All the things that truly matter: love, kindness, creativity, beauty, joy.
We Proudly Present Our Grant Recipients for 2013
The Edible Schoolyard Project
Photo courtesy of The Edible Schoolyard Project
"A garden brings life and beauty to the table."
--Alice Waters, founder and president of The Edible Schoolyard Project
Kelly often combined her passion for food and her adoration of children by bringing them to the kitchen. Some of her goddaughter’s most vivid memories of Kelly are in an apron, being praised for the red and yellow pattern of bell peppers on a freshly speared kebab, while being taught how to cook a mushroom and flip a piece of chicken. While Kelly was bringing kids to the kitchen, Alice Waters was bringing the kitchen to the classroom. In 1996, she created The Edible Schoolyard at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Middle school. The Edible Schoolyard is a one-acre garden with an adjacent kitchen-classroom. In this kitchen, children are taught an “eco-gastronomic” curriculum, instilling the knowledge and ethics needed for a sustainable future.
Read more about The Edible Schoolyard Project
12 Angels Evergreen Project
When you strive to heal an addiction you are reaching for your highest goal. It is profoundly spiritual. Anyone who has challenged an addiction has done holy work.
--Gary Zukav, author of The Seat of the Soul
One of Kelly’s goals was to work in the field of addiction recovery. She was a kind and understanding soul, who brought comfort and support to many people in many ways. In the spirit of her unwavering compassion towards others, part of the mission of the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation is to support research and development of effective treatment for alcohol and drug additions. 12 Angels Evergreen Fund provides investment capital, consultation and mentorship to businesses willing to hire and work with recovering addicts. Through partnership with these businesses, 12 Angels hopes to enable recovering addicts to enjoy productive and healthy lives.
Read more about 12 Angels Evergreen Project
CIS: Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. --Robert F. Kennedy
In 2013, KABF Director Debra Hannula traveled to El Salvador as a member of the SOA Watch delegation with Father Roy Bourgeois. There she met Leslie Schuld, executive director of CIS. Ms. Schuld organized the delegation’s itinerary and led the group for 10 days, so Debra was able to observe her up close and personal. Leslie explained to the group that she had heard Father Roy speak at her college and he transformed her life. She moved to El Salvador in 1993 and has been working for justice ever since. She had the SOA Watch delegation meet with the former President of El Salvador, the current Vice President of El Salvador, and their Human Rights Assembly and with the communities fighting for their rights to land, clean water, dignity, and work. Leslie is working with those in poverty to fight against a Canadian mining company that wants to mine for gold, poisoning their water supply/land where they live.
Read more about CIS
PYE (Partners for Youth Empowerment)
Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children. --Khalil Gibran
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was drawn to PYE because they are a hands-on training organization, empowering youth through creative workshops and helping them find their voice—often literally. The PYE website explains that The Creative Community Model “combines the expressive arts, experiential learning, and creative facilitation to promote self-esteem, motivation, social and emotional literacy, a sense of purpose, cross-cultural competence, community involvement, and 21st century leadership skills.” The model is unique because it integrates a range of artistic modalities, ranging from music, rhythm, visual arts, theatre, creative writing, storytelling and movement into the learning process.
Read more about PYE
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was drawn to PYE because they are a hands-on training organization, empowering youth through creative workshops and helping them find their voice—often literally. The PYE website explains that The Creative Community Model “combines the expressive arts, experiential learning, and creative facilitation to promote self-esteem, motivation, social and emotional literacy, a sense of purpose, cross-cultural competence, community involvement, and 21st century leadership skills.” The model is unique because it integrates a range of artistic modalities, ranging from music, rhythm, visual arts, theatre, creative writing, storytelling and movement into the learning process.
Read more about PYE
UMO Ensemble
Wisdom is found in all creative works.
