VSA, the international organization on arts and disability and an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts along with CVS Caremark All Kids Can are inviting children with and without disabilities, ages 5-15, to participate in the 2012 All Kids Can CREATE “Call for Art” and showcase the positive impact the arts can have on each and every child.

This year’s theme, “What Inspires Me,” encourages young people to reflect on what inspires them and express those inspirations through original art. The 2012 All Kids Can CREATE program will officially launch on the birthday of inspirational civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Artwork submitted before April 8, 2012 at http://www.artsonia.com/allkidscan will be featured in an online gallery and considered for display in the “What Inspires Me” exhibition debuting at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. in August 2012. One hundred and two pieces of art―two from each state and the District of Columbia―will be part of the exhibition.

The “Call for Art” is part of VSA and CVS Caremark’s All Kids Can CREATE campaign to encourage learning and community engagement through artistic expression. The program includes the Call for Art, artist-in-residence programs in schools, and community events that will expand access and learning through the arts for students with disabilities. CVS Caremark colleagues also participate in the program through volunteer activities that engage their communities and/or schools in building inclusive environments.

“The arts provide valuable opportunities for students to explore and exercise their creativity,” said Betty Siegel, Director of VSA.” Through programs like this we have been able to expose thousands of students of all abilities to the arts.”

“CVS Caremark is proud to partner with VSA for the fifth year on the All Kids Can CREATE campaign, furthering our commitment to inclusion and giving children of all abilities a unique opportunity to express themselves through their artwork,” said Eileen Howard Boone, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Relations, CVS Caremark. “The artwork celebrates each individual student and raises awareness in schools and in local communities about the importance of inclusion.”

Children are invited to stretch their imagination by using traditional art materials as well as non-traditional ones, such as wrapping paper, newspaper or aluminum foil. In addition, teachers who submit their students’ artwork are eligible to receive one of four $1,500 cash awards to use in their classrooms.

Last year’s All Kids Can CREATE resulted in more than 4,700 submissions from across the country.  All of the artwork submitted this year, from paintings to sculptures to photographs, will be featured in an online gallery at www.artsonia.com

The article VSA and CVS Caremark Invite Children to Share Inspiring Artwork appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Presidential candidates go to great lengths to claim the moral high ground as they jockey for support from the American public. While contenders from Gingrich to Obama seek the imprimatur of religious institutions across the land, the fractious political landscape scarcely reflects the values to which all would aspire.

Into the battleground of the farm state of Iowa comes an unusual native son: Marc Daniels, American-Jewish author of the German published ‘Der Himmelsgarten: Das Handbuch des Spirituellen Gartners’ (‘Heaven’s Garden: The Handbook of Spiritual Gardening’).

As the grandson of Ross Daniels, the inventor of the Ross Root Feeder, Marc Daniels’s horticultural and Iowan roots run deep. Yet it took an eight-year journey into the mystical heritage of Judaism and studies in both Germany and Israel to reveal the choicest fruits of his Hawkeye stock.

Daniels has come to Iowa for the January 3rd caucus to advance his campaign and to meet with press and potential US publishers. His book, preliminarily titled for English publication as ‘Weed Out Hate: Sow the Seeds of Peace,’ is the groundwork for the Weed Out Hate initiative and is ripe for American publication.

One need not have a spiritual disposition to appreciate the wisdom of this work. The Weed Out Hate initiative integrates family values by addressing the epidemic bullying problem through gardening pedagogy. It is the quintessential children’s grass-roots instrument that transcends party politics, cultural, and religious differences.

Elementary schools around the country have already begun to integrate his Weed Out Hate gardening pedagogy into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s tenants of social inclusion by distributing specially designed Sunflower Peace Seed Packs, donated by Daniels, to school children.

Each of the packages contains an anti-bullying message and encourages children to email President Obama asking him to organize a Weed Out Hate gathering. At this globally televised White House-sponsored mega event, the children of the world would be called upon to fulfill Dr. Martin Luther King’s Promised Land vision by rooting out hatred once and for all.

Daniels’s  initiative has attracted endorsements from around the world, including those from German President Christian Wulff and Chancellor Angela Merkel, to Dr. Walter Milton, Jr., Superintendent of the Springfield IL Public Schools. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, and Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad have all issued children-oriented anti-bullying proclamations, calling for weeds of prejudice to be extracted and seeds of peace and understanding to be planted.

With Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) assistance, Daniels is pressing President Obama for a declaration of support. He has also received endorsements and encouragement for his initiative from Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachman, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum at various town hall and Republican Party sponsored forums.

The article Spiritual Gardener: Weeding Out Hate in Iowa Caucus appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.