Project Report
| Dec 5, 2012
Everyday Beauty - Newsletter
By Natalie Bryant-Rizzieri | Founder & Executive Director
Dear friends,
Here is an excerpt from our most recent newsletter. Our full-length newsletter is also attached.
Thank you for your kindness and generosity toward our residents. They are sustained by your efforts. We are grateful.
A Strong Foundation
As the year comes to a close, we look back and are grateful for the ways in which we have grown this year. First and foremost, Anna and Sassoon are home after lengthy stays in psychiatric institutions. We are learning, one day at a time, how to best manage a variety of behaviors and challenges. This is an essential part of becoming a replicable group-home model. Our home is making steps towards greater sustainability through the securement of local resources and the drastic increase in the sales of the residents’ handicrafts. While we are still without public Armenian funding, we have committed to new steps in 2013 that will allow us to pursue other funding sources and hopefully grow our local base of support. Our mission is still the same -- providing loving care and home to our residents, but our foundation is stronger and our reach is greater.
Sincerely and with Gratitude,
Natalie
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Oct 16, 2012
A Film Portrait of Warm Hearth
By Natalie Bryant-Rizzieri | Founder, Executive Director
Dear Friends,
We wanted to share with you a recent film portrait of our home and our residents. It may be viewed on our homepage (link below).
The title of the film is "Out of Sight - Out of Mind." It was written and directed by Chris Kitahara and produced by Brian J. Kremer.
Out of Sight - Out of Mind is a documentary that offers a portrait of the residents of Warm Hearth, Armenia's first group home for orphans with disabilities. With visual poetry as the mechanic of the piece, Kitahara addresses the plight of institutionalization that these residents face and captures the hope of a life-long home in Warm Hearth. The daily lives of the residents are portrayed in a way that honors their dignity, humanity and beauty. This documentary was made possible through Chris Kitahara's generous donation of time and talent, the insightful production of Brian Kremer, a Peace Corps Response volunteer who served at Warm Hearth for six months, and individual donors who provided for Chris' trip to Armenia.
Enjoy.
With Gratitude,
Natalie
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Sep 25, 2012
Autumn Newsletter: Celebrations & Integration
By Natalie Bryant-Rizzieri | Founder & Executive Director
Dear friends,
You'll find the latest news on our residents completion of their college program, the staff's exemplary progress in caring for Anna & Sassoon, Alya's most recent thoughts on Davit, and other noteworthy items in our attached newsletter.
Enjoy. And if you have any questions or comments, please write or call. We welcome your thoughts. And thank you to each of you for taking the time to care about our residents and their stories. We are most grateful.
The following is excerpted from our newsletter:
Graduation Day
For three years most of our residents have attended Yerevan State Humanitarian College and have studied either carpet-making or permaculture. This summer they graduated.
Celebrations & Integration
In April, we were able to visit the residents at their college just two months before graduation. They were so proud to show us their college, to introduce us to their teachers and to display how hard they worked . Upon arriving, we found a group of our residents in a room with full-sized carpet looms. There our residents were following precise patterns, and tying each stitch with care. Their hands were obviously experienced. They have learned so much. Two other residents were upstairs in a room with botanical posters on the walls, plants along each windowsill, and notebooks full of information on trees and gardening. We wandered outside with them to see the fruit trees that they had planted and were responsible for. It was a gift to see them in an integrated setting with other students busily studying and learning. They will miss the daily interaction and the challenges of learning. We congratulate them on their accomplishment and graduation.
Sincerely,
Natalie (for us all)
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