--Hildegard von Bingen
Over the past twenty years, UMO Ensemble has performed in theaters, festivals and schools throughout the Northwest, the United States, Canada and Europe. At its base, UMO is an ensemble of performers who create and compose their own productions. Their improvisation is rooted in physical theater and they use movement, character, vocals and writing to create an original and innovative piece. Since their arrival on Vashon Island, Washington, in 1989, UMO Ensemble has produced more than twenty original works. Their talent, humor, music and acrobatics weren’t the only things that drew KABF to UMO. They are also a giving and socially-conscious group that wants everyone to have the opportunity to experience the arts. KABF supported a project through which UMO transported and paid for inner city students to attend a performance at ACT Theatre in Seattle, specifically geared towards this youth.
Read more about UMO Ensemble
Pathstar
I feel invincible. I swam Alcatraz! We swam it! There is nothing we can’t do! It is good to be able to approach life with the attitude that anything is possible.
--Karen Elizabeth Wapato, Colville Confederated Tribes, Nez Perce, 2013 Pathstar Alcatraz swimmer
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was pleased to again support Pathstar with a grant in 2013.
Eight Native Americans from the Cherokee, Colville, Lakota, and Oneida tribes completed the 2013 Pathstar Alcatraz Swim Program Week on October 14, 2013. This day also marked the eleventh year for this amazing non-profit. One of the winning techniques of Pathstar is to surround the participants with wonderfully well-rounded support through life coaches, health educators, personal trainers, and physicians. The week long experience includes not only practice swims, but community vegetable garden tours, trips to farmers’ markets, garden cooking classes, and exciting ways to take the information home to share.
One fifth of the indigenous population of North America suffers from diabetes, resulting in many untimely deaths. Theresea Bessette has cancer and diabetes but neither illness stopped her from training and participating in the week long Pathstar event. In the year of preparation leading up to October 2013, Ms. Bessette quit smoking and shed forty pounds. She is determined to live to 100 and to pass on to her community what she has learned through Pathstar’s program. She intends to return and swim year after year after year.
Taking charge and control of their physical health has transformed many Pathstar participants, not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Read more about Pathstar
Center for Justice and Accountability
CJA files case against former Pinochet officer for
the killing of legendary Chilean folksinger Victor Jara
"I will not tire of declaring that if we really want an effective end to violence we must remove the violence that lies at the root of all violence: structural violence, social injustice, exclusion of citizens from the management of the country, repression. All this is what constitutes the primal cause, from which the rest flows naturally."
--Archbishop Oscar Romero
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was pleased to continue our support of CJA in 2013 in the form of a matching grant. The moment our grant was posted another donor matched it dollar for dollar. While we were thrilled to learn this had happened so quickly, we were not surprised, because this donor understands, like KABF does, CJA’s incredible human rights work.
CJA Director, Pamela Merchant, highlights a few of CJA’s triumphs:
“The past eight years have seen many firsts for CJA including the filing of CJA's first criminal human rights case in Spain (Jesuits Massacre Case), crossing the one million dollar mark for recovery for our clients (Jean v. Dorelien) and, in our first case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, we won a unanimous victory (Samantar v. Yousuf). Among other significant firsts, we testified before Congress, organized the first client conference on the effects of participating in human rights litigation and launched a Transitional Justice Program which is now operating in six countries including Haiti, Peru and Somalia. We also won the prestigious Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Human Rights.”
Read more about the Center for Justice and Accountability
Father Bill "Bix" Bichsel
I’m experiencing this time as a real retreat. The oneness of the Eucharist unifying all people in a live background stirs me. The signs of resistance and the dancing and singing give life and vibrancy to the Eucharist. What I’m experiencing is a church alive with a bishop calling for resistance. --Father Bill "Bix" Bichsel, Society of Jesus (S.J.) Roman Catholic priest, peace activist, friend of the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation
Upon receiving another grant from KABF in 2013, Fr. Bix exclaimed, “I nearly keeled over!” Full of gratitude and idealistic vision, Bix immediately knew what he’d do to honor Kelly. He booked a ticket to Jeju, a volcanic island off the southern coast of South Korea. With its temperate climate, sandy white beaches, three World Heritage Sites, unique language and culture—it’s a matriarchal society in which the women bring home the bacon as deep sea divers—Jeju Island offers much for tourists to enjoy. But Bix wasn’t called to Jeju as a tourist. Though a tranquil island setting, Jeju’s 20th century history has been anything but peaceful. The Japanese occupation began in 1910, but shifted after World War II, when Russia and the U.S. became the new occupiers. The residents that resisted were killed by the newly established South Korean government, with the infamous rape and slaughter of the locals beginning April 2, 1948 that claimed 30,000 lives (the documentary The Ghosts of Jeju Island addresses the U.S. involvement).
