Donate to Compass Arts

Dear Friends,

2020 has been such an extremely challenging year for the world; the pandemic, subsequent economic fallout, natural disasters, a national reckoning with racism, and a highly polarized US election have been weighing on each of us heavily. Fortunately, in the midst of these global crises, the seeds of creativity have been able to sprout.

The world has been taken by storm by virtual orchestras and choirs, recreations of famous works of art using found objects, drive by birthday parades and graduations, and a desire to master the art of sourdough, just to name a few. Mutual Aid systems have emerged, creating new ways to care for one another during this time of need. Backyard gardens have popped up as folks look to nourish themselves and their neighbors. In a time of such darkness, we have continued to bring forth the light through creative thinking and the need to connect.

At Compass Arts Creativity Project, we too have been actively creating new ways to connect and provide the vital arts enrichment programming that has become part of the fabric of our community. Since we went into quarantine, we have managed to adapt and pivot to provide resources for those in our community and beyond. This spring we moved all of our classes online as soon as we went into quarantine and turned our spring performances into music videos and films. We also offered free FB live streams of singalongs, theater games, and art activities. And since June, we've:

• shifted all of our half day summer camps for children 3-7 years old to Beacon Art Journeys, a series of guided weekly arts experiences that took families to various locations around Beacon equipped with art materials and a mission for creative fun.
• partnered with the City of Beacon Recreation Department to offer a free family concert series at Pete and Toshi Seeger Park.
• developed Elements at Home, an arts based at home curriculum for young children ages 3-7 that met early learning standards while focusing on social emotional development and providing resources for families to navigate the stresses of learning during a pandemic.
• provided 5 scholarships to young students for our Beacon Art Journeys summer series and our Elements at Home fall curriculum.
• focused on grant writing to ensure the future of our organization, and were awarded 60% of the grants for which we applied. Grant funding enabled us to create art bags for students in the Beacon City school who receive free food distribution on Wednesdays through the school. The bags included a journal, fun tools for writing and drawing, and a variety of prompts submitted by our teachers and board to inspire the students.
• hired a local consultant to conduct an anti-racism assessment of our board, staff, and all of the teaching artists with whom we work so we could focus on the work we need to do to make sure our organization is truly operating in line with its values.

It feels amazing to have accomplished that much during a pandemic! Our team of teaching artists and board members have galvanized around our little organization, determined to keep our momentum of bringing these valued resources to the community. As we know, winter is going to bring more challenges, and we are reaching out for your help and support. Compass Arts must continue providing our community with the tools to get through the coming months with hope and joy, while keeping those creative juices and inspiration flowing, and sharing our stories with one another. With online programming, we will not only be able to inspire our own little Hudson Valley community, but folks anywhere! ANYWHERE! And we want you on our team! Your support will empower us to:

• host a weekly online series of sliding scale/free workshops and performances with a wide variety of artists and performers in the region, bringing not just resources to our community, but work to the artists who have lost much of their work this year.
• offer sliding scale/tiered pricing, including a completely free option for our regular series of online classes like Musical Stew, Cartooning, Modern Dance, and Art.
• Incorporate anti-racist practices into our work through trainings with a local consultant.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 before the end of this year to accomplish our winter plan. If you have the ability to donate, even something small, it will impact and enrich so many folks' lives during this trying time.

Thank you for your consideration!