Art from Ashes Annual Letter
Mid-November every year we mail out our annual letter, which contains an appeal, and also youth poems, testimonials and inspirational stories. Because we’re environmentalists, the only mailing we send are the annual letter and our thank you notes. If you’d like to be included, please fill out your address below, and many blessings for all the ways you celebrate the light of the holiday season.
Celebrating 19 years of Hope and Magic
One of the phrases we most often hear from adult stakeholders is “I wish Art from Ashes was around when I was growing up.”
We all remember those times as adolescents and young adults when we were achingly lonely, often misunderstood, silenced in one way or another, lost in the wake of emotional or mental turmoil—some of us lived in those places and carry the pain with us still. When you add the additional impact of poverty, racism, and abuse that many of our youth face, our purpose becomes clear:
To ensure young people are heard and empowered to share their creative genius, and to help them recognize how profoundly valuable they are both in themselves and to their communities.
The direct impact of our work can be measured in our amazing stats, witnessed when the youth share their creativity which we share with you, and experienced at public performances where young people reveal their courage and vulnerability through poems written in only 3 minutes. This is WHAT we do.
We train volunteers and facilitators to deliver our life-changing curriculum, meet with partners in the community to identify needs and build coalitions of support, provide a brave and sacred space for young people to share their stories, find their genius, and imagine new paths forward, all using poetry and art. That’s HOW we do it.
The WHY is truly magic.Why does AfA exist? Because we don’t want young people struggling with dangerous and discouraging circumstances to believe they are alone, misunderstood, silenced, or lost. We want them to know without a doubt that they are the authors of their stories, the heroes of their lives, the creators of their dreams, the keepers of their hopes. We want them to know that they, in fact, are the WHY.
Youth are struggling today in ways we could never have imagined even five years ago, let alone 20. The dangers that have always existed are now exacerbated by what’s happening on local and global levels. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 44% of American teens report they feel “persistently sad or hopeless.” Teen suicide and drug overdoses are on the rise, and gun violence is currently the leading cause of death for Denver youth.
While it might seem clear what the word “struggling” means in our mission statement, to us it points toward hope. Despair gives up, hope reaches for the light. And that’s what young people in our program are doing.
Their struggle toward the light is brave, their willingness to become vulnerable through their poetry is brave, taking the opportunity to share with their community is brave. Will you give what you can to support their courage?
Your gifts matter. Your generosity empowers youth to connect to their voice and transform their story. Let’s make sure our youth know they are not alone in their struggle. Please donate now.
May this season of light find you at peace within yourself and may any struggles you are experiencing draw you toward the light of hope.
Art from Ashes staff, facilitators, board members, and volunteers
PS. You can put your gift to work immediately here at ArtfromAshes.org/donate or through the Colorado Gives Day portal: bit.ly/AfA-cogivesday. If you have a Paypal account, they do not charge any fees at all: Donate with PayPal Giving Fund
Please click here for the youth letter by Willow, they/them, 17
“Art from Ashes fell into my lap unexpectedly last spring and I will be eternally grateful that it did. Through my work with the agency, I have found not only community, but friendships, many laughs, and most importantly, a second family.”
