Catherine’s Cancer Treatment Update

/in , /by

Friends have made the difference between life and death.

Hi, there, friends of AfA!

It has been 14 months since my diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer and it’s been a freaky, frightening, enlightening journey.

For those of you who want the short and sweet (and it is sweet):

Many of the initial test findings were incorrect (stage 2, HER2-negative, misplaced markers and an erroneous treatment plan), and over the course of several months, I was given numerous bad news bulletins from my incredible oncologist at CU Health: Turns out I was not stage 2 but stage 3, possibly stage 4 (turned out to be stage 3… phew!); I did, in fact, need four months of chemotherapy, plus surgery, plus six weeks of daily radiation; on top of that I tested as HER2-positive, not negative, which meant another year of infusions (currently in my 5th month!) and a lifetime supply of anti-cancer meds.

BOTTOM LINE: I am alive and cancer free!!

With the help of some awesome people (see the annual holiday letter for several of those names, but there were many, many more), I have continued to work throughout it all and managed to weather the resultant storms. It certainly has been quite a bit of work—fighting for my life and fighting to ensure the agency fulfills its mission takes some effort. Although AfA didn’t do as well as we could have financially, it also could have been a helluva lot worse if it weren’t for the people surrounding me with love and capably holding the agency.

Funders have been forgiving and helpful; donors have been loyal; the new staff members believe in our mission and walk the talk of kindness and compassion; facilitators faithfully serve the youth; board members and other volunteers have played a significant role in our success; the young people keep coming through the doors; and the stats remain impressive. Not only that, but we were just notified that we have won the 2018 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts! Pretty cool accomplishment after a pretty rough year.

For those of you who wish to know a few of our other accomplishments in 2018, please read our annual holiday letter, which gives a quick rundown of what we’ve been doing. In February when all the data is in, we’ll publish our annual report with more detailed information.

Thank you so much for your support of our agency, which helps me continue to fight for myself. I couldn’t do it without all the love I’ve received.

If you’d like to give a year-end gift, please do through ColoradoGives or Paypal Giving Fund ❤️

Here’s something I wrote for my friends recently when the struggle was seemingly ongoing:

A little more than a year ago I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I’ve been wondering for the past several weeks what I wanted to say about that. Something to mark the anniversary of the day I realized I may not live the future I had imagined for myself—or may not have a future at all. I can’t settle on anything in particular other than to be grateful for all the love and support I’ve received in the past year and oddly to be grateful for those who couldn’t provide anything. Because I’ve learned a lot about relationships during this time. As someone who believes that relationships are the entire reason we’re on the planet, this has been quite the spiritual education.

So here’s what I am grateful for:

All the people who jumped in and did what they could to help me stay afloat while I was reeling from the news. 

All the people who came alongside me while I suffered through one painful treatment after another. 

All the people who sacrificed their time and their money to keep me alive (quite literally…staying alive is expensive). 

All the people who popped in and out with a word or a meal or a present or poem or gift of service. 

All those who left. And who were unkind. Because now I know. 

All those who did the REALLY difficult work of being with me when my mind was in despair. Because hanging out with someone who is angry or depressed or discouraged is usually harder than hanging out with someone who is physically ill. And I have been both at the same time. 

All those who helped keep Art from Ashes going when I wasn’t able to give as much as was needed.

All those who forgive me. 

And those who are still here. Who haven’t given up. Who continue to show up. Who realize my journey isn’t over and have not grown tired of being with me. You have taught me the most about how to be like Jesus in the world. Because I usually forget to do that myself, and it’s so much easier to see when you are the one in need.

By summer of 2019 I should be done with my treatment and my oncologist says I will have my energy back. I will always have pain and some difficult effects from the fight for my life, but he says he is pretty sure I’ll be cured at the end of all this. While nothing is certain, I can’t express enough how blessed I am for the role my friends—and the occasional stranger—have played in this life and death drama I found myself starring in. 

I will continue to fight. And I will continue to laugh. And I absolutely will continue to be a pain in the ass and do many things badly and do a few things right.

young man reading his poetry

CBS Denver Features Art from Ashes

/in , /by

Art from Ashes youth and executive director were featured on CBS4’s This Morning Show on March 26, 2018

Read more

Big Thanks to SmallCubed!

