ArtPrize has created quite a buzz around town whether you are an art connoisseur or not.  The variety and scope of the hundreds of pieces of art have surely caught the imagination and appreciation of the West Michigan audience and beyond.

Now that the first phase of the competition is over, I can talk about one of my favorite pieces. I was especially drawn to the mural on the wall at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Humanity at the Crossroads.  Daan Hoekstra’s beautiful image of the two faces draped in shawls, one eyes closed the other looking up, was striking.  The woman in the mural looks to be Latina, like me and a sense of wonder I can relate to. 

Whatever it is that a piece of art can stir inside of us is truly unique and personal.  This is what I enjoyed the most about ArtPrize, not necessarily the competition or hype.  To be surrounded by so much incredible creative energy was fantastic.  

Whatever the critics may say about this event, I have enjoyed looking out my window at WOOD TV8 at the beautiful metal flowers on the lawn, driving down a side street and discovering a hidden treasure I had not seen before or peaking into an empty store front or building to now find an array of art.

What art have you connected with?

It is getting harder and harder to pay the bills and feed your family. Food pantries are also struggling to keep up with the number of people asking for assistance. They are seeing a record number of people who never required assistance before now needing help.

I was at the food pantry today at SECA in SE Grand Rapid and spoke with Mildred, the food pantry coordinator. She also informed me that some of the people needing food have jobs, but their paycheck just does not go far enough.  She was showing me the empty shelves, and I thought how can this be?  Many of the local registered food pantries do get food from Second Harvest Gleaners and they are ready to help. They distribute food all over West Michigan.

It’s hard to imagine people in our community going to sleep hungry, not able to feed their kids the nutritious meals they would like or deciding whether to pay the electric bill or buy groceries. There are always food drives going on somewhere. If you can, next time, pick up some canned goods or a box of macaroni from your cupboard and help feed your neighbor.

We hear it everywhere. These are tough economic times for all of us. One can often feel overwhelmed by it all and wonder ”What can I do?” With so many people hurting, those who offer help are also overwhelmed trying to keep up with the demand.  There is something we can do.

Mayor George Heartwell first announced his Neighbor to Neighbor program during his State of the City address. In the current water bills sent out to many Kent County residents, there is an opportunity to give a little extra if you can, and help out the neighbor who can’t. 

There are many different funds you can donate to help people trying to meet their basic needs. United Way, your local church, many non-profit organizations just to name a few.  This community has always stepped up to help those in need.

Tell me what you’re doing to help those in need in your community….

“Si Se Puede” has a familiar sound to it. Obama used it in his campaign “Yes we Can.” It was first heard with Cesar Chavez.  Well, yesterday I heard it again and this time it was part of a gathering for young Latinos. It seemed appropriate as more than 250 Latino students from the Holland area gathered for the Hispanic Youth Leadership Conference.

Sounds like any other conference you might hear about, but in todays tough econmic times the topics were quite relevant.  The importance of staying in school, what are the hot careers, how do I get to college, who me, community leader? What will the future be like for students in High School today? The whole theme “Si se Puede,” seemed to be a catchy anthem of hope that the kids latched on to.

I was honored to have a few words with these young people who seem to know what tough times are.  They were also an inspiration for me….

I was just at a meeting with other local media outlets, nonprofits, academics, local bloggers and the Community Media Center at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. This “Think Tank” of individuals was brought together to discuss the coming of neighborhood news bureaus in Grand Rapids as part of a grant from the Knight Foundation. The possibilities are exciting as we brainstormed how to create these neighborhood hubs and give them a voice for local news.  This is still in the formation stage, but the benefits seemed to outweigh the concerns.

The whole idea of citizen journalism can take on many views and perspectives that we can not always get from our traditional media outlets. The internet has exploded with social networking, bloggers, twitter, multitude of news sources that one can not help but sometimes be daunted by it all. I like this local angle and the idea of giving it a local voice.

We’ll see how it takes shape in the coming months and I’ll share with you its progression….more to come.

