Arts In Action

Paths That Cross!

Amy Woodard — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:16 +0000

Ah, Tarek’s Café. Many morning coffee runs, and afternoon lunches where I spent time writing, learning, talking, and relaxing. A hidden gem on USF’s campus, Tarek’s staff really knew how to brighten this stressed grad student’s day with a simple cookie and a smile.

Those who know me best would not be surprised to know that I met Richard Chapman in a lunch line. I can’t even say I remember what we spoke about; all I knew was that from that point on I was interested in his work and wanted to know more.

Over the course of my graduate school career, I grew to know Richard and eventually our paths crossed. We knew and worked with many of the same people and our values very strongly aligned. When I originally read the RFP (that stands for Request for Proposal in grant writing land) for the FLSAND (that stands for Florida Self-Advocates Network’D) contract, Richard was the first person that came to mind. I spent time on the dock at my parent’s house for over an hour pacing back and forth, like I often do before writing something that’s important to me. We spoke about how a provider could be the best support and ally and what it would mean to Florida if someone came in and just hit the ground running.

Here we are several months later and we are running, Richard and I are working together and soon will be running with all the Self-Advocates in Florida! I would love to introduce Richard Chapman, the Self-Advocacy Specialist for the Route to Self-Advocacy team, a project to support FLSAND through the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. Richard and I are so excited we have already been working on creating interactive handouts for the Leadership Meetings that will be held either night owl, 8PM on Friday, June 7^th and the morning bird meeting on Saturday, June 8^that 8am during the Family Café conference in Orlando, FL.

We are interested to know if you planning to attend Family Café and what you are looking forward to most about that weekend?

Can’t wait to hear your responses!

Here is a photo of Richard and me at our USF graduation last year, at that point we did not know we would be working together, but we predicted accurately that our career paths would cross again!

Connections Over Coffee!

Amy Woodard — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:26:15 +0000

I remember when I began training to become a Clinical Social Worker. I was overwhelmed by the number of different techniques that are available to use with clients with their struggles. One day a professor of mine mentioned something that made sense to me. She said that those were all tools, but the best tool that you have is your relationship with people. If you don’t have the relationship you can’t use the other tools you have learned.

I’ve thought about this advice for the past few weeks as I’ve been working on the Route to Self-Advocacy Project. I have been coordinating with the local grassroots groups to organize trainings and discussions about steps they would like to take in moving forward toward their goals. I am so thankful to the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council for providing this program to Floridians with developmental disabilities.

The skills that Self-Advocates will learn from these trainings will be important and these skills will guide them to the next level. The icing on the cake and what really requires little training, but what requires practice and a dash of self confidence is the thirst to network and build relationships with others.

I am always amazed by the amount of people that want to hear about the projects I am working on and want to help out. My advice is pick up a business card wherever you go (I have a huge stack in my purse, and beware I may use your card if you happen to give it to me!), never turn down an offer to meet for coffee even if you think the person you are meeting will not be able to connect you to what you want. You may be surprised and gain an important connection or resource that you were not anticipating.

There is a place, a time and a reason to meet others and we are all a lot more connected than we sometimes think!

Never miss the opportunity to connect, network and spend time with others. They may help you and you just might help them!

I would love to hear about your favorite story regarding connections and networking, please share on this blog and remember, Arts In Action gives away a free flash drive each month, you just have to comment to a post in order to qualify.

-Amy Woodard, MSW

Research Manager & Project Coordinator for Arts In Action Consulting

Introducing The New Adventures of Super Amy!

Amy Woodard — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:50:48 +0000

Hi, I’m Amy Woodard and I am the Research Manager and Project Coordinator for the Route to Self-Determination project and the Florida Self Advocates Networke’D (FL SAND) project. Both projects are funded by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. I also work with Grace-Anne as a grant writer for Arts In Action Consulting Firm.

This is a really exciting year for our Arts in Action/ Program Design team! We will hit the road literally this June, with the goal of hearing the voices of as many folks with disabilities around the state as possible. Along this route, we will provide the trainings that you have asked for, support you in implementing projects specific to advancing the goals of your grass roots Self-Advocacy groups, and intend on having some good times along the way!

Stay tuned for information on these projects, training materials, disability news and listen out for stories of Self-Advocate and disability leaders in the state of Florida.

I am calling this blog, the New Adventures of Super Amy and it will be updated every Wednesday!

Are You the Winner?

Grace Alfiero — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:03:26 +0000

DID YOU WIN YET?

Every month at Arts In Action, we give away a very cool “SO SO Happy” Siq character flash drive* chock filled with files and data about Digital Storytelling, Grant Writing, Social Media, Happenings and Articles that relate to the non profit industry. We ship it to your office or home, free, because we want to encourage you to check in with us on a regular basis to find out the latest scoop and to build on our community of talented professionals!

This month, the winner is….