/in /by

 

Many thanks to SmallCubed who recently donated three licenses to Art from Ashes so that our staff could benefit from their suite of email plugins! We appreciate you!

2017 Holiday Letter

/in /by

Thank you for taking the time to read the news of AfA! This holiday season, we hope you will be blessed with love, health and hope.

Hopefully you can join us for the holiday party on the 5th (invitation below)!

Meanwhile, here’s what we have to share during this wonderful season of lights:

2017-Annual Request Letter or read text below:

Happy Holidays!

At Art from Ashes we believe in the power of gratitude and find small ways to practice it daily. Everyone who enters our office is invited to name their blessings on a white board that hangs prominently in our workspace. To end everystaff meeting, we all participate in a gratitude circle, sharing why we are grateful for each person at the table, including what we appreciate ourselves. We do this because taking a moment out of our day to appreciate the beauty and magic of our lives  rejuvenates our souls and gives us strength.

According to Dr. Robert Holden, “The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see.” Sound familiar? In our creative empowerment workshops, young people learn they have the power to shift their perception of themselves and their world through creative expression—and it changes their lives forever. As 2017 comes to a close, we would like to share just a few of our many bright spots with you. Here’s what we’re celebrating this year:

  • We’re growing! In 2017 we welcomed four new board members, expanded our staff to include a Community Collaborator and received funding for a Resource Development Coordinator, trained seven new youth workshop facilitators, and according to October statistics, we have already surpassed the number of youth served in 2016.
  • We added a second free drop-in workshop called Creative Time to our Wednesday line-up! From 2:30-4 pm, youth can hang out in our space and express themselves through visual art before the 4:30-6:30 pm Phoenix Rising workshop, due to community funding, including grants, individual and corporate support (please see our website for a list of funders!).
  • For the fourth time, Phoenix Rising has been named one of the top 50 arts and humanities-based programs in the country by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

These accomplishments wouldn’t be possible without donations from those who care about youth and the arts. All of us at Art from Ashes are grateful to YOU for your continued support of our creative empowerment programming. Your funding helps youth express their stories through art and poetry; connect with themselves, each other and their community; and transform their perceptions of themselves into valuable and powerful creative geniuses.

We hope you are grateful for the work we are doing on behalf of the youth and the community, and invite you to generously “give where you live” on Colorado Gives Day. Art from Ashes, as always, exists to serve by empowering youth and in so doing, supporting us all as a community. Please donate for Colorado Gives Day before Dec 5th at midnight.

With gratitude,

Catherine O’Neill Thorn, Executive Director

COGivesDay 2017

/in /by

Colorado Gives Day is December 5th this year, and your donation carries even more weight because of a FirstBank incentive fund. We would love you to consider Art from Ashes youth as the beneficiaries of your generosity.

We’re also having a party at Art from Ashes between 6.30 and 9 pm that evening to celebrate our donors and youth and staff and board and volunteers and… well, everyone who has made AfA possible for the past 14 years!

And if you would rather give early, you can do that, too, by selecting the CO GIVES DAY button when donating.

We could really use the support this year in particular. Please help out with however much you are able! http://bit.ly/afacogivesday

AND as usual, we’re having out annual AfA Holiday Party to celebrate Colorado Gives Day! This year it’s at our new location on 10th and Navajo between the hours of 6.30 and 9 pm.

You will be inspired by brilliant Phoenix Rising youth and local poets; music by Joshua Abeyta; & instant poem gifts typed on the spot by Poet Jen Harris. You can enjoy delicious complimentary appetizers and alcoholic (with ID) and non-alcoholic beverages.

Proceeds from the event will be used to support Art from Ashes creative empowerment programs for youth.

We look forward to seeing you and your friends on Tuesday, Dec 5 from 6.30 to 9 pm @ the Art from Ashes home base, 1310 West 10th Ave, Denver.

If you can’t make it to the party, but wish to make a Colorado Gives Day contribution to Art from Ashes, you can do so by scheduling your donation anytime before midnight on Dec. 5th!
Click here —-> http://bit.ly/donateafa

Why Am I Here-Tylan

/in , , /by

The thing I don’t know
Is one thing

Read more

Cancer cannot stop spring from coming!

