Fox 13's Coverage of the NCM Foundation

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Season Of Giving


(Foundation members Chelsi Archibald, Stephanie Heath and Amir Jackson pose with guitar package recipient McKayla)

In the spirit of giving and the holidays we decided to give a guitar package including a stratocaster electric guitar, guitar case, tuner, guitar lesson DVD, guitar lesson book with CD, and a month of free lessons.

We are still plugging away to finish the editing of our youth driven magazine Blank Page, which is scheduled for printing late January 2012.

Nurture the Creative Mind continues to expand our reach. Recently we have secured a partnership with 88.1 Weber fm. The students of NCM will be able to host a monthly show at which time they will be able to discuss topics pertaining to the youth of the community.

The article that was recently written on the NCM Foundation has been getting a great amount of visibility and currently we are in first place as far as "likes" go. PLEASE visit the article if you haven't yet and if you have PLEASE continue to support by sharing the link. The $50,000.00 grant that goes to the winner would be life altering for the youth that the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation serves.

We are continually grateful for all the support in our community and the impact we are able to make in the lives of children.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Weekly Accomplishment Update


This week Amir and the students closed the last workshop for 'Blank Page' on Wednesday. We are just editing the articles, choosing the layout and cover, then it will go to print to be released late January or early February.

We are almost finished with the song that the young 10-12 year old girls from Youth Impact are working on. It is call 'I am a Queen' and is about empowerment. The chorus is "I feel good. I feel happy, up and down on my Summer swing. Because I realize that I am a Queen".

We have also secured an eight week workshop with the YMCA and the youth they serve. We are very excited and look forward to our "secret" presentation of their work. Word is getting out in the YMCA community about our impact and it looks as though we may get even more opportunities to work with several schools. Everyone is very excited about this news.

Possibly the most exciting news of the week comes from a recent published article interviewing our founder Amir Jackson and listing all of the amazing work the foundation has been able to achieve thus far. The article gives Nurture The Creative Mind the chance to win a huge life altering grant, which would impact countless youth. This is an absolutely awe inspiring opportunity.

How can you help out? Follow this link to the article, LIKE the article on the sidebar of the website and then SHARE with others. By doing this simple task, you'll be aiding in something amazing. We appreciate all the support. We couldn't do it without you.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

America Inspired: Amir Jackson nutures the creative mind Continue reading on Examiner.com America Inspired: Amir Jackson nutures the creative mind

It started 5 years ago, with one class in one elementary school.  Now, Amir Jackson and his foundation, Nurture the Creative Mind, have expanded across three counties and touched the lives of over 3,500 students.  Nurture the Creative Mind is a nonprofit foundation that helps at-risk children increase their self-esteem through self-expression and positive feedback. 

When asked why he started the foundation, and why he has dedicated the last five years of his life to its success, Jackson tells a story from his youth.  Due to some family difficulties, Jackson was sent to live with his grandmother and aunt.  “Aunt Pam and I bonded immediately, as if our connection had been ordained and determined before I took my first breath,” said Jackson.  One day, Jackson showed his aunt a piece of writing he had done.  “The piece of writing that I gave her reflected my emotional and mental state at the time…I had been acting out in school and at home shouting “SEE ME!,” finally, someone did.”  His aunt was encouraging and positive about the writing, and asked him to continue to write and to show it to her when he did.  “This positive statement of reinforcing encouragement along with her slight smile was enough for me to do just that.”


Jackson knows that his childhood troubles are not unique to just him.  “There are so many youth in our community, society, and the world over screaming 'SEE ME!'” He believes that his troubles were just a way to prepare him for what he was born to do—to see kids and to encourage their creative development and expression. “When I first began the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation in 2007 I truly and honestly had no plans of building a foundation, I just saw the foot prints before me in the sand and I humbly accepted each by placing my feet in one at a time.”

