Recently, I have made the decision to redesign the tagline for my company. The new tagline is:
Filling the world with positive and original designs to help provide arts education for all schools.
This choice was made for a few reasons. I was reading Blake Mycoskie’s book Start Something that Matters. Blake is the founder of Tom’s Shoes, a company whose philosophy is to give a pair of shoes away for every pair of shoes it sells. While reading the book I received clarity about things I was already doing.
I had already started a charitable portion of my business, The 12 Gates. I was already scheduled to do an “Empowerment Through the Arts” class with Chicago Public Schools. So I just received clarity about how to articulate the purpose.
Last year, I had a business partnership with Chicago Public Schools. As a result, I worked with the 5 different 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms just about every Friday that school was in session. As a result of this experience, it came to my attention that the school did not have an art teacher or a formal art program. I personally know and believe in the healing power of the expressive and meditative nature of art. So I was disturbed that a school where the children are overcoming high rates of poverty, gang culture, and a local economy with the drug trade embedded into it did not have a positive arts outlet for the children to express themselves.Do I blame the schools? No. Do I blame the leadership? No. it is not about blaming, it is about fixing a problem. I know and believe in the healing power of creativity. So it is my responsibility to make a difference.