/in , /by

October 16, 2017

Hello, friends, funders and partners!

We have some important news to share and ask that you read the entire letter from the team at AfA. 

Since 2003, Catherine O’Neill Thorn has worked tirelessly to serve, nurture and grow Art from Ashes (AfA) into the amazing organization it is today. As you no doubt know, AfA provides creative youth empowerment workshops that allow marginalized young people to express their creative genius through poetry and spoken word (Phoenix Rising); visual and tactile art (Drawing on Air); and drama and creative play (Casting Shadows), in a non-judgmental space with caring adults and community artists.

Starting a nonprofit, seeking funding, creating a community of support, and developing systems and policies hasn’t always been easy, but if you know Catherine at all, you know that she is a tenacious, hardworking Executive Director who does not back down from a challenge.

One of her key goals has been to develop a strong and experienced staff and Board of Directors—to ensure AfA did not remain a one-person show, but would become a properly staffed organization to ensure it is flexible, adaptive and focused on the mission. We are pleased to tell you that as we celebrate our 14th anniversary, AfA has a seasoned and qualified team of four full-time (including Catherine) and one part-time staff members, a dedicated Board of broad experience and background, and a robust team of volunteers. AfA has never been better positioned to advance its mission!

This achievement takes on a new urgency in light of a personal challenge that Catherine is facing in the form of a diagnosis of breast cancer. This is tough news to share with the AfA community—Catherine has always been there for all of us, now we intend to be there for her. She has developed a comprehensive treatment plan with her doctors and caregivers that will keep her busy into early 2018.

During the healing process, Catherine will stay involved with AfA, but obviously cancer treatment is a serious matter, and, in the near term, will impact her day-to-day role with AfA. With that in mind, the AfA Board and Executive Team have put together a plan to keep the organization running smoothly until Catherine is once again operating at 100%.

The AfA team brings a diversity of professional expertise and talent to every challenge we encounter and is working diligently to ensure seamless stewardship of Catherine’s executive responsibilities. We have numerous grants in queue, three special events planned by year’s end, and we are training a new generation workshop facilitators. By the end of 2017, our facilitators will have completed 50 additional youth empowerment workshops. We project that we will have served more than 640 youth this year based on current numbers for a total of 3,300 youth contacts. These numbers represent significant increases from last year.

We also welcome two new board members who will be active in the next month: Richard Russeth is an attorney, photographer and poet; and Lorietta Nelson is a sculptor and database architect, with additional experience in arts events management. Both have been avid supporters of AfA for more than a decade.

Finally, Neruda once wrote: “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”  Cancer may be busy cutting flowers, but we know it will not stop Catherine! 

Just as we are supporting Catherine, we trust in your continued support of AfA during this time. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us!

Thank you,

Lewis Lease, Board President, Art from Ashes Inc.

I give what I can to Art from Ashes because it brings me joy to know there are people who want to hear the voices of the youth; that a space exists where young people can speak their hearts and minds in safety and mutual acceptance; and that creative expression is something we value for the youth, because here we understand that art saves lives.

—Lewis Lease, Board President

My “why” is the youth; both participants and staff.  I value working and supporting a vibrant and committed staff to support the program.

—Cindy Grove, Board Vice President and Treasurer

I came to Art from Ashes to discover my own creative genius and to serve youth in the process. As a volunteer, and now board member, I’ve gained so much personal insight, creative empowerment, and amazing friendships along the way. I love seeing young people express themselves through poetry, connect with each other and audiences in the community, and transform their personal stories. It gives me great hope for the future.

—Jessica Jarrard, Board Secretary

I wholeheartedly support the creative programs that Art from Ashes provides. Through artistic expression, youth discover the power and beauty in themselves and in each other. In a trauma-filled world that can often feel hopeless, AfA programs promote strength and resilience by encouraging young people to tap into their innate creative genius and rise above. The world needs more art, more love, and more Art from Ashes.

—Courtney Chandler, Board Member

I am someone who values human connection and understanding and have dedicated my life to bridging gaps between people. Art has a unique ability to allow us to comprehend different levels of “knowing” each other. This transformative work has implications on healing, connection, communication, improved access to self love, inner power and breaking down all of the –isms we challenge in our society.

