am probably the one service coordinator there without an MSW, but I believe my experiences with homelessness, poverty, and the government programs designed to alleviate that may have helped. At any rate, the learning curve was pretty steep--the shelter was being completely revamped by HMSI, including all the required paperwork, and it took me awhile to catch on to the administrative details. But it is one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had and there is never a dull moment in shelter!
So, the homeless in Davenport retained a place to go in the cold and snowy winters and the hot and humid summers, and I am proud to be a part of a community that cares. Look for our next Poetry Street Project issue sometime in April!
Other things have changed in both my life and our community since the last blog entry. In October I went to Montana to visit my best friend, Robin. I flew into Idaho Falls, ID, where she picked me up. Within an hour, we were driving north in a great western Rocky Mountain blizzard, when I received a phone call from Kate King, the former director of the Midwest Writing Center. It seems she had taken a new job as the property manager of the Humility of Mary Shelter and wanted me to bring in my resume for a position there.
After the news that the John Lewis homeless shelter was going to close, the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, who currently ran a housing program for homeless single parents, had stepped forward and offered to take over the shelter so there would be no loss of services for the homeless community. The citizens of Davenport also stepped forward, with many area businesses pledging support for the Humility of Mary Shelter, Inc., as it is now known.
Needless to say, I could not bring my resume right in for a job interview, being stuck in an Idaho/Montana blizzard, but I had my husband email it for me, and was called to interview when I returned from vacation.
Shortly before Halloween, I was hired as a service coordinator, providing information and support to shelter guests to help them put their lives back together. I am probably the one service coordinator there without an MSW, but I believe my experiences with homelessness, poverty, and the government programs designed to alleviate that may have helped. At any rate, the learning curve was pretty steep--the shelter was being completely revamped by HMSI, including all the required paperwork, and it took me awhile to catch on to the administrative details. But it is one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had and there is never a dull moment in shelter!
So, the homeless in Davenport retained a place to go in the cold and snowy winters and the hot and humid summers, and I am proud to be a part of a community that cares. Look for our next Poetry Street Project issue sometime in April!
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