By Britney Tabor / Staff Writer
Denton Record-Chronicle
March 12, 2010

Ryan Elementary School pupils proud to help victims by adding artistic touch to crutches.

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Story by Ella Snodgrass, teacher at Lorena Elemetary School, Lorena, Texas

Since the devastating news of the earthquake in Haiti has reached worldwide attention, the students in my 3rd grade class at Lorena Elementary School have been stunned and sobered, mostly because of the their recent study of the country of Haiti and  our participation in the Global Art Initiative’s “Crutches & Colors” curriculum that was field tested in December.

Because the students have a heightened awareness of the plight of the disabled and feel connected to the artists through the amazing website and the information it provides on various artists, students want to know if disabled artists such as Jo-Jo are still alive.  A picture of him is displayed front and center, keeping him and others foremost in the minds of the children.

What I have experienced is a softening of hearts to those burdened by life’s difficulties and the role we can play in lifting those burdens.

Lorena Elementary School has started a campaign for monetary donations to be directly used for those impacted by the recent earthquake.  We also will be collecting aluminum crutches with hopes of helping the Global Art Initiative reach it’s goal of collecting 1,000 crutches by March.

Dr. Fred Sorrells, President and International Coordinator of the Global Art Initiative, participated in the 3rd Annual Special Arts Festival in Garland, Texas on January 16, 2010.

Dr. Sorrells provided crutches and coordinated crutch painting for about twenty children and adults, and he showed new paintings by disabled Haitian artists Herold Alvares and John Paul Joseph. Remarkably, these paintings were received at The Global Art Initiative Gallery on the same day the earthquake struck Haiti. We still have not been able to contact the St. Vincent School for the Disabled in Port-au-Prince to find out if the artists are alive.

We are still needing funds to send Dr. Sorrells to Haiti with crutches, medical supplies and toiletries. Please donate using the Make a Donation button on the left column.

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Day 1 of the Crutches & Colors curriculum developed by Adaptive Art Instructor Theresa Mosely was given by Ella Snodgrass to her class of 19 third-graders at Lorena Elementary School in December, 2009. Ella adapted the curriculum to fit with her week-long "Christmas Around the World" lessons with a focus on Haiti.

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The Global Art Initiative and Lynette Morrison from Kuper Sotheby's International Realty hosted "Winter Solstice Morning - An Open House to Bring Hope to Handicapped Artists" on December 21, 2009, at The Global Art Initiative Gallery. The open house provided us with an opportunity to share some of the stories leading up to the founding of the Global Art initiative, to report on some of our successes and to present the urgent needs.

Click here for a story and photos about the event.

The Global Art Initiative is featured in the Dec/Jan/Feb 2010 issue of While U Wait magazine in Tyler, Texas. The article by Dr. Fred Sorrells is featured in the Inspirations section of the magazine, and it describes the utterly astounding nature of events that have taken place since the organization's founding.

Click here to view the magazine in Acrobat. (Note: Recommended for high-speed internet users only.) The magazine will open in a new window directly to the article, but we invite you to look at the entire magazine. The While U Wait brand is trademarked and not available for use without the express permission of Jan Distribution, LLC, and all articles are not available for legal reprint without the express permission of Jan Distribution, LLC.

The Global Art Initiative is proud to introduce a new student curriculum entitled Crutches & Colors. This 5-day educational program was designed by Adaptive Art Instructor Theresa Mosely. The purpose of the curriculum is to help make young people aware that people with physical disabilities have talents and dreams like themselves and are no less valuable to society than they are.

Click here for the entire article.

In November, 2009, Dr. Fred Sorrells, President and International Coordinator of the Global Art Initiative, delivered a shipment of crutches for distribution among physically challenged people of Haiti. There he also met with disabled artists Eder Romeus, Herold Alvares and John Paul Joseph, and with disabled athletes who are hoping to quality to represent their country in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Click here for the 3-part story.

The Global Art Initiative participated in the Mosaic Multicultural Festival of Art, Dance and Music in Garland, TX, on October 3, 2009. We were invited by the Mosaic Chairperson, Martha Melaku. Martha provided us with a generous amount of space to exhibit art and to facilitate crutch painting by children.

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Polio News, a quarterly newsletter for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by the World Health Organization in association with Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and United Nations Children's Fund, highlighted the Global Art Initiative's Global Crutch Project on page 8.

Polio News 2nd & 3rd Quarter 2009 Edition

 

Dozens of children eager to help polio victims completed sixty painted crutches at the Kids Day Out in Burnet, Texas on Saturday, September 26, 2009.  These artistic crutches will be given to polio victims in the emerging world in need of mobility. Some children worked to complete a crutch by themselves, others teamed up to create the priceless work.  Parents and Grandparents joined in to add their creativity as well.

Children who have never known polio began to understand about the horrible disease and what it means to be eradicated.

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Cindi Featherston Shields and The Stretford at The Cascades hosted Art Under the Stars featuring art created by disabled artists represented by the Global Art Initiative on September 19, 2009. The art was installed in the lobby, lounge, dining room and in a luxury condo on the 11th floor of The Stretford.

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By Sara Bruestle, The Beacon, Edmonds, Washington

Children from Edmonds, Washington, painted donated crutches with colored markers for polio victims in Haiti as part of the Global Crutch Project last week. The Fabric of Life Foundation collaborated with the Global Art Initiative to host the project, which focuses on growing empathy and understanding in children for those with disabilities.

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During a recent Global Art Initiative (GAIN) art exhibition at The Gables Republic Tower in downtown Dallas, GAIN announced the launch of a major new initiative – the Global Crutch Project.  The initiative will provide artistic mobility to disabled residents of Third World Countries while growing empathy and providing community building and service opportunities in the United States.  Children attending the exhibition painted donated crutches.

Click here for more about the launch.

The Gables Republic Tower in downtown Dallas was the venue for the first Dallas exhibit by the Global Art Initiative. We were pleased by the interest shown by the residents of The Gables Republic Tower, and we are grateful for the support and assistance provided by Susan Scott and Cherika Latham.

The exhibition also turned out to be a great opportunity for other members of the art community like Mary and Alberto Tomas from the Mary Tomas Studio Gallery to network with each other. Also in attendance was ParaOlympian and 5-time gold medal winner Quintin Stephens.

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