Recently the residents of Jeju have staged ongoing protests with numerous Catholic nuns, a local Catholic bishop, and Jesuit priests—including Fr. Bix front and center—in the opposition to a new and massive naval base construction. The understanding by the locals and all the protesters (which also includes film-maker Oliver Stone) is that this new base is a joint U.S./South Korean operation, with the U.S. keeping a very low profile. Part of this understanding is based on the deep-water structures being built to accommodate a trident nuclear submarine and aircraft carrier, weapons of war that South Korea doesn’t own, but the U.S. does. One of the many fears is that this will be seen as an act of aggression by China, a mere 300 miles away.
Bix describes the spirit of the resistance in Jeju in this post on the Plowshares blog:
“We are living in Gangjeong Village here on Jeju Island and the village life is wonderful. Daily Eucharist and rosary is ended with high spirited Korean dance and song…Fr. Kim had arranged for Gilberto and me to attend the ongoing investigative trials of Brother Park, S.J. (who lives in community with Fr. Kim) and Doctor Song who were being held in jail for their resistance work against the naval base. Great conversations today with two Korean Jesuit Priests each named Kim. This is the most alive and vibrant faith community I’ve ever experienced. Daily Eucharist is the foundation of the ongoing acts of resistance which also occur each day. Everyday priests, nuns and villagers sit in chairs blocking the main gate while the sung Eucharist up the road is being broadcast. After the Mass and rosary there is very vibrant Korean dance that knocks your socks off and fills you with joy. After this there is lively song. This is followed by Korean lunch, kim chi style, that is held in the community meal house that has free and open meals every day. The atmosphere is light and alive with communication. At 7am the day starts with a village lady who leads us in 100 deep, down-on-your-knees bows in front of the gate. Different blocking actions take place in the afternoon. Each order of nuns sends two nuns every week to vigil and resist. They stay in a guest house that is rented by the diocese. Four Jesuits are assigned to full time resistance work. The bishop is fabulous and calls villagers to resistance as well as assigning priests to work for peace."
Read more about Father Bill Bichsel
Pathways to Independence
“Pathways is teaching me how to live life and no matter what struggles you are going through keep climbing that mountain until you reach the other side, and never give up until you get there.” --Caylie, speaking on her experience as a Pathways client
What happens to all the young, neglected, abused children who come from families unwilling or unable to provide for them, keep them safe, or love them? Or worse, what happens if their family is only hurting them? Who can these kids turn to when family is the problem, not the solution?
Pathways to Independence, founded in 1991 by educators Dave and Joyce Bishop, addresses this issue head-on with over three hundred volunteer professionals, including doctors, therapists, lawyers, mechanics—just to name a few. These professionals are willing and able to give their time, resources and kindness free of charge to this underserved (and often un-served) invisible segment of our society. To date, Pathways to Independence has served over 280 young women with 80% becoming college graduates.
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was happy to support Pathways with a second grant in 2013.
Read more about Pathways to Independence
New Connections/Irma Gary House
How exciting is a blank canvas?
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." -- Maya Angelou
According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the United States incarcerates the highest percentage of its population. At 716 per 100,000 people, the U.S. beats out every other nation on earth. Female imprisonment in the U.S. has increased 757% since 1977, surpassing the male prison population growth in all 50 states. The majority of women in the criminal justice system come from high poverty communities that lack important social support; most lack high school diplomas, or vocational training, and significant work history. Most have experienced, as children, serious physical and sexual abuse. As adults, nearly all have high levels of physical, mental and substance abuse problems and many are mothers, and the sole supporters and caregivers of their children.
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was honored to again make a grant to New Connections, the non-profit that assists women newly released from prison.
