December
1, 2015 END OF YEAR REPORT for Phoenix
Circle Foundation
In 2014 we held Liquid ART fundraisers
and a “matching funds” campaign. We
donated $1,000 to Watonga Elementary School for their music program, and
provided art classes for children at a number of venues.
During 2015 our foundation and
individual board members were very active in our community. We received a community grant from Walmart
and were able to provide art projects as part of the middle school summer
school program and coordinated the creative projects with the middle school
summer curriculum. We provided art
classes as part of the Methodist Church VBS program in June. We also held
art classes for children at the Watonga Public Library and the Methodist
Church allowed us to use a room in their building for a community art class. For
the second year we were asked to lead an art project by the County 4-H
coordinator. Several of the children
entered their paintings in the Blaine Co. Free Fair and several received
ribbons! The smiles on their faces were
priceless.
We continue to promote the arts, music,
and wellness education. We began an “ART FOR FUNDS” program to help other
organizations or causes raise funds. PCF
held art fundraisers for Relay for Life and for Watonga High School After-Prom
Party. During the past year we sponsored
numerous arts, music, and storytelling events, bringing independent and
upcoming musicians to our rural area from Nashville, TN, Oklahoma City, and
Austin, TX, including the former Oklahoma Poet Laureate Nathan Brown and local
musician Katie Ballew, along with Brian Pounds (a former contestant on American
Idol); Merry Ellen Kirk; Gentry Counce,
Vernon Brickman. We made sponsorship
donations to “Live at the Liberty” shows and promoted those shows on our
facebook page.
In August, we organized our third school
supply give-away, and obtained buy-in (partnership) with First United Methodist
Church Watonga to provide backpacks and additional school supplies, serving
over 100 children. This is a growing program and we look forward to continuing
this partnership.
In support of literacy and Language
Arts, we began a “Let Me Read a Story to You” program, where we have adults
read classic short stories to children, their parents and grandparents, to
encourage the love of reading and parent involvement. Though designed for school-aged children and
their teachers and adult guardians, our audience has included children from age
3 to adults 65 years of age. We started
with a reading of “Rikki-tikki-tavi” from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle
Book. We read the Bradbury short story “All Summer in a
Day” and poems from “Beasts by the Bunches” and selections from TS Elliot’s
“Old Possums’ Book of Practical Cats”. We plan on continuing this reading program.
Our board members are involved with the
Kiwanis club, and participated in their fundraisers, with donations, selling
tickets, and helping with the events, including the Roman Nose Hills Trail
Ride. We held six Liquid ART events in
partnership with Whirlwind Winery, with the intent of not only raising funds in
order to provide free art classes to children, but also to draw visitors to
Watonga and support a local business and the local economy.
In the coming year we are looking toward
to the opening of an arts center in Watonga (next to the Liberty Theater) that
will include studio space for children and adult students and an Art Gallery
where students and established artists can display their work. We hope to attract artists and musicians
from across the state to display their art and perform at the Arts Center. We are also seeking a grant that will allow
us to set up a community garden. Our
PRIMARY goal is to supplement our children’s education through programs
focusing on the arts, wellness, and community.
Although some may regard arts education as a luxury, many studies have
shown that exposure to the Arts is more important than ever to the development
of the next generation of children as they grow up. The arts are also a powerful economic
development tool for small towns. We
hope that in the coming year, more people will be able to experience first-hand
the pride we take in furthering the education of our children and promoting
Watonga as a tourism destination.
In order to meet our mission and provide
these services in our community, we rely on the generosity of individuals, businesses,
and organizations. Because we are a
501(c) (3) organizations all donations to Phoenix Circle Foundation are
tax-deductible (not only for businesses but also individuals). We need the
financial support of the entire community in order to continue to offer the
programs we have in the past and expand on the services we provide in the
future to our community. As your
organization is dedicated to the support of our community and programs for
young people, at this time we ask that you help support our efforts by making a
donation which will allow us to continue to provide art supplies and classes
for children at no charge, bring in guest teaching artists, and give us
matching funds as needed for grant applications. Your individual members can also support our
efforts by attending monthly Liquid ART events, Wood-fired pizza dinners, and
Oklahoma House Concerts held throughout the year. Remember too that your donations STAY IN
WATONGA! Keep posted on our activities
by visiting our facebook page – PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION.
Thank you for your support!
Linda Barrett, Managing Director
