How to start a movement

While going about my business of teaching children the joys of art and trying to open their minds to creativity, I wasn’t expecting them to create a movement.

Upon returning to school after the Thanksgiving holidays, I was greeted by children who had spent their days off creating items to sell.  They had made ankle bracelets, duck tape wallets, hand drawn cartoons, and anything else they could think of that would bring in a buck. They had strategically collaborated on a scheme to generate funds, not for themselves but for a cause that they had decided deserved their attention.

While working for a cause is not unusual, the way they collaborated and organized their little team was. Hannah Mosley, a shy and extremely intuitive young fourth grader, had listened intently to some of my rants about their responsibility to keep the arts alive……that they were our future …and of course, I added my own involvement with The Farm into the mix.  What I didn’t realize that out of those rants, I gave Hannah the impression that The Farm was going out of business. 

That notion that the Farm would not be there for her and future generations obviously spoke to her. She had an idea.  And she shared her idea with a friend, Sarah Parnell. The two of them took on the mission and the task of ‘saving the Farm.’  They met with their fellow classmates and began making notes and brainstorming on what things they could do to generate funds.   Lilly Spiller, Katharyn Woodard, Cristalyn McDaniel,  Evie Walker,  Camile Simonton, Avery Myers, and Emily Ramie joined the team.  Then others signed up to work and sell their wares.  Before you know it, they had their entire fourth grade class involved.  They each made long list of items for sale in their notebooks.  They shared their lists and their talents with each other.  They campaigned during the holidays and hit up anyone they could with their idea and their mission to ‘save the Farm.’

What makes this all so incredible to me is that I saw them create a movement.  A movement to save the arts. The idea that the Farm was going out of business was not true. While our revenue streams have dried up and grant dollars for the arts have been drastically cut, we’ve managed to come up with ideas to generate funds to keep the Farm open.  But none so moving as theirs.   The fact that the Farm could go out of business without the continued support of the community was definitely true. 

And while I’ve been waiting and hoping that the community would rise up and realize the importance of the arts and all those things that encourage creativity…. a little girl did!  Hannah and Sarah shared their vision with their friends and classmates and this week handed me an envelope with $55.90 for The Farm.  It took everything I had to hold back the tears.  And with their proud little smiles, they declared there was more to come.  And Hannah, taking the lead, picked up a pen and said “We need a goal.  How much do we need to raise for The Farm?”  “You all will need to decide that,” I said.  “Will $1,000 be enough?”  she said while writing the amount on the board.

At 50c per cartoon and $1 for each ankle bracelet, they were confident that they could do it.  This little army of art warriors had put it all in perspective for me. 

That $55.90 was worth more than a $1,000 to me.  And these two little girls who recruited an army of followers now own my heart. I’m not worried about the future of the Farm or the future of the arts in Minden.  I have Hannah Mosley and Sarah Parnell and an army of creative thinkers who started their own movement.  Power to the people! Power to the creative thinkers!