Jackson’s success started at Lincoln Elementary in Layton, Utah, where he was a teacher’s assistant for a special education learning center.  The teacher, Ms. Theresa Larrabee, could tell Jackson was special from the first day he started.  “The mannerisms he had with the kids, he just had a calming effect on them.  He was in tune right away with what each kid needed individually.”  Jackson was assigned to Larrabee’s room to help with a specific child, but was always eager to reach out to all of the kids.  The kids were drawn to him, and responded well to his interactions.  And then, the music started.  Another volunteer, Victor Lawrence, had been coming in to read stories or play guitar with Larrabee’s class, and Jackson asked her if she thought Lawrence might be able to teach him some stuff on the guitar.  When Lawrence came in again, Jackson sat next to him and was able to mirror everything he did.  And from that moment on, he would play for the students, engaging them in even more ways.  Jackson started using poetry and music to help students in the other classes as well.  At the end of his first year at Lincoln Elementary, Jackson came up with the idea to host a Poetry CafĂ© in the school library as an evening performance for the kids to read their poetry.  Jackson engaged the community and had local businesses sponsor the event by donating coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks for the evening.  The school expected to have a handful of students and their parents attend, and were surprised to have hundreds of people show up.  “The kids were nervous before they got on, but then they’d start to read and they would just start beaming,” said Larrabee, fondly remembering the event.  “Kids write stuff and we pick it to pieces, we stifle the creativity sometimes because of ‘the way’ we’re supposed to teach language arts.  Amir gets to go in and is like an archeologist; he uncovers the hidden creativity these kids have, instead of expecting kids to write to a certain mold.”

Jackson spends his time developing the foundation, going to school, and working as a special education teacher’s aide in Davis School District.  Jackson’s impact reaches beyond just the students he is able to work with at school assemblies and other NCM workshops.  In April, Nurture the Creative Mind published its first book, Yes, I am Still Here,a 100 page book created and authored by young girls who are survivors of abuse.  These young girls demonstrate empowerment as they share stories of their abuses and the poems that were inspired by these abuses. The book is available for purchase via paypal on the Nurture the Creative Mind website.

In May of this year, NCM and Jackson teamed up with Chuk’s to host a fashion show as a fund raiser for the foundation.  In July, Jackson and others involved with the foundation held their annual “Starving for Education” hunger strike in front of the Starbucks on Hillfield and Antelope Drive in Layton.  The goal was to raise $2,500, and they pledged to continue the strike for as long as it took until the money was raised.  By 6 PM the night of the strike, they had met their goal.

Most recently, Jackson teamed up with Vintage Cupcake Co to host the first ever “Bake and Build” workshop. The younger group of kids developed team work and interpersonal relationship skills while baking cupcakes.  The older group also learned about the steps they would need to take to start a business on their own and developed leadership skills by coaching their peers.

Jackson also oversees Blank Page, a youth created and driven magazine that addresses the issues that are specific and important to the youth in the community.  Blank Page will be releasing its first issue in January, 2012.

Gandhi once said, “Be a positive role model, be the change you want to see in the world.”  Jackson responds to this by saying:

What I want to see is a society that embraces more than it shuns, one that actively encourages rather than passively, I want to see a society that is forward thinking and acknowledges the world’s greatest asset, our children, understanding that a positive investment in our youth today greatly lessons the need for negative investment later in life

At the foundation’s five year anniversary party, Jackson announced that beginning in February, 2012, Nurture the Creative Mind will begin touching the lives of the youth in Boston, MA; officially making them a national organization. 

Awards received:

Outstanding Community Service nominee 2010
Newman Civic Fellows Award 2011
Mayor's Award for Literacy and Arts Education 2011

Other links:
Standard Examiner: He helps children bloom
Davis County Clipper: Non-profit receives alcolades for helping students
Nurture the Creative Mind Blog



Continue reading on Examiner.com America Inspired: Amir Jackson nutures the creative mind - Salt Lake City Single Mom | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/single-mom-in-salt-lake-city/america-inspired-amir-jackson-nutures-the-creative-mind#ixzz1g0f0WI5X

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

NCM Photography Mentor


We are overjoyed with the newest edition to the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation’s family, Cat Palmer, one the more accredited and well known photogs in Utah, and her “i am art” project will be partnering with the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation to help mentor the students that will be working to produce our youth driven street magazine Blank Page https://www.facebook.com/blankpagemagazine. Cat will be helping the students of the magazine to develop a creative talent in the visual arts. They will then use these talents to take pictures and create graphics for the magazine. They will also develop tangible, measureable, and marketable skills they can then use, not only in the present, but in the future as well.

A few of Cat’s many distinguished accomplishments.

Best in Show - Utah Arts Festival 2009
Best Photographer - City Weekly Arty 2008
Best Photographer - City Weekly Arty 2007

Contact Information:

Website- http://www.catpalmer.com/
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/catpalmerphoto?ref=ts

Saturday, December 3, 2011

One Amazing Build & Bake Event w/ Vintage Cupcake Co!



What an amazing day our first Build & Bake event was! Vintage Cupcake Co. allowed us to teach our workshop in their adorable bakery and the children just loved it. Everything was a success, from the team building lesson to the yummy taste of the cupcakes.

Age groups ranged from 5 years old up to 14 years old. Older kids were taught leadership skills and were in charge of their peers.



