A Vegetable Paradise in Camden, Amazonian Flying Rainbows, and a Giraffe from South Africa Made of Orchids

If you are a volunteer with Art-Reach, you may get lucky and get to travel around the world (yes – this is a shameless plug for volunteering at Art-Reach with the Ambassador Program!) with some fabulous people.

Early in March, I got lucky, and went to India, South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, Brazil, and Camden, New Jersey, with Jordie, Tara, and Marc, three awesome students from the HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy, located in University City. Accompanying us were their three indefatigable recreational therapists, Charlie, Rich, and Karen.

HMS students infront of 28-foot-tall hot-air balloon that 
greeted guests as they entered the event.

We did this in 90 minutes flat. How, you ask? Art-Reach and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) made our trip possible by arranging tickets to attend the 2010 Philadelphia International Flower Show, the world’s largest indoor flower show that showcased, well, the world! In fact, PHS has been an Art-Reach arts partner for a number of years, annually pledging tickets that enable community access to their event. In turn, Art-Reach manages all community outreach for PHS. "Through their (PHS) partnership, we were able to provide experiences to more than 270 people who would not otherwise be able to access the flower show," explains Stephanie Borton, Art-Reach Associate Director.

PHS runs the world’s largest indoor flower show, and this year they showcased 79,000 freeze-dried flowers on the 28-foot-tall hot-air balloon that greeted guests upon their entrance to the event. Charlie stated that “Art-Reach gives our students many more opportunities to explore and experience the community.” And in this case, the world! "We also want the community at large to be socially aware of young adults with disabilities,” he explained.

We saw a 12 foot tall, life-size pastel floral elephant from India; tulips, tulips, and more tulips from the Netherlands; and ethereal white calla lilies suspended in blocks of “ice” dangling from the ceiling in an urban, post-apocalyptic setting. Very post-modern, and much to the taste and delight of Tara!

Jordie maneuvered her wheelchair so adroitly through the crowds, anxious to get to each more spectacular-than-the last exhibit, that Charlie had a hard time catching up with her. Meanwhile, Marc, with a winning smile, posed in front of the German Beer Garden and raised his water cup in a hearty Prost!

Tara summed up her globe-trotting experience by telling me, via her augmentative communication device, “I am happy to be at the Flower Show. There are so many pretty flowers! Thank you for the tickets.”

I later asked both Bill Hunter, Recreation Coordinator at the HMS School, and Laura Hoover, Senior Public Relations Coordinator of the PHS, about the advantages of being a member and an arts partner of Art-Reach, respectively.

In addition to providing HMS students with opportunities to visit museums and attend the theater, Bill stressed the proactive approach of Art-Reach’s staff in extending invitations to students and their parents and caregivers for cultural events that they normally would not have a chance to experience.

But given our “new economy,” I think Laura succinctly summed up a most relevant reason for social service agencies and arts and culture non-profits to partner with Art-Reach.

While the staff provides “excellent support and customer service” and outsourcing outreach to Art-Reach is “a great help to the Public Relations Department (of PHS),” the bottom line for any organization to be a member of Art-Reach is the bottom line: “Art-Reach will save you time and money,” explains Laura.

-by Kathy Spillman
Kathy is a Special Projects Ambassador with Art-Reach

Channel Your Inner George Bernard Shaw with This Great Offer for Art-Reach members!

Y’all know that the snow is going to (eventually) melt, and you will soon be itching to get out of the house to do something fun and different to escape the winter blahs.

But what to do, you ask?

Here’s an awesome idea: You can see some great experimental theater for $1, indulge your fantasy of playing a real-live theater critic, and support our local playwrights and their original works, all at the same time! (Did I mention tickets are only $1?)

Art-Reach has 25 tickets to offer Art-Reach members for Bootless Artworks’ annual one-act play festival, “Simply Short: An Evening of One Acts.” Visit thier listing on the Art-Reach Member Calendar for more information.

This is a juried event, which means the artists' work are being judged, and you are part of the process! The audience gets to vote on their favorite production, actor, actress, and director. Bootless Productions is part of Arden Club, Inc. in Delaware who is a long time arts partner with Art-Reach. How cool is all that?

Tickets are available for March 5 and March 6 at 8pm at Arden Gild Hall in Arden, Delaware. Now, I know Delaware seems far, far away; but it really is only less than a half-hour’s drive (20 miles!) from downtown Philly, promise! It also includes free parking! It takes longer to get to most Philly burbs than to our sister state. The event is also accessible for people using wheelchairs. Contact Rachel Robbins at (215) 568-2115, ext. 5 or at rrobbins@art-reach.org for tickets.

-By Kathy Spillman

Pssst…All Art-Reach Members

Have we got a great deal for you!  Utrecht Art Supplies is offering you a special 10% discount on all your purchases from both of their stores in Center City and will throw in free delivery for any orders over $100.

Why is this such a great deal, you say?  Well, it gets even better.

