Friends
Community Champion: Nyasha Gwatidzo of Vana Trust
A huge high-five is in order for Vana Trust founder Nyasha Gwatidzo. Thanks to votes from around the world, Nyasha has won the Zimbabwe Achievers Award for Community Champion. The high honor celebrates her unique combination of talent, art, business and her continued willingness to making incredible differences in the lives of others.
Congratulations, Nyasha! See what she’s has started at http://www.vanatrust.org.uk/
FLY CANVAS Day: What Do You Carry in Your Heart?
It’s no secret, we love working closely with small, grassroots organizations. One such organization is Project PEARLS, a volunteer-run, non-profit that coordinates outreach efforts in impoverished areas of the Philippines.
Led by Melissa Villa, the groups is currently focusing their attention on the small slum of Ulingan which rests atop a dumpsite surrounded by charcoal factories. To paint a quick picture, these factories emit pollution and residents have no access electricity, toilets or even sanitation options. The village children and their families have no choice but to live amongst soot, garbage, mosquitoes and vermin each and every day.
Since the start of our partnership with Project PEARLS, we have been supporting their mission of educating the youth of Ulingan. We do so in hopes of helping these young children to take control of their lives to better their circumstances and respective futures firsthand. In addition to our ongoing support, we felt it was time to take things up a notch and have a little fun in the process. We thought, why not coordinate something different and participative for the children to have fun with on a given day. We could call it FLY CANVAS Day.
The goal with FLY CANVAS Day was simple: bridge the gap. With our beloved mantra Everyone Carries Something in mind, we sought out to shed light on what the children of Ulingan carry. No, not physically, but rather immaterially, in hopes of revealing what these they carry on the inside- in their hearts.
We worked with Project PEARLS to create a classroom activity for the kids that would showcase their amazing ambitions as well as introduce a spark of creativity and story telling into the mix. On a school day, volunteers led a session where the students were encouraged to talk about and write down what they carry in their heart as a way of showcasing their personal aspirations and dreams. They were each given art supplies so that they could draw pictures to illustrate their stories.
Here are a few photos our favorite photographs from the day courtesy of Project PEARLS volunteer photographer Sidney Snoeck:
Soon we will be incorporating these inspiring drawings, stories and photographs into the second volume of FLY CANVAS booklets, the ones that come wrapped up in every good we make.
Until then, you can see more images of this incredible day by checking out our full album on the FLY CANVAS Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/flycanvasgoods.
To learn more about Project PEARLS and their outreach programs in the Philippines, visit www.projectpearls.org and www.facebook.com/projectpearls1
Questions? Drop us a line in the “Reach Us” Box to the right.
Comments? Leave your thoughts below!
Cranking @ the Canvas Shop
Nothing like a quick stop at the Canvas Shop to brighten up a Monday! Today, we swung by the seaside set up to drop off a brand new batch of our reclaimed leather card wallets.
We soon learned the Canvas Shop has big news! Owners Ryan and Tammy recently announced their labor of love will be headed in a whole new direction, one much more dear to their artistic hearts.
Breathe easy shoppers, The Canvas Shop will still operate their amazing boutique in the front. In fact, it’s going to be better than ever. The real change comes in the back half, where The Callis family has decided discontinue the custom canvas business in favor of turning the space into a creative sanctuary. In this rebirth they plan to host regular events likes art classes, craft workshops, evening events, participative painting fests, you name it. We’re beyond excited to see what they unveil. Until then, you can read more about what they plan to do here!
Canvas Shop
702 Marina Drive
Seal Beach, CA 90740
FRIENDS: Young the Giant – Apartment (Music Video)
Look out! The love bus is on the loose and our pals of Young the Giant are behind the wheel. Check out their new music video for “Apartment”. Look closely and you may even catch their guitarist Eric rockin’ his FLY CANVAS Sea Tee…
Be sure to catch them on tour in a city near you! www.youngthegiant.com
Give & Grow: Project PEARLS Update
Aside from bag-making, you’ll find we talk a quite a bit about education. More specifically, we discuss the life-changing impact getting access to learning opportunities can have on young children. No one knows more about this than FLY CANVAS giving partner, Project PEARLS. For years, the small nonprofit has been powered solely by volunteers in group effort to better the lives of children in impoverished areas of the Philippines.
Simply stated, Project PEARLS works from the ground up. They come together to organize and implement amazing programs with education serving as the core building block. Lead by Melissa Villa, the team is responsible for implementing simple solutions for amazing change.
Last school year, Project PEARLS launched their first PEARLS Scholarship Program. The goal? Put twelve children through elementary school for the very first time. With tireless hours of hard work and determination, the organization was able to grant not 12, but 62 scholars the ability to attend school. Not too shabby, huh? And after an eventful year last in 2011, Project PEARLS is poised for yet another successful Scholarship Program for the youth of Ulingan. Their eyes and hearts are focused intently on creating more learning opportunities for all.
This year, Project PEARLS aims to not only keep their current scholars in a classroom but also help even more children of Ulingan gain access to learning opportunities. They are even looking to expand their reach by including teenagers so that high school can become a reality rather than a just a farfetched dream.
Like us, Project PERALS believes that education can have a huge difference in peoples’ live. For many of these under privileged youngsters, getting a chance to learn in a classroom may be their only way out of poverty. Project PEARLS serves as their chance and outreach programs like “The Brain Booster“ function as invaluable lifelines. It really is amazing to think such a simple change of situation can lead to one of the most positive domino effects imaginable.
With so many awesome things accomplished and even more to come, FLY CANVAS is stoked, yes stoked, to continue helping Project PEARLS. Communication is a beautiful thing and we keep in touch as much as we cane. It is our duty to keep you apprised of their happenings, help share their stories, bring you their news and give you chances to help. So please, be on the look for updates, ask us questions, and spread the word.
Aside from buying FLY CANVAS goods, there are a number of ways, easy ways, to assist Project PEARLS in their efforts. Many of these children have noting save for hope Even the smallest steps in the right direction can lead to making a huge difference in their lives. We encourage you to learn more, share more and get involved @ www.projectpearls.org. For more information on their outreach programs, click here.
All photos © Project PEARLS | www.projectpearls.org