Teams also compromised on type of cupcake and the frosting that would accompany it. Amazingly, all of our kids made decisions on their own and with a uniqueness inherent to each group. The flavors were peanut butter and jelly, cookies and cream, vanilla and chocolate.



A special thanks to Vintage Cupcake Co. and their fantastic team for teaching and working with the kids. It will be a day they will remember for a long time to come.

Friday, December 2, 2011

The Nurture The Creative Mind Foundation Family


(Photo Cred: Bryan Smith)

A near unbearable amount of talent, creativity, passion, loyalty, and innovative intelligence.

Nurture The Creative Mind Celebrates Our 5th Birthday With Wonderful Supporters


(Photo Cred: Bryan Smith)

It's amazing what five years of handwork, unfailing belief, and one amazing cause can do. We were able to celebrate with all of our supporters, friends and family. A special thanks to Mitch and The Wine Cellar for all their handwork in hosting our birthday party, as well as the talented band Shaky Trade who performed. We are eternally grateful for all the work and contribution of our NCM supporters and family.

It was quite emotional and awe inspiring when everyone in The Wine Cellar lit their Vintage Cupcake with birthday candles. The flames seemed to represent the light that turns on in a child when we are able to foster and encourage their creativity. Without our supporters and friends, the impact just wouldn't be possible. Nurture The Creative Mind has had the opportunity to help over 3,500 students in our short five years. Thanks to you, we will be able to take the message to more children and teens.




(Cake made by Ms. Jayme Cash)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Deja Mitchell- NCM's Newest Member & Artistic Dance Instructor


DĂ©ja Mitchell has a Bachelor's degree in Modern Dance from Utah State University. She has studied African dance and drumming for 14 years with numerous renowned teachers. She teaches African-based movement in an invigorating atmosphere with polyrhythms, which are the basis of African dance. She helps her students explore the depth and cultural significance of the dances, while making the movement accessible to beginners. She also teaches traditional African drumming rhythms and Djembe techniques as well as other tribal styles in a facilitated drum circle environment.

Deja is a frequent performer and gives interactive and educational workshops for all ages. Performances and workshops are customized. Entertainment can include an African drumming ensemble with dance performance.

About African Dance

African dance embodies athleticism and graceful beauty flowing with rhythm. Traditional dance in Africa occurs collectively, expressing the life of the community. African dance utilizes the concepts of polyrhythms and total body articulation. The traditional dances are a means of marking the experiences of life, encouraging abundant crops, and healing. It is also done for pure enjoyment and building community.

Deja is an amazing addition to the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation Family and we look forward to building with her in the future.

If you are interested in participating in dance classes instructed by Deja please leave a message here or contact the NCM Foundation Director Amir A.H. Jackson via email amirjackson@NurturetheCreativeMind.com. Thank you

Friday, November 18, 2011

Our Wonderful Weber State Volunteers


Volunteers help with 'Blank Page' after school workshop.

'Blank Page' After School Workshop


(Students attend the blank page workshop)

The past week for the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation began with an after school workshop for our upcoming street magazine Blank Page. The kids have found their groove, the young students becoming more independent and self-sustaining are starting to run efficiently and effectively.

The next NCM workshop took place at Youth Impact a program that provides youth in the Ogden community a safe place to meet. We are working with a group of 6 girls who are writing a song about empowerment and self respect. a sample of the song is as follows "My name is Dominique. Before you even Speak. You have to recognize you must treat me like a queen. Its Tay-Tay over here. Lets get something clear only positivity in my space or else don't come near."

On Wednesday we conducted our 1st workshop with the YMCA after school program at Mt. Ogden. The kids were extremely attentive, responsive and energetic. We were only scheduled to do one workshop, but this changed after the Director of the program saw and appreciated the impact our methods had on the students. We are now planning an 8 week workshop with the program.

We ending our week as it was started...MAGICALLY! We had the opportunity and blessing to work with a group of 20 students at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Honestly I was a bit tentative about this. Uneasy if i would be able to relay the programs message effectively, but thankfully i was proven wrong and in an epic way. These kids were so creative and special. My heart was immediately filled and stolen by them.


- Amir

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

He Helps Children Bloom




This is an article that was written about the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation in the Standard Examiner. We were extremely grateful when we saw that it had made its way all the way to the front page. : )


By Nancy Van Valkenburg
Standard-Examiner staff
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 12:01pm


LAYTON -- The young girl stood slumped, her chin low, blond hair hanging to cover her face except for one burning-red cheek as she read her poem to her sixth-grade class at Layton's Lincoln Elementary.

