A Letter from the President

By Leslie Foster

Some of us have been thinking a lot about what happens when you “put things out in the universe” that you really, really want, and yet aren’t quite sure are going to happen.  This has been the case with adding new people to our Board of Directors. 

We bring new board members on twice a year and like every nonprofit, we work hard to find the right people and the right fit.  We want people who are passionate about our mission, who offer a diversity of skills, and who have access to a wide variety of communities. We need people with time and energy, and people who are interested in programs and advocacy, as well as some who are interested in by-laws, policies, and finances. Putting together a great Board is a challenge and it’s also critical to being a high functioning organization.

A few years ago we developed a new system that has been working well. Our dream was that one day we would have more candidates than openings and we would be choosing the best from the best.  Seems like this round, we got our wish -  we are interviewing nearly twice as many people as we have openings!  And, the people themselves are amazing! Every person offers personality we love, and the highest commitment to our mission. Some are new to Denver and some are long-time residents. We have current volunteers and people who are new to the organization. Professors, lawyers, nonprofit activists, and interested citizens are applying to be part of our board team.

Choosing the right people and the right mix is one of the best challenges we’ve had at The Gathering Place. There is little work that is more important or more rewarding than creating and then maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and committed team. A few years ago we “put it out to the universe” and great people came our way.  Call me a believer!

So speaking of putting it out to the universe…we do still have some needs!  So how about it?  Can you meet one or more of these needs?  If so, contact us!

• Runners, sponsors, ambassadors, and people who will donate to the Colfax Marathon!  Contact Juliette@tgpdenver.org to find out how to get involved!
• Interested in helping with meals? We need some reliable volunteers to assist with prep, cleaning and cooking duties. Meal sponsorships are also welcome.  Contact ashley@tgpdenver.org
•  We could really use some full-size toiletry items, such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion, deodorant, and tooth paste.  With families, especially, it’s nice to offer one big bottle rather than handing over handfuls of the travel size. Bring these items by any time!
•  Monthly givers! Check it out at https://tgpdenverorg.presencehost.net/get-involved/donate.html.  This is so easy!  Put your information in once and watch your gift recur every month.  Need more information before your commit? Contact EmilyBP@tgpdenver.org
• This summer we’ll be seeing school age kids at TGP!  Donations of tickets and passes to museums, and other attractions are needed!  We’d love to send a family to a movie matinee, or how about a trip to the zoo? Also, do you have a special talent to share? Our summer camp is looking for people who are willing to share their skills and talents for a few hours or on a regular basis.  Contact Matt@tgpdenver.org

Master Chef: Kitchen Class

By, Jason Medrano, Food Programs Manager

Summertime is our busiest time of year at The Gathering Place.  With that said, more helping hands are needed and welcomed to help with the increased volume of people. At TGP we have a chore point system in which members get chore points in return for helping out. Chores include clean up in the kitchen, washing windows, or taking out trash. Three times a week we have a “chore cart” where members can cash in their points for small gifts and perfumes.

Along those lines the kitchen at TGP will be creating “Kitchen Class” or “KC” points for the summer. Anytime a member does a kitchen chore during summer they will have the choice to take regular chore points or KC chore points. If the member collects enough KC points they are eligible to sign up for a cooking class that will be held in the TGP kitchen the end of June. This is a good way to motivate members to give a helping hand more in the kitchen and in return they will receive a culinary experience and education they may not receive otherwise.The class will consist of 2-3 course meal that they will help prep and serve. Religious preferences and food allergies will be taken into consideration when planning the meal. Sign up is limited so the class will fill up. To help balance that out, the point requirement for the class will be substantially higher than anything on the chore cart. June will be the trial run on this new program so we anticipate learning how to improve the class experience.

The TGP kitchen staff is looking forward to being able to spread it’s culinary wings and at the same time give the TGP members an experience that they will surely enjoy. Bon Appetit!

Friday Shopping List

If you are heading to the grocery store, consider picking up a few extra items for The Gathering Place.

Cereal

Chips

Mac &Cheese

Juice

Crackers

Cookies

Rice

Popcorn

Granola bars

Pretzels

Snacks

Ramen

You can drop off food at The Gathering Place, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm at

1535 High Street

Denver, CO 80218

Issue Education: HB 1386

By; Wren Craig, Executive Assistant

The court is now in session! And that means…. Lots of pieces of legislation are being introduced, discussed, and voted on. One such piece of legislation that’s incredibly relevant to our members at The Gathering Place is House Bill 1386: The Necessary Documents Program.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that obtaining a new ID is one of the most annoying, aggravating processes; now imagine what that process is like if you don’t have an address to put on the ID. Or imagine trying to get a new social security card when you don’t have a birth certificate to prove your citizenship. Now imagine trying to get paid at a new job so you can pay your rent when you don’t have any identification. All of these are more than hypotheticals; they are very real challenges that many of our members face every day. Thankfully, The Gathering Place has had a partnership with Metro Caring Denver that has helped many of our members get their IDs. This has been thanks to the Necessary Documents Program which requires that select nonprofits receive state funding for necessary document assistance.

The Necessary Documents Program expired and now House Bill 1386 seeks to re-new that program. The Board of Directors at the Gathering Place has voted and they will be supporting this piece of legislation as it moves through the House and Senate. As of right now, the bill has passed the House Finance Committee and was referred to Appropriations.

They are called necessary documents for a reason, so we’re hoping that this bill will get passed!

