Families Creating Together – an award-winning program providing children of all abilities and their families with expressive arts opportunities – will celebrate its 10th anniversary at a “Dreaming of Community” awards dinner at 1st Baptist in Jamaica Plain on November 9 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.
State Representative Nika Elugardo will emcee the event. Rep. Elugardo said she is honored to share this night with the FCT family and community members. A Jamaica Plain resident, she represents the 15th Suffolk District which includes JP, Mission Hill, Roslindale and Brookline, and has been called “a pioneering advocate for opportunity and social justice.” She holds a B.S. from M.I.T., M.P.P. from Harvard University, and J.D. from Boston University.
FCT provides multicultural, multilingual and intergenerational programs that offer inclusive opportunities in the arts for children of all abilities and family members. Grandparents raising their grandchildren often participate. Along with inspirational journeys into the arts, FCT strengthens participants’ access to a variety of community supports. All FCT programs are free of charge.
“At FCT, on this significant anniversary, we honor those whose lives and work are guided by a vision of ‘Dreaming of Community,’ said Edward Pazzanese, founder and director of FCT. “The power of the arts can be life-changing. We believe that creating art in an inclusive community environment empowers children and families to move forward in their lives with pride, strength and joy.”
Pazzanese said FCT will honor the following outstanding persons for their extraordinary contributions to children, families, communities and the arts. The honorees will have the opportunity to address the gathering.
• Jude Goldman, Executive Director, Lenny Zakim Fund. Jude Goldman will retire at the end of 2019 from leadership of this significant philanthropy, named for renowned civil rights activist Lenny Zakim. The fund works to build bridges among people and communities to advance social, economic and racial justice. The Zakim mission is to listen to those most impacted by inequity and provide the funding, essential resources and support they need to create lasting change.
• Reverend June Cooper, Executive Director, City Mission Society, is applauded as the visionary and compassionate leader of City Mission. The oldest multi-service center in New England, it serves the most vulnerable people in Boston via pioneering efforts in education, poverty reduction and family homelessness reduction. City Mission develops programs to unite communities and transform individuals. June values the promise of what can be accomplished by mobilizing people of goodwill to overcome injustice.
• Susan Perlstein, Founder & Executive Director, National Center for Creative Aging, has spent decades promoting “creative aging,” encouraging people to find meaning and purpose in their lives through art. An educator, social worker, administrator and an artist who has written extensively on creativity and lifelong learning, she is also the Founder & Executive Director of Elders Share the Arts. Her programs have educated thousands of artists, educators and health care and social service professionals with exemplary models replicated nationally and internationally.
The program will also include music, a gourmet dinner and the opportunity to spend time with people who care deeply about children, families, our communities and the creative, engaging and healing force of ART IN OUR LIVES!
FCT’s free workshops are available to all income levels, with low-income families encouraged to participate. The organization also provides cultural field trips and other community arts opportunities. All workshops are taught by an experienced team of visual and performing teaching artists, some of whom are living with a disability, in an accessible setting in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. FCT is a program of Community Service Care/Tree of Life Coalition in Jamaica Plain.
Don’t miss this once-in-10-years opportunity to celebrate an organization that is making a difference for children, families and seniors from all neighborhoods of Boston. The event site is wheel chair accessible and the program will be presented in English and American Sigh Language. Tickets are $50 each. Please go to www.familiescreatingtogether.org to purchase your tickets today!