All her 11- and 12-year-old classmates applauded, and the visiting poet told her that her poem was amazing. Looking up to reveal a huge smile, the girl raced to her teacher for a hug.

"She could barely speak, she was so shy," said Rise Timpke, sixth-grade teacher, as the girl returned to her seat to cheer the next reader.

"The first time she read her work and got positive feedback, she beamed. I had never seen her face like that before. You can see what a difference he has made. It's all him."

"He" is Amir Jackson, founder and director of Nurture the Creative Mind, a nonprofit foundation that helps at-risk children increase their self-esteem through self-expression and positive feedback. Jackson is also the foundation's sole worker, and since 2007 has personally led workshops attended by more than 500 youths from Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties.

This month, Jackson was among 135 people to be named an inaugural Newman Civic Fellow. The award recognizes inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The Fellows are nominated by university presidents.

"People have told me this work changed their lives," said Jackson, 30, a Weber State University psychology major. "When students read what they've written, it takes me back to a time when I was 12. That's when I realized this has an emotional benefit."

Jackson, a native of Rochester, N.Y., was a young boy when his mother married a man who had no use for a "leftover" child, Jackson said. As Jackson's mother and stepfather had more children, the man's hostility grew and verbal abuse gave way to physical abuse. For his safety, Jackson was sent to live with his birth father's mother and sister.

"I was naturally kind of meandering to a negative place at a time in life when a lot of people get lost," Jackson said. He was misbehaving in class when he wasn't skipping school entirely.

Then, for no particular reason, Jackson put his dark, melancholy feelings into a poem, which he showed to his aunt Pamela.

"She said, 'Amir, this is good. I want you to keep writing, and keep giving me your poems,' " Jackson said. "She bought me a journal. That positivity felt good, and I became addicted to it. It was a defining moment."

Jackson continued writing during four years in the Air Force, including an assignment to Hill Air Force Base. Jackson set his sights on Weber State and a degree he hopes will lead to his working full time for his foundation. He currently divides his time among Nurture the Creative Mind, studies at Weber State, and working for the Davis School District as a special education employee.

Timpke said when she first heard about Jackson's program in 2007, her expectations were low.

"My daughter, Sarah, was in one of the first student groups," she said. "She's a sophomore at Northridge High now, and she has published poetry and gone to district conferences. She has kept every journal she had, and she writes three to five poems a week, just because."

Sarah Timpke, now 15, remains a Jackson booster.

"Amir taught me that no poem and no emotion is wrong, and everything you write is perfect because it came from you," Sarah said. "He is an inspiration. Amir cares about every student and wants them to succeed. I am where I am today, writing-wise, because of him."

Jackson has published a book of poetry and stories by young survivors of abuse. The book, titled, "Yes, I am STILL here," is available through nurturethecreativemind.com.

Back in Timpke's sixth-grade classroom, students continued reading their work about crying themselves to sleep, the beauty of flowers, and even the virtues of Airsoft pellet guns.

A young boy read a poem about mourning a death. A young girl stated, among other observations, that "Tears are only water."

Jackson high-fived his young students, who are applauded both when they stand and when they finish.

"The foundation has given my life purpose," Jackson said. "This is something that I wake up and think about. I know what I should be doing. Everything else is secondary. We don't make money or fatten wallets, but I am continuously happy."

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Newman Civic Fellows Award


Encouraging Creative Expression Leads to National Recognition for WSU Student and the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation

May 3, 2011
OGDEN, Utah – Amir Jackson, a Weber State University student who started a nonprofit organization to help at-risk youth, is one of the first individuals nationwide to be recognized as a Newman Civic Fellow by the Boston-based Campus Compact.

Jackson was among 135 Newman Civic Fellows, who received the inaugural award this May. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The Fellows are nominated by college and university presidents.

“I’m honored to be selected as a Newman Fellow, but it means so much more in terms of the awareness it brings to my foundation,” Jackson said.

A junior pursuing a degree in psychology, Jackson is the founder and director of the Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation (NCM), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization he started in 2007.

The NCM program uses creative expression as a path to building self-esteem in youth. The inspiration for the program comes from his own experiences growing up in Rochester, N.Y. When he was 12, Jackson left an abusive home situation to live with his grandmother and an aunt who was just a few years older than him.

“I was naturally kind of meandering to a negative place at a time in life when a lot of people get lost,” Jackson said. He wrote about his feelings and emotions in a poem that was “melancholy and had a dark side to it.” Then Jackson shared the poem with his aunt.

She told him it was good and bought him a journal so he could continue to creatively express himself. Jackson recalls his aunt’s encouragement as a defining moment.