Utrecht is a Brooklyn-based company (they still make their own paint) started by two brothers 60 years ago and has been serving the Philadelphia community for almost 30 years. It already honors local competitors’ coupons by matching them. So get out those scissors and start clipping, and you can save 10% off already low prices on the highest quality paints, papers, and other materials for your organization or agency.

And there is another little reason to patronize this family-run, socially responsible business. Jennifer Demmer, the indefatigable outreach coordinator for Utrecht Philadelphia, informs us that the company  "hearts" Art-Reach: “Utrecht is proud to partner with an organization that gives access to the arts for groups such as at-risk youth, people with disabilities, and elderly people in need.”

Show Utrecht some Art-Reach love back. Click on this link http://philly.utrechtblog.com to start shopping for great deals on quality art products. They also have a knowledgeable staff of working artists to help you make the best selections. Satisfaction Guaranteed!

-by Kathy Spillman

People First Language 101 (Or how I failed this course miserably)

There I was, having dinner recently with a very dear friend, and I used the word “lame” to describe something I thought was done very poorly. Did I mention my friend has a disability, one that involves mobility?

Audience: Gasp!

Me: Massive. FAIL.

My, uh, experience in unthinkingly using abelist* language got me thinking about issues of respect and dignity in not just how we treat people with disabilities, but how we speak to and about them. And the way we sprinkle our daily lingo with words like “lame,” “retarded,” “schizoid,” “madhouse,” and so on. So I thought I would jot down some pointers and drop a few hot links for all of us, so we can better check our abelist privilege at the door.

The cardinal, golden, primo rule when speaking about or to any person who has a disability is to use People First language. This is simply positive language that recognizes the person first, the disability second.

So…

Examples of People First language include:

• People with disabilities
• People who use wheelchairs
• People who are blind
• People with a mental illness
• People with cognitive disabilities
• People who are deaf or hard of hearing
• People with mental retardation
• People with a congenital disability

And so on.

And some examples of language not to use?

• The handicapped, not normal, not able-bodied, lame, crippled
• Confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair bound
• The blind
• Insane, crazy, psycho, nuts, lunatics
• Morons, idiots, retards, “slow”
• The deaf
• Mentally retarded, retarded, retards, “slow”
• Birth defect (As in, “She suffers from a birth defect.” By the way, don’t use the verb “to suffer” when referring to a person with disability, either. Another biggie to avoid: the noun “victim.” And when using “People First” language with a person with a disability, always address the person, not the caretaker/translator.)

What happens if you mess up in front of a person with a disability? Do you have to blog a public confession like I have here? Absolutely not! We are all human, and we all make mistakes. The important thing is that you own up to your flub, apologize sincerely while not making too big a deal of it (thereby embarrassing yourself further), and think before you speak next time.  Here are a couple of educational links on People First language and why it’s important:

www.kidstogether.org/pep-1st.htm
www.txddc.state.tx.us/resources/publications/pfanguage.asp

*Abelist: somebody who exhibits discrimination, or uses prejudiced language, against people with disabilities or in favor of able-bodied people.

-Kathy Spillman

Boogie on Down with the John Hoey Orchestra at the Art-Reach Brunch on Sunday, November 1, in the Grand Ballroom at the Park Hyatt!

Yo, Philly! The hottest ticket in town is Art-Reach’s 18th Annual Jazz Brunch and Silent Auction featuring the Dixieland roots of Jazz by our city’s very own incomparable Swing Band, The John Hoey Orchestra!

Where else can you indulge in yummy cocktails, enjoy Cajun-inspired culinary delights, bid on really cool stuff in a silent auction, and dance the Sunday away? Sound good? It gets better! Best of all, you will be supporting the fabulous mission of Art-Reach, and helping to expand access to the arts and culture for underserved communities. THERE’S STLL TIME TO DUST OFF THOSE DANCING SHOES AND RESERVE YOUR TICKET!

I had the pleasure of chatting briefly with John, affable founder and awesome drummer of the John Hoey Orchestra, and he shared his excitement with me about performing at the Art-Reach Jazz Brunch.

I asked him, why Dixieland Jazz as the theme of this year’s brunch? You know, what’s so special about it? John informed me that Jazz itself was born out of the New Orleans sound and old spirituals that sprang from that great city. “There would be no Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller without the music heard in the street parades and funeral marches in New Orleans,” John says. “All Big Band music was influenced by early 20th century Dixieland!”

John wants our blog readers to know that he loves Art-Reach’s mission, and especially Executive Director Michael Norris and his marvelous staff for all they do to bring the arts and culture to those who would otherwise not have access. He also hopes their gig will bring in lots of green for Art-Reach programs. “I also hope we gain new listeners for the Big Band sound. It’s rare to experience a real live Big Band, so this is a unique opportunity for people to come out and hear this great music. We also have the privilege of Joe Smith of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops joining us for this event!”

Oh, and John will be taking your requests. I already made mine, but you will have to come out to find out what it is (hint: see the second-to-last paragraph).

Call Sage Young at 215-2115 x2 to reserve your tickets NOW!

-Kathy Spillman