Thursday Artist Corner: Episode 2, LDT

Yesterday we took a little time to tell Leticia Tanguma's story; what inspires her art, what fuels her creativity, and how she hopes to make an impact. During this Thursday Artist Corner, we wanted to feature some of the art she has provided to Art Restart, TGP's social enterprise.

These two pieces were commissioned artwork from the Women's Foundation

Leticia's art can be purchased through The Card Project at The Gathering Place or with Art Restart.

Leticia Tanguma: Community Based Art in Action

By Kateri Kramer (Art Restart Administrative Coordinator)

I first met Leticia Tanguma after working with the Writers Group when she was exhibiting her mural project at Regis University. Her hands were splattered with paint and it was easy to see that they were at ease holding a paintbrush. She spoke eloquently and passionately about how important art is to her own life, and how necessary it is in our communities.

In 1998 Leti came to The Gathering Place after finding a voucher that enabled her get  glasses for her children. That same day she saw signs for The Card Project and has been participating in TGP’s art programs ever since. Her artwork is a client favorite in Art Restart, TGP’s social enterprise that provides bulk greeting cards to businesses and individuals.

Leti exudes creativity and her artwork is suffused with passion and purpose. Her father, Leo Tanguma, one of Denver’s most prominent and well known muralist, fostered her love of art at a young age. She began taking art more seriously in her early 20’s and knew from her father’s work that she too could make statements through her own creations.

Much of Leti’s work brings issues of social justice to the forefront, whether it is the mural project that documents the domestic abuse women face on a daily basis, or the pieces that she is exhibiting at the Denver Art Museum that encourage conversations about homelessness and sex trafficking. “I draw inspiration from people, our shared universal struggles and hopes in life” Leti explains. “Art programs at TGP have become very important to me. The staff and members are inspiring and it’s nice to have fellow artists to work with and be around. That makes a big difference.” 

Leti continues to inspire the Denver artist community. She will be exhibiting her art demonstrating her craft at The Denver Art Museum this weekend, April 23-24 in the paint studio in the Hamilton Building. The first piece features a character in a story Leti is writing about immigration, sex trafficking, and child abuse. She hopes that the second piece, inspired by the “Stop The Homeless Sweep” campaign, will open up conversation about homelessness.  Leti will be available to answer questions and demonstrate techniques from 12:00-3:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday. 

Issue Education Monday

"Westword" recently published a photo-journalism article documenting Denver's homeless population after the community at Sustainability Park were asked to leave. Below is the text of the article and links to the photos.

Portraits of Homeless

When the Denver Police Department sent officers to raid an encampment of tiny homes at Sustainability Park last October, "something in me snapped," says photographer Paula Bard.

"I began walking those streets where the homeless are trying to survive, photographing the faces of those my city has abandoned."

The result is Bard's portrait of Denver's homeless that we're sharing in conjunction with Chris Walker's current story, "Is Denver Going for a Clean Sweep of the City's Homeless?"

Click on this link to see a slide show of Paula Bard's photos.

Thursday Artist Corner: Episode 1, Denver Edition

The Gathering Place is excited to announce a new blog section that we will be posting every Thursday. We are lucky to have the opportunity to work with such truly talented artists and seems only fitting to showcase their work every week. Today, three of our artists, BJA, OUI and SAM's pieces were chosen as part of an ever expanding catalog of Denver art. These beautiful pieces can be found at Art Restart, and more work from BJA, OUI and SAM can be found with Card Project . 

Capitol Hill by BJA

City Park Pavilion, by OUI

Art Place, by SAM

Blue Two, by SAM

True Friendship’s Ease: A nonprofit poem by Juliette Lee

True Friendship’s Ease

By: Juliette Lee

Our resident poet and fundraiser extraordinaire Juliette Lee wrote a beautiful poem about working at a Non-Profit organization. The poem is below.

True Friendship’s Ease

As winter fails into spring’s light ease

I find myself at my desk again,

mining Raiser’s Edge for small business partners or friends

who might provide some charitable relief

to our budgetary shortfalls and lend

a small sum or a sponsorship. I leave

as the young sun sets, and though I leave

in darkness, I find a golden ease;

Yes, the work is a challenge--yet I lend

all I have to it. And each day, I give myself again

because to serve is a joy and therein I have relief.

The women who come for services are now my friends.

I share stories about their savvy and strength to other friends

who work as professors; after a glass of wine, they leave

thoughtfully. I know, in some ways, they feel relief

at honing theorems and sharpening criticisms with ease--

never facing real hunger or need. But when I see them again,

they are the hungry ones. They lend

me ears that are thirsty birds, and my words lend

them newfound hope in humanity. True friends

lean over aisles, across borders and bars—never minding, again,

taboos of race, class, or gender. In service, we leave

assumptions aside. I learn each day to take my ease

among women who know actual grace—the relief

of being who you are, not who you should be. Our jobs relieve

them, we think. But truthfully, these women lend

us far more in spiritual worth. And with such ease

they teach me--a former professor--to befriend

those whom I once feared: the poor. So when I leave

and walk the miles home at dusk, marveling again

that another day has swept past--again, again, again--

I have to wonder—is it the donors alone that relieve

others with their charity? What is the truth of a gift? Who leaves

what legacies? Only stories remain. If my words have any truth to lend

it’s that these “poor” women’s lives nurture my friends

far more than my friends’ gifts provide the poor ease.

The young sun rises early, with ease,

brushing the sky’s face, clearing its murky eyes. They are friends--

and neither marvels at who takes or who lends.