“That poetry was my way of getting someone to see me in a positive way,” Jackson said. “That positivity was addicting. It let me know that I was valuable.”

After graduating from high school, Jackson served a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, which brought him to Utah. Following his discharge from the service, he wound up volunteering at Lincoln Elementary in Layton, Utah, a Title I school with a diverse population, including students from a lower socioeconomic background.

He started off teaching the program to one class at Lincoln Elementary, encouraging students to abandon their preconceptions and embrace music and poetry.

“I tell youth to open their minds, since most students are opposed to or have negative thoughts about poetry,” Jackson said. “I ask them what would a song be without words. If we took music and took melody and instruments away, what would that leave? Just the words, which are poetry.”

Rather than focus on their differences, Jackson encouraged the youth to use creative expression to find the connections between one another. Based on that initial success, he was asked to come back the next year and teach two classes.

“I started to see the benefit of the program, and I started to think, not about how many we had worked with, but how many we hadn’t,” Jackson said.

That led him to offer the program at treatment centers, women’s shelters, the YWCA and anywhere else he could find at-risk youth. In the past three years Jackson has worked with more than 500 youth from Davis, Salt Lake and Weber counties.

The 30-year-old Layton resident would like to make the program available statewide, and someday, he’d like to take it nationwide.

“I’ve seen what has happened with a minimum amount of people supporting it. Where could it be with even more people and support?” Jackson asked. “I know it’s a program that works both in terms of building self-esteem and academics.”

Jackson points to students who, when assigned to write one or two poems, return to class having written five or six. At the start of the program students take a pretest. The average pass rate for the pretest is 67 percent. By the end of the eight-week program, the collective pass rate for most classes is 83 to 84 percent.

Jackson recently published “Yes, I am STILL here,” a collection of stories and poems written by teenage girls who are survivors of various forms of abuse. The stories show the contrast from young women struggling with their experiences, to their newfound ability to recognize and celebrate their self-worth.

Jackson said that along the way, he’s learned as much from the program as the students he works with.
“The foundation has given my life purpose,” Jackson said. “This is something that I wake up and think about. I know what I should be doing. Everything else is secondary. We don’t make money or fatten wallets, but I am continuously happy. The work itself brings me happiness.”

Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents — representing some 6 million students — who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. Through the Newman Civic Fellows Awards, college and university presidents acknowledge students with the ability and motivation to create lasting change in our communities. For more information about the Newman Civic Fellows, visit compact.org.

Attachment: High resolution photo of Amir Jackson attached.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
Contact:
Amir Jackson, founder and director, Nurture the Creative Mind
801-499-2371 • amirjackson@nurturethecreativemind.com
Author:
John Kowalewski, director of Media Relations
801-626-7212 • jkowalewski@weber.edu

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Remain Focused and True:

We at Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation are extremely passionate about the vision and hope that we one day will be a national organization. Not too long ago we were approached by a well established company, that will remain unnamed, about the possibility of partnering with them. They offered to bring our founder to another state to meet with them. Before he went he emailed them outlining a few request that would need to be addressed before a partnership or a meeting would be possible. Below you will find the exact details that we requested be addressed... We never heard from them again.


Primary Questions
1. Control/security
2. Compensation breakdown
Control/Security
1. Contract outlines
a. Timeline
b. Separation of companies
c. Usage restrictions
A. Timeline
i. 1 year contract
ii. Extension considered after 1 year expiration
B. Separation of companies
i. (unnamed company) and Nurture the Creative Mind are two separate entities
ii. Neither company has nor gains rights to the other
iii. Both companies to be represented when working in partnership
C. Usage restriction
i. Clearly stated and outlined that the material, data, programs, products, lessons, and name of either company is to be used only when working in conjunction with one another
ii. Clearly stated and outlined that the material, data, programs, products, lessons, and name of either company can not be used by the other when one or the other is not bound by contract
iii. Clearly stated and outlined that any audience that partakes in a workshop or presentation does not inherit rights to use data or materials nor teach programs or lessons without the written permission of the company whose material, data, lessons, and/or programs they would like to use
iv. Neither (unnamed company) nor Nurture the Creative Mind can create a program that indirectly or directly competes with the other
2. Compensation breakdown
A. Percentage or flat rate
B. Travel compensation

If you have a dream the only way to remain focused is to continuously refocus. you have to remind yourself why you began and do not be distracted or lured by momentary benefits. most of all DO NOT ALLOW OTHERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR DESIRE TO SEE YOUR DREAM COME TO FRUITION. They will cheapen and dirty your pure intentions.

Peace and Blessings,
Amir A.H. Jackson
Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation, Founder