Azalea Blossom End of Year Letter December 2020

Dear family and friends,
I am excited to let you know that our match has been extended through the end of December! This means that you still have the opportunity to have your donation from $1 to $1,000 doubled.

In spite of these very challenging and unprecedented times, Azalea Blossom has continued to move forward with its dynamic programming for bullying prevention and domestic violence awareness. With your support, we have

Accomplished the following:

• Taught SAFE through the arts programs to three kindergarten classes (including a SPED inclusion class) at Van Corlaer School, a culturally diverse and economically challenged public school in Schenectady, New York. (January- March)
• Created a new website design, which will feature videos of the SAFE through the arts puppet skits so that children will be able to benefit from the lessons of SAFE  regardless of their geographic location.
• Worked on scripting our SAFE through the arts television series, which we plan on introducing this spring. This television or internet series, which will initially consist of twenty 30 minute episodes, will provide children around the world with our crucial bullying prevention content as well as keep them engaged in the performing and creative arts. Our Director, Margaret Jean Bernstein, has already written 13 songs for this project.
• Continued to spread awareness of domestic violence through the Bricks in the Wall music video, which has reached a total of nearly two thousand views worldwide.
• Welcomed and trained two interns from Hartwick College as part of Azalea Blossom’s ongoing work in educating college students about the inner working of non profit organizations. Our internships also help students to understand more about our work with domestic violence awareness.

A teacher observing SAFE through the arts earlier this year wrote to us with the following comment about how our program positively affected her students:
“ …Our students and I have enjoyed  SAFE through the arts…  The program is so creative and engaging!  Many of our students have a difficult time staying focused.  Yet, through the use of the adorable, diverse puppets and voices they are mesmerized!  They engage in the fun activities.  Their attention is captured through the use of songs, movement, and visuals.  The program touches on all the learning modalities for our students to retain the objective.  Best of all, students and staff learn to feel good about the qualities they possess.” 

Our goals for 2021 are as follows:

• Bringing SAFE to the arts programming to a wider audience through a variety of media including the internet and television. (Spring of 2021)
• Re-implementing the SAFE through arts program in schools fall of 2021
• Relaunching the Bricks in the Wall domestic violence shelter program
• Expanding our resources to include support for sibling abuse.
• Building a new data base to more efficiently reflect and track all of the information that we need on the schools and shelters interested in our programs as well as our current and prospective donors, volunteers, interns and staff. This will give us the ability to be more even more productive and reach an even greater population.

Due to COVID, we are not receiving funding that we received in the past. Funders who previously supported the SAFE through the arts program are not able to donate until we are able to bring the program physically back into the schools. All our in-person fundraising events planned for 2020 were cancelled.

This is why your support is so crucially needed at this time. The very generous offer to have all donations up to $6,000 matched has been extended until the end of the month. We still need is to raise $5,000 by December 31st! Every dollar that you give on line or by check through the end December will be DOUBLED. So, if we are able to raise the $5,000 through your generous contributions from now until the end of the month, we will have $10,000 that will be utilized towards our programming. This money will have a huge impact on the people we serve as we currently have zero overhead expenses.

There are millions of children and adults alike who are presently facing bullying, threats of violence or actual physical violence in their homes. Since COVID began, the number of cases of incidents reported has dramatically increased. The SAFE through the arts and Bricks in the Wall programs are urgently needed now in order to bring hope, tools, inspiration, and positive messages to the people who are feeling alone and suffering. Although there are other organizations who strive to do this, we are unique in that we use the performing and creative arts are our main vehicle for change and are focused on compassion, integration, unity and empowerment as our end goals.

We know and understand that you and your wallet are being pulled in many different directions this holiday season and we so greatly appreciate you considering Azalea Blossom, Inc. as a worthy and important cause for your philanthropy. We welcome ALL donations, however large or small.

Gratitude and wishes of wellness to you and yours this holiday season,

Margaret Jean Bernstein, Director
Azalea Blossom, Incorporated

PS As a special token of our appreciation, we will send a copy of the “Bricks in the Wall” CD to everyone who makes a contribution of $100 or more. Thank you, once again, for your dedication to help prevent social and domestic violence, one person at a time.