The issues that were presented when Hurricane Helene hit our area of Western North Carolina were disasturous and deadly, leaving countless people without resources like water, power, service, and even homes. It is going to take a lot of work and dedication to get our town and surrounding areas back to normal and recover from all the damage that we've sustained, and what we've all been through.
We want to help out in the best way that we can, by hosting an event to raise money. We plan to host a benefit Craft Workshop to help rebuild the Riverview Station building in the River Arts District. It was previously a hub of art and creativity within the community, housing over 60 artist's studios. For our craft workshop, we will be creating collage/mixed media collages. Participants will be encouraged to draw on their experiences with the storm to inspire their mandala- as an experience of creative healing/processing. We will have live jazz music and snacks/desserts will be served. There will be a presentation about mandalas, and about the Riverview Station- by the owners themselves. We hope to build community through this event, and have a good time while raising money!
The result was incredible, around 60 people coming out to support the arts, and also experience some for themselves. We not only raised money but community, and had so much fun in the process! We raised $2000, and I felt so glad to be able to help out and do my part with the recovery of my beloved town.
Through this project I learned more about the power of community gathering together to support a worthy cause, and how incredible it feels to be able to help out with something directly impacted in my community.
if I were to change anything next time, I would try to involve more local artists who were directly impacted by the destruction of the storm since it was a local community project.
The event itself was so gratifying and fulfilling to see so many people come support my event, and the cause. To see what a good time everyone had creating and making community made me feel successful.
Finding something that you love doing (for me, art) and implementing that into your project makes it so much more fun for you. Joining people together to do something I'm already so passionate about made it all the more satisfying when it turns out so well and is a huge success. Finding the right people to work with is also a really important part...
