Arts Health Antigonish hosted its first fundraiser on Saturday, November 14, 2015. We had a lot of fun and many laughs as we welcomed community members and played together, enjoying music, painting, words, wire sculptures, photography, storytelling and creating a garden for the RK. Many, many thanks to facilitators John Graham-Pole, Anne Simpson, Noella Murphy, Kim Wempe, Mary Partridge, Jeremy Holmes, Rosemary Curry, Maureen St. Clair, Angus MacCaull, Janette Fecteau, Brendan Ahern, Celeigh Barber Russell, Rachel Power and Peter Jowett. Sincere thanks to Judy Jowett for preparing food and drink for us all and our heartfelt thanks to Faye and Paula from Scotiabank for looking after the door and colouring book sales.
AHA! is a non-profit that recognizes and fosters the interplay between creativity and wellness. It promotes education through the arts as a way to health and it assists young artists (in all the arts) in furthering their potential. AHA! celebrates Arts Health Month each November. As one of its founding members, Dr. John Graham-Pole, points out: “Art taps, for each of us, whatever our circumstances, a deep well of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It is indispensable to our lives, and to our total health.”
AHA! is most grateful to all those who have supported our work financially, at the fundraiser, through purchasing our colouring book and through private donations. Proceeds from the fundraising will go towards arts health programming in the community, building on previous initiatives for elders and youth, like Thundertales, a storytelling program through the arts for children at Paqtnkek and Antigonish, and The Eldertree Project, which involved the gathering of stories and songs from elders in the R.K. MacDonald Nursing Home and Highland-Crest Home. AHA! has also supported a music therapist who became established in a position at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital and in community high schools. Currently, AHA! is supporting a year-long pilot program in expressive arts therapy in the hospital and community.
Charitable receipts are available for donations made to AHA! though St Martha’s Regional Hospital Foundation. http://smrhfoundation.com/donate/ Donations can also be made through Anne Marie MacKenzie at the Chamber of Commerce office.