Their thank you note from Director Theresa Power-Drutis says it all:
Thank you for the generous donation from the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation; your gift makes a world of difference. In 2013 Irma Gary House provided housing and wrap-around services for 13 women and the Ann Flagg cottage was home to 2 families. The funding provided through the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation last year was essential to our ability to offer assistance with transportation, education and employment assistance, acquiring new ID cards, and to cover costs of items that were not otherwise funded or donated to the program. We utilize local clothing banks and thrift stores; however, shoes and work clothes are more difficult to find. These may seem like small items, but the joy of donning a new pair of thermals and warm outerwear for the first day of a warehouse job is difficult to overstate. Because New Connections is small and our work is supported almost entirely through volunteers and individual donations, your foundation’s grant has a great impact. We are delighted that you were able to assist us once again and look forward to putting the resources you have entrusted to our organization to the best use in the year ahead.
Read more about New Connections
BookMentors
Frida ¡Viva La Vida!/Long Live Life! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.” ― Roald Dahl, Matilda
Kelly loved books. Kelly loved kids. Everything about BookMentors is just so Kelly! Kelly Ann Brown Foundation was thrilled to again support BookMentors with a grant in 2013. BookMentors bought a boatload of books in Kelly’s name, including a book on an artist Kelly’s godmother—a renowned artist herself, Janice Lowry Gothold—loved: Frida Kahlo.
Through BookMentors website, teachers request the books they need so that donors can choose the books they feel great about giving. Once a book is purchased and sent, the teacher sends a thank you note, and the donor can write back, all on this fabulous one of a kind website and 501(c)(3).
Frida: Viva La Vida!/Long Live Life! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand was requested by a teacher at Searles Elementary School in Union City, California:
Dear Kelly Ann Brown Foundation,
Thank you so much for helping change the lives of our kids. It just takes one just right book to hook a student as a reader for life. I can't wait to share this book with my students. I have planned a Frida Portrait Art project for the kids as a response to this literature.
With a happy heart,
Mrs. Mares
Read more about BookMentors
Kids First Enterprise/Yeko Anim
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." --Nelson Mandela
Five year old non-profit Yeko Anim has been taken to a whole new level with co-founders and husband/wife team Dutch and BL Meyer. Dutch and BL retired from work and life in the USA in 2013 and moved to the village town of Kwahu Tafo, Ghana, last July. Their intention was “to work directly with the programs of Yeko Anim,” which serve the Kwahu Tafo community.
The Kelly Ann Brown Foundation is pleased to once again support this exciting organization!
Read more about Kids First Enterprise/Yeko Anim Ghana
Father Roy Bourgeois
Those who are weak don’t fight. Those who are stronger might fight for an hour. Those who are stronger still might fight for many years. The strongest fight their whole life. They are the indispensable ones.
--Bertolt Brecht (playwright, author, activist)
After being officially and permanently kicked out of the Catholic Church priesthood in October 2012, Father Roy used his shock, hurt and anger to do what he has always done: fight for justice and equality for all.
Since the 1970’s, Father Roy has been a peace activist. His hunger for peace created the School of the Americas Watch, advocating for the creation of schools of learning trades that create good in society, rather than schools that teach warfare, torture, and hate. While en route to a meeting with the Vice President of El Salvador (to argue that El Salvador cease sending their soldiers to the infamous U.S. School of the Americas), Father Roy learned that an op-ed he’d written would be published in the New York Times on March 20, 2013!
Father Roy was again chosen by the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation to be a 2013 grant recipient. It is what Kelly would have wanted.
The following is an excerpt from Father Roy’s New York Times op-ed “My Prayer: Let Women Be Priests”:
AFTER serving as a Roman Catholic priest for 40 years, I was expelled from the priesthood last November because of my public support for the ordination of women. Catholic priests say that the call to be a priest comes from God. As a young priest, I began to ask myself and my fellow priests: “Who are we, as men, to say that our call from God is authentic, but God’s call to women is not?” Isn’t our all-powerful God, who created the cosmos, capable of empowering a woman to be a priest? Let’s face it. The problem is not with God, but with an all-male clerical culture that views women as lesser than men. Though I am not optimistic, I pray that the newly elected Pope Francis will rethink this antiquated and unholy doctrine.
Read more about Father Roy Bourgeois