STAT BOX
On Monday October 6, SheGives held a celebration with Raw Art Works at Space 57 in Boston’s Back Bay to launch its second year. The walls were lined with incredible art pieces by RAWstudents that SheGives members were able to discuss and explore with other member and members of the RAW community. Art reflected the students’ views of themselves, aspects of their lives, and their reactions to the world around them. RAW founder Mary Flannery was on hand during the evening’s cocktail hour to answer questions about the art and RAW Art Works. Members spent the first half of the evening enjoying drinks and hors d’oeuvres provided by Space 57.
Cocktails were followed by a presentation by RAW staff members. Mary Flannery, Kit Jenkins, Kathe Swaback, and Masiel Encarnacion took turns speaking about the importance of RAW and what RAW does for students in the Lynn area. RAW students provided a heart-warming short film showcasing how they felt about RAW: RAW is a second home for students who want and need a sense of belonging. SheGives members were provided with a better understanding of RAW, how it operates financially, and how it has expanded and how it plans to expand in the future.
The presentation ended with Mary Flannery leading SheGives members in a guided art therapy session. Members teamed up with the woman sitting directly opposite them and told to draw each other without looking down at the paper. A feeling of nervousn
ess was quickly replaced by a palpable sense of fun and bonding as everyone let go of their worry about doing a poor job of drawing their partner and focused on having fun with the task at hand. After the drawing was complete, everyone colored their portraits and had their pictures taken next to them. The portraits were taken home as souvenirs on RAW clipboards.
SheGives Founder and President, Kirstan Barnett finished off the evening by informing members about what they can expect from SheGives this year. This year, SheGives will be selecting four new nonprofits to add to the slate. These nonprofits will be chosen from one of four different tracks. Members who wish to get involved with choosing can contact Carrie Greenaway for more information.
A special thanks to Samantha Yanofsky, the talented force behind SLY Photography, for her incredible photos capturing the evening. To see more photos from the event, visit SLY Photography’s gallery here.
