LOOP IT UP SAVANNAH!
Donation protected
In 2008, the most glorious thing happened. I was 19 years old, and a student in the Fibers Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Cayewah Easley, our department chair got a call from Howard Morrison, a true Savannah mover and shaker, who had become a board member at a struggling community organization in an underserved neighborhood in Savannah. Howard had learned about a children's knitting and crochet program called Warm Up America, that was happening in other parts of the country with the Craft Yarn Council of America. Well, he thought, why don't we start something like that here in Savannah? Cayewah pulled me in, as well as several other Fiber girls (Lexi Palidino Duckworth, Betsy Bull and Ali Lind!) and Howard pulled in his friend, master knitter, Phillipa Paddeson, and we went to visit the neighborhood.
Once in the neighborhood, we met Peter Doliber, Deborah Enoch, Ms. Pearl Williams who was the cook at the community center and a handful of children and families. I fell in love with every last one of them. We started having knitting classes a few afternoons a week, in a run-down room where the lights flickered and water dripped in when it rained. But it didn't matter. We were all there together.
Knitting and crochet were pretty hard for the kids, I started thinking that maybe they weren't really the right thing to start with, it would be better to talk with the kids and see what they already knew how to do and start there... new skills would come later. The Craft Yarn Council had donated some beautiful fabrics and yarn, we started making self portrait collages with the yarn and fabric and anything else we could get our hands on... kids would bring bottle caps and fruit-juice stained popsicle sticks from home and we built a materials center.
As the weeks turned into months, the program grew. The community center grew. I said to Peter, "I love volunteering and doing this, but I think it's so important that it needs to be somebody's job."
He said, "well, what if it was YOUR job?"
Hmmm. good idea.
At that point we started applying for grants, and before you knew it Loop It Up Savannah became a funded program, bringing creative art experiences to over a thousand children each year.
I enjoyed about 7 years running Loop It Up Savannah at the community center, a place that will always be home. And NOW, I am excited to announce that Loop It Up Savannah is on the road to becoming an independent organization! This independence will allow us to grow, partner with a wide range of organizations throughout the city and ultimately bring more art to more little cute people.
I'm reaching out today to create an easy way to support the growth and independence of Loop It Up Savannah! We are thrilled to continue bringing Savannah's neighborhoods together through art and simply being with each other in ways that work for everyone.
By making a donation today, you make the following possible:
- Pre-school & Kindergarten creative arts classes that focus on building each student's toolbox for success in reading, math, social and fine motor development.
- Elementary School Residency projects, which bring project based learning into classrooms across the county, supporting required curricula through creative projects that meet students where they are and celebrate their gifts.
- Children's art programming at community wide festivals and events.
- Partnership programs with community centers and organizations throughout the city.
- Opportunities for women throughout the community to create handmade goods and market them through Handmade Neighborhood LLC.
This year, we project that over 5,000 children will participate in Loop It Up Savannah programming.
Our focus is in bringing the arts into traditionally underserved neighborhoods, in a sustainable way so that art and creative thinking and empowerment become part of "what just happens" in every neighborhood across Savannah.
We appreciate every ounce of your support over the years, and look forward to working together to bring more beautiful art & opportunities to develop life-long self respect to the incredibly bright and beautiful young people of Savannah GA.
For more information, please feel free to contact
Molly Lieberman Founder/Director
[email redacted]
or via facebook www.facebook.com/loopitupsavannahga
Art Supply donations may be mailed/delivered to our office at Jelinek Creative, 103 N. Fahm Street, Savanah GA 31401.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
-
Once in the neighborhood, we met Peter Doliber, Deborah Enoch, Ms. Pearl Williams who was the cook at the community center and a handful of children and families. I fell in love with every last one of them. We started having knitting classes a few afternoons a week, in a run-down room where the lights flickered and water dripped in when it rained. But it didn't matter. We were all there together.
Knitting and crochet were pretty hard for the kids, I started thinking that maybe they weren't really the right thing to start with, it would be better to talk with the kids and see what they already knew how to do and start there... new skills would come later. The Craft Yarn Council had donated some beautiful fabrics and yarn, we started making self portrait collages with the yarn and fabric and anything else we could get our hands on... kids would bring bottle caps and fruit-juice stained popsicle sticks from home and we built a materials center.
As the weeks turned into months, the program grew. The community center grew. I said to Peter, "I love volunteering and doing this, but I think it's so important that it needs to be somebody's job."
He said, "well, what if it was YOUR job?"
Hmmm. good idea.
At that point we started applying for grants, and before you knew it Loop It Up Savannah became a funded program, bringing creative art experiences to over a thousand children each year.
I enjoyed about 7 years running Loop It Up Savannah at the community center, a place that will always be home. And NOW, I am excited to announce that Loop It Up Savannah is on the road to becoming an independent organization! This independence will allow us to grow, partner with a wide range of organizations throughout the city and ultimately bring more art to more little cute people.
I'm reaching out today to create an easy way to support the growth and independence of Loop It Up Savannah! We are thrilled to continue bringing Savannah's neighborhoods together through art and simply being with each other in ways that work for everyone.
By making a donation today, you make the following possible:
- Pre-school & Kindergarten creative arts classes that focus on building each student's toolbox for success in reading, math, social and fine motor development.
- Elementary School Residency projects, which bring project based learning into classrooms across the county, supporting required curricula through creative projects that meet students where they are and celebrate their gifts.
- Children's art programming at community wide festivals and events.
- Partnership programs with community centers and organizations throughout the city.
- Opportunities for women throughout the community to create handmade goods and market them through Handmade Neighborhood LLC.
This year, we project that over 5,000 children will participate in Loop It Up Savannah programming.
Our focus is in bringing the arts into traditionally underserved neighborhoods, in a sustainable way so that art and creative thinking and empowerment become part of "what just happens" in every neighborhood across Savannah.
We appreciate every ounce of your support over the years, and look forward to working together to bring more beautiful art & opportunities to develop life-long self respect to the incredibly bright and beautiful young people of Savannah GA.
For more information, please feel free to contact
Molly Lieberman Founder/Director
[email redacted]
or via facebook www.facebook.com/loopitupsavannahga
Art Supply donations may be mailed/delivered to our office at Jelinek Creative, 103 N. Fahm Street, Savanah GA 31401.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
-
Organizer
Molly Lieberman
Organizer
Savannah, GA