@lovendures, we've had a coffee house here in town for four years based on that exact premise. Bitty & Beau's. They made national headlines when they were part of Southern Living's stories in 2016 CNN's Heroes back in 2017. Their mom won one of the CNN Heroes awards in 2018 after they opened their second location. This month, they expanded again, opening their fifth shop. If Spencer's place is anything like Bitty & Beau's, they'll do well.
Here's a nationwide program that curates the art of the homeless and disabled. It has been very successful. Fortune 500 companies, and non profits are buying the art and the artists are lifted out of homelessness. https://www.artlifting.com was started by a young woman named Liz Powers. When she was in college, Liz had been doing some volunteer work at a local homeless shelter when she noticed that some homeless people had amazing art skills. So she began curating the art these folks were creating while staying at homeless shelters and selling it in various galleries. Thus began a project she called Artlifting. In the past nine years she has expanded Artlifting to major U.S. cities and dozens of Fortune 500 companies have purchased the art.
Liz did a Ted Talk in which she offered other areas of life, like in cooking, for lifting people out of poverty and out of living on the fringes of society.
This program is totally successful in so many ways:
Below is an excerpt from her website:
"ArtLifting empowers artists living with homelessness or disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork. ArtLifting is about creating opportunity, empowerment, and validation.
"We offer our artists the chance to secure their own income through the sale of original paintings, prints, and products. By showcasing and selling artwork via ArtLifting.com, our artists gain self-confidence that permeates all aspects of their lives.
"As a social enterprise and benefit corporation, we are using “business for good.” Every artist earns 55% from the profit of each sale. 1% from each sale goes toward strengthening art services for community partners that support ArtLifting artists, which includes art programming at social service agencies, shelters, and disability centers. ArtLifting uses the remaining 44% to further our mission. We realize that in order to make sustainable change, we need to run a financially sustainable business.
"Bringing ArtLifting in was such an easy decision because you want to have a corporate office that has a homey feel, that inspires your associates. It gives you chills when you see the smiles on the artists faces and hear them say ‘Holy Mackerel, this is a Fortune 500 company and my work is in their main lobby."JOHN BURKE,
CHIEF CULTURAL OFFICER,
STAPLES
A couple of years ago, the founder of Artlifting dropped by during the holidays (she is a family friend). She said she is living a dream life, that she has the best job she could ever have imagined, which brings up another point: When we do things for other people, it lifts us up to the heights of greatest happiness. This is an established, evidence-based, phenomenon.
Even if we simply send love and healing to others, our own happiness levels sky rocket.
Oh Jeanne These so are awesome!
Manifesting her dream job and helping others in a truly beautiful life and gifts and passion affirming way.
Love this big time?
The Log.
Watching wild animals use a log to cross a stream. Yep, there is a video of that and I love it.
The one circulating now is Year Two.. if you haven't seen it yet.. Year One is great too!
I love this -- A beautiful place that stopped big bottled water!
A story of how Hood River County, Oregon prevented the extraction of its most precious resource, its water. It turns out that Washington State is on its way to passing the first legislation that prohibits behemoths like Nestle from extracting their natural spring water and selling it at profit and in those polluting plastic bottles. Read about this new development by clicking on the link.
Also from today's issue of Reasons to Be Cheerful -- a column they call "The Fixer" which describes fixes that make life so much better for people.
First is a Do It Yourself Wheelchair ramp that makes every curb wheelchair accessible.
Also mentioned is New York City law that gives free legal counsel to poor residents facing eviction. In the past two years evictions in those areas fell by 29 percent.
Reasons to be Cheerful is a publication by David Byrne, of Talking Heads. Byrne was on SNL recently with his new hit song. His biggest hit was "Burning Down the House" of 1983 which has been covered many times. You can get Reasons to be Cheerful in your inbox for free. It will give you hope!