Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Self-Worth can teach an old dog new tricks...I'm proof...lol

Last Friday was the We Care Arts Going Green Fundraising Auction. As a former student/client I was asked to give a "speech" as a success story for them??? ME??? A success??? I was flabbergasted!!! lol As a 40-something with several mental illnesses I never put success next to my name. But it made me think and ask myself questions. Am I a success? If I am, how has We Care played a part in that? I will save you the 10 cent speech and get to the heart of it...SELF-WORTH!!! "We Care Arts is a place where people with disabilities learn independence and build self esteem." That is a direct quote from their site. And it is sooooo very descriptive of what they do and how they became a part of my success story. I was put on disability 10 years ago and I never in my wildest imaginings would have believed that I would be where I am at this point in my life. I graduated from our local community college in 2009 with honors!!! And went out to Wright State University where I will graduate with my BA in Nonprofit Management this June. And somewhere between 2002 and 2012 I began to believe in me again and believe that I could achieve anything I wanted to. I stopped calling my cute, quaint drawings "doodles"...heck, I stopped calling them cute and quaint...lol I call myself an artist and I wouldn't have done that 10 years ago. And in June I will add CNP to my name as a "Certified Nonprofit Leader." And as I told the crowd of apx 200 people on Friday, all this started with the quiet acceptance and sincere encouragement from the teacher and staff of We Care Art. When someone else believes in you that you respect, you begin to believe they may be right and you begin to believe in you too! They gave me back my self worth!!!

Thanks, Bruce, Terry, Shari, Theresa, Sharen, Marie, Carole, Brenda, Mary and all the others at We Care!!! You truly made a difference in my life!

To top the night off, I had donated one of my paintings to them. I did a series called the Giving Heart. One of the international symbols of "giving, volunteerism, and nonprofits" is 2 or more hands extended with a heart. The painting below went up for auction and I am stunned and pleased to tell you that it raised $325 for We Care!!!! Glad that in some small way I was able to give back to those who gave me so much!!!

The Giving Heart II

This doesn't convey they terror I felt at speaking in front of so many people...lol














2 comments:

  1. Very inspiring. I'm so very proud of you and I feel lucky to call you my friend.

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