We are all familiar with the bell ringing volunteers braving the cold next to a Salvation Army’s Red Kettle during the holiday season. What happens when they don’t reach their goal? Even in these tough economic times, the Salvation Army keeps going. In an effort to help close the gap they will be holding their Second annual Doing the Most Good Radiothon event with WLHT 95.7 New Lite Rock. They will be at Woodland Mall on-air for twelve hours / 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 23, 2009.

The goal for the Red Kettle Campaign this past year was $1.45 million. Though they fell short, they hope to raise $25,000 to match Bob Israel’s challenge gift of $25,000 towards their Annual Fund.

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Wednesday night, December 17th, Jose Narezo passed away after his battle with cancer. I remember how hopeful he was when he was in our studios this past September delivering his own message as part of the network special “Stand Up to Cancer.” I remember him as a great artist who inspired me personally to take risks and let my own creativity come through.  He was greatly respected in the Latino community and was always there to help out so many organizations, schools and friends. 

We will miss you …

Last week, 24Hour News 8 reported on the possibility of theft from some of the Angel Tree Toy Drive donation sites. While the police investigate whether this was a volunteer or not, I wanted to share what so many others are doing. Early in the campaign, I received a call from Kristen wanting to help out with Angel Tree. One of their clients, Two Men and a Truck volunteered their services to help the Salvation Army with major pick-ups and transporting toys to distribution sites. This was Rob Fletcher from Wyoming.  Tim Sibilla from Fed Ex also called offering their services to assist with this year’s campaign. I could go on and on with hundreds of names of people wanting to help this holiday season. Unfortunately, this does not alway capture the headline but does make an impact in helping families during these difficult economic times. With over 450 locations from schools, churches, businesses big and small, people are stepping up to the plate to help families in need.

So to all those Angels in our community I want to say a BIG THANK YOU!

Click here to see all the donation sites.

This past weekend, many of us spent time with family and friends, hopefully realizing the many things we have to be thankful for. I received a call from a friend at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans and he wanted to share a thought for Thanksgiving…a Veterans Thought.

“A friend of mine visited and talked about job layoffs and cutbacks, we don’t have to worry about that here and where the next meal will come from and how it will be paid for and we don’t have to worry about that. So those are pretty fundamental things that those of us living here can be very grateful and we do believe that fine things happen here….”

His sincere gratefulness for what he had made me feel humbled for what we often take for granted.  There are many fine men and women at the Veterans Home here in Grand Rapids.  One way to show our gratitude for their service to our country is to visit the Veteran’s Tree at the Hospital. It is full of stars with requests from our Vets.  Take a star and give a gift to one of our Vets.   

Learn more about the needs for our Veterans and how you can help.

It was a great trip to Zapopan, Mexico for our official signing of our 5th International Sister City for Grand Rapids.  Mayor George Heartwell and his wife Susan along with the rest of the delegation were treated with incredible hospitality in their city of Zapopan. We arrived Sunday, October 25th for a group dinner and started the week off with a trip to one of their Community Agencies serving families and the elderly. Their senior center was incredible. Their choir sang for us, performed traditional dances and everyone there seemed very proud of their facility. They offered many social services including health, dental, vision, a beauty salon, crafts that they sold and much more. It was truly impressive.

We also had a visit with the newspaper El Informador. They shared their program with literacy efforts in the schools. There were visits to local universities, meetings with their chamber of commerce, the Museum of Art of Zapopan and a tour of the Cuervo Tequila plant in Tequila, Jalisco. I had the chance to visit TV Azteca and Televisa, two of their local television stations. Televisa even interviewed me for their news.

This week was also the official signing with the YMCA of Grand Rapids with the YMCA of Leon, Mexico here in Grand Rapids.  Again, another opportunity to form relationships and exchange of ideas, programs and better understand our cultures and learn best practices from each other.

These two newly formed partnerships are inspiring for our community and another way to think globally for West Michigan.  I look forward to sharing some of the video clips from our trip on future blogs.

Follow me on twitter @evaweva.