Poetry, Fall and Fundraising!


Autumnal Equinox

The misty ghosts rise early from the river bed.
Traveling up the mountain side,
they wrap their icy arms around 
the swaying maples and bending birches.
Their chilly welcome signals a change from
homely gowns of green
to garments of lush red, startling orange and brilliant gold.
Soon, the entire mountain is resplendant
in its autumn finery.

by Linda M. Rhinehart Neas © 2012

How I love the autumn season and writing poetry!  This fall, I am so excited to be participating in the Poem-a-day challenge because for each poem I write, friends and family have pledged a donation to The Center for New Americans (CNA).  CNA is an organization that supports immigrants and refugees by providing various resources and programs that help acclimate them to their new home.  

Some of you know that I am very passionate about CNA.  This is were I teach English as a second language.  I have had the joy of seeing students with few English skills progress to community college and beyond.  One of the things that makes our program at CNA different from others is that we provide a child care literacy program that allows parents to go to ESL classes, while their children are also learning.  All the services at CNA are free of charge, which means that funds are raised through various means, including fundraising.

This November, CNA will celebrate 30 Poems in November, an event that invites poets, writers and community members to take the challenge of creating a poem a day during the month of November.  Each writer sets up a fundraising page on the secure FirstGiving site.  There, friends and family can pledge money towards the fundraiser.

But this isn't simply a fundraiser.  30 Poems in November is also a celebration of poetry and community.  In December, writers are invited to come together at Smith College in Northampton, MA for an evening of readings, sharing and the celebration of literacy. 

If you are interested in helping me raise funds, my page is found here. 
If you would like to join in this wonderfully creative celebration as a writer, you may sign up at  http://www.cnam.org/30-poems

What a wonderful way to share our language!

Namasté!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul

Image
As we progress through Poetry Month, I have been reading many of my old poetry books. Some are journals into which Momma placed her favorites poems, which are now my favorite poems. One of my absolute top ten poems is: If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. This beautiful verse was written by MOSLIH EDDIN (MUSLIH-UN-DIN) SAADI (SADI ) , who was a major Persian poet of the medieval times. It is just one of the many beautiful verses in his book Gulistan ("The Rose Garden") . (Photo Credit) ~~~~~~ Also from Gulistan, is the verse which visitors find at the entrance to the United Nations Hall of Nations. It reads: Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul . If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot
Read more

Grandchildren Connections - Guest Post

Image
 Today, I have the honor of sharing a guest post with the author of I Can't Wait to Love You Forever, Patricia Eckerman Ambas.  I highly recommend this book both for the content and the illustrations. I wished I had a copy of it way back when I was raising my girls. Patricia is a talented writer. I hope you enjoy her post. Grandchildren Connections Grandparents are powerful forces. The ones who can be the second parents, but more of the love and fun, and less of the discipline. Not even close to being a grandmother yet, I consider myself close to the source of what grandchildren want (as a beloved and loving granddaughter myself) and raising three children who have a close connection with both sets of grandparents. I have two tips to share with you that can begin to cultivate a stronger relationship with your grandchildren.  One of the reasons I’m sharing on this topic is that I’m finding some of my biggest book fans are grandparents. They love buying my books for their grandchildr
Read more

Giving Thanks for Writers - Blog Hop!

Image
Today, Words from the Heart is part of a huge blog hop.  A blog hop is an event where readers have the opportunity to visit a group of blogs that are promoting or celebrating the same thing.  This blog hop is brought to you by the WoMen's Literary Cafe Authors as part of their Gratitude celebration. For our part of the hop, we are honored to post and grateful to host author, Wendy Young .  Wendy's book, Come the Shadows , will be part of our Blog Hop give-away. You'll want to check out the other blogs that are also hosting give-aways! Find out more at the end of this post! Gratitude by Wendy Young This is the time of year where everyone begins to consider the question: What are you thankful for? In my house, now that we’ve started having kids, we try to make it a daily question. Every night we ask our son: What are you thankful for? His answers are quite simple and surprising – even something like his blanket will rate on the list. We’re happy that, so far, both Momm
Read more