—Tiffany Bowden, Board Member

Poetry saved my life as a teenager, I had a teacher who listened to all my poetry. Art from Ashes is a resource I never had, wish I would have and believe every struggling young person should have!  That’s why I want to support AfA.

—Richard Russeth, Board Member

Art from Ashes brought writing and performing back into my life. When I became a guest artist, it filled a hole in my life I never even knew was there. As a facilitator, I create a space for youth to also experience self expression in a way that is often taken from us as we go through life. AfA stands behind its mission to empowering struggling youth; as an organization we don’t just talk about it, we implement it. From the volunteers, to the staff, to the Board; everyone plays a role in the youth voices being heard.

—Irina Bogomolova, youth workshop facilitation and staff responsible for Volunteer Coordination

Open a pdf of the note from Catherine O’Neill Thorn, Executive Director

or read the text-only version below:

Over the years, I have worked diligently and passionately to create an agency that can stand strong in the community—always with a view to  sustainability. Starting with volunteers and gradually adding a small part-time staff, we set the intention to hire and train a dedicated staff willing to work alongside me and even beyond me. After 15 years, I am honored to have that team in place. In addition, our board of directors has proven their dedication on a purely volunteer basis, donating money and working well beyond their monthly commitment to ensure we continue to serve the youth we love and support the communities in which we live.

I know that my journey toward health and wholeness is strengthened because of these good people—and because of you. 

None of this could have been possible without the involvement of the wider community of volunteers, supporters, and creative geniuses. We measure that success in the number of youth served—their transformation undeniable as they discover the power of their creativity. It also is measured in our many awards and national recognition. Ultimately, the success of the work we do is no longer dependent on my full-time presence, which is why I know Art from Ashes will continue to thrive over the next four to six months. 

Although I will still be available during my time of healing, the dream has been realized in that the community supports the agency that supports the community. That is every founder’s dream.

Please know that your generosity this giving season, as always, furthers our mission. I would ask that your gift be so joyfully and freely given, that AfA’s wonderful staff can focus not only on their (significant amount of) work but for a time, also on some of mine. Please support them as much as you are able.

While I may not be able to respond to messages directly, know that I appreciate and would ask for your prayers and good thoughts.

I hope to see you soon!

Wednesday Youth Creative Time

/in /by

Art from Ashes has the pleasure of working with young people across the Denver Metro area, providing creative youth empowerment programs on site at our location in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, right off the 10th and Osage Light Rail.

Do you need a safe, nonjudgmental place to be creative? Do you like poetry and art? Enjoy spoken word? Might want to be rapper? Just like to write or draw or paint? Know a young person who does? 

Every Wednesday our doors are open to young people age 12 to 24 for Creative Time from 2.30 to 4.30 pm followed by Phoenix Rising poetry and spoken word workshops. IT’S ALL FREE TO YOUTH, including writing and art materials, food, beverages, guest poets and artist performances, and pizza!

The Wednesday drop-in schedule is as follows:
2:30 PM: Art activities, comfy couches, snacks and beverages
4:00 PM: Clean up
4:30 PM: Pizza
4:45 PM: Youth empowerment workshop with guest artist
6:30 PM: Wrap up

Check out our YouTube channel to hear some creative genius from previous Wednesday night drop-ins. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeCnnxqppfysb6F4cyWNAQ.

 

Creative Mornings

/in , /by

Our founding director, Catherine O’Neill Thorn, was recently featured as the keynote speaker for Creative Mornings-Denver! Creative Mornings is a breakfast lecture series for the creative community that has chapters all over the world, and Catherine was chosen to speak on Genius… kind of our wheelhouse. The video includes two youth poets and a writing prompt you can try!

“Art from Ashes Executive Director and Poet Catherine O’Neill Thorn talks about how her organization helps young people who have experienced pain recover by finding their creative genius through poetry.

“At Art from Ashes, Catherine O’Neill Thorn and her team believe that each person is born a creative genius. Yet young people who have experienced abuse, poverty, racism and other forms of trauma struggle with self-worth and hopelessness because of their negative experiences. Come to hear from some of the artists who’ve gone through her program and learn how AfA’s team facilitate the awareness of an identity based on creative power, and from the ashes of despair, like a phoenix, youth learn to speak transformation into their lives through poetry and art.”

See all photos here