Well, first we want you to hear about our exciting news:

This Month, Arts In Action is thrilled to welcome the following agencies to our growing list of clients-

STEIC of St. Petersburg, FL http://www.sciencecenterofpinellas.org/eic/
The Brandon Outreach Clinic of Brandon, FL http://www.brandonoutreachclinic.com
VSA FL, a statewide agency headquartered in Tampa, FL http://www.vsafl.org
MillHill Child & Family Development of Trenton, NJ http://www.millhillcenter.org
Community Options of Princeton, NJ http://www.comop.org

Go and check out these great websites above!

Now for the winner…

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Kristine Dean of The United Methodist Ministry Health Fund who commented to the blog on March 27th!

Congratulations Kristine! Glad you wrote!

You’ll get one of these:

Meet Siq! A nifty flash drive chock full of data that you can win, just comment to my blog, it is that simple!

I chose to give away Siq from the SO SO HAPPY Character collection because this company has a foundation that supports anti-bullying programs across the U.S.

Here is their website if you are interested in learning more about the SO SO HAPPY line! Enjoy!

http://sosohappyonline.com

GMN Digital Storytelling Resources

Grace Alfiero — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:33:48 +0000

Thank you to everyone who attended my Digital Storytelling Presentation at GMN entitled “Imaging Your Results”. I had a great time meeting all of you and have provided the resources and 2 pdfs of the presentation as downloads for your files. Please feel free to contact me if you are ever in need of a keynote speaker, presenter or consultant on digital storytelling, diversifying income bases, grant writing or if you need grant panelists for any of your programs. Remember, I can teach 2-day, hands-on interactive workshops in your community that can get your foundation and your grantees up to speed with digital stories they can use on the web, with social media and for future presentations on their programs and projects.

Comment to this blog and register for an opportunity to win a flash drive! (I give one away each month). I look forward to seeing you all in 2014 for the GMN Digital Storytelling Film Festival! Here are the links to your downloads:

Arts In Action MODEL RELEASE

Storyboard Template

Digital Storytelling Part 1 Final

PPT #2 GMN 2013 Final

Person First Language Spotted Near Philadelphia!

Grace Alfiero — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:27:49 +0000

Person First Language on Septa Train in Philadelphia

On the SEPTA train from the Philly airport to my home, I found a morsel of good hope in the form of a new sticker communicating in a positive and person first language-type of way! This is so welcomed and appreciated! Thank you to the transportation officials who had a hand in this decision.

Back in St. Pete!

Grace Alfiero — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 01:23:30 +0000

Back in St. Pete!

Grant writing and digital storytelling intersect at Grace-Anne’s presentation this year at the GMN conference. Let us know if you enjoyed the presentation by commenting on the blog and enter to win a free flash drive loaded with lots of resources!

Photos from the NAEA tour at Evergreen’s Cultural Arts Center in Ft. Worth, TX

Grace Alfiero — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 10:52:46 +0000

Had a great time at the NAEA tour of the Cultural Arts Center at Evergreen Life Services in Ft. Worth! Karen Towery, Alicia Johnson, Kim Fincanon and the crew did a great job touring the NAEA participants of the facility! We even got to see a graffiti wall being created before our eyes! Many thanks to the Art Education students of Dr. Amanda Alexander’s class at UTA. They are doing an amazing job with their community service project! Here’s a photo of the group! If you attended the tour let us know about your experience! We’d love to hear from you!

Congratulations to the folks of Smart with Art!

Grace Alfiero — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:32:12 +0000

Amy Friedman of Smart with Art is the winner of the free Siq Flash Drive that I gave away yesterday at my presentation at the National Art Education Association’s annual convention in Ft. Worth, Texas! Congratulations Amy! I had a great audience with great questions and a lively discussion about grant writing and digital storytelling! Thanks Everyone! Remember, you can post to this blog and still be in the running each month for a free flash drive! I will give away a free flash drive at every presentation and at the end of every month of 2013. Here are some photos from the conference, look closely, this “star” is made out of actual cowboy hats and is hanging from the Ft. Worth Convention ceiling…they do everything BIG in Texas!

Win a Flash Drive stuffed with great resources from Arts In Action!

Grace Alfiero — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:41:29 +0000

Meet Sig! A nifty flash drive chock full of data that you can win at my next presentation!

I decided to purchase some flash drives, fill them with a whole bunch of relevant and important information and then raffle them off to the audiences at my presentations. I chose characters from the SO SO HAPPY animation line because this company invests in tax exempt businesses that work with our country’s youth! Attend one of my presentations, drop in a business card and try for a chance to win one of the cutest flash drives available on the market today! What’s that? You will not be in Ft. Worth, TX or St. Petersburg, FL anytime soon? Instead, comment to my blog, right here, and I will raffle off a flash drive each month in 2013 to my blogging audience!! Stay tuned, you might just be the next winner!