True Awards
Pictured Above: Chris Keysor (Lenbrook President and CEO, Jackie Durant (Lenbrook Resident) and Linden Longino
How much is a “thank you” hug from a Nobel Peace Laureate worth? What is the value of a letter from a teacher in Afghanistan who says, “Because of your work many children here have some hope that their cries for peace will be heard somewhere.” Are twenty years of volunteer work worth this? Yes.
In 1995, I founded a worldwide youth art program for the Carter Presidential Center. I have been running “International Paint Pals” (IPP) ever since, and it is now an independent organization of volunteers. The simple mission is to bring young people together through the universal language of art. But simply said is not simply done. Thousands of partners on all continents have made it possible for over 200,000 kids in 125 countries to participate in our art exhibitions and related educational programs. A Middle East partner laughingly calls me a “Catalyzer” (one who lets others do the work). And a Russian cultural institution leader who doubts my artistic knowledge (and rightfully so), gave me the title of “Western Cultural Organizational Expert”. Ha! Priceless.
Most of our IPP exhibits have taken place at Olympic Games and United Nations conferences all over the world. Themes have included peace (many times), human rights, environmental problems, drug abuse, visions of the future, anti-racism, sympathy for 911 victims, and others. We have enabled groups of Atlanta inner-city teenagers to open exhibits and meet their “Paint Pals” in Russia, South Africa, Japan, and China. Thousands of young Atlanta artists have contributed to our exhibits.
Lenbrook has displayed many of our works in the Healthcare common areas, and some are now framed on walls to brighten individual rooms there. Children in Lenbrook families have offered their peace paintings.
IPP was invited to honor former Nobel Peace Prize winners with an exhibition at their world summit, originally scheduled for Atlanta in November, 2015, but then moved to Barcelona. The response to our worldwide call for art and “peace pledges” was overwhelming. We collected over 2,500 paintings and drawings and pledges from kids in 91 countries on the theme “My Dream of Peace”. And the response to our exhibition in Barcelona was a heartwarming reward. Several countries have expressed their interest in displaying the art for their children to see and to add their new works to it. This will be our next simple mission. A world tour. Kabul, Afghanistan will be the first stop in April, 2016.
And you can help. IPP is a volunteer not-for-profit organization that depends on contributions from supporters. If you would like more information about how you can help with the “world tour,” please contact me at [email protected],” or call 678-428-9039.
See Nobel art: https://www.flickr.com/photos/friendshipforce/sets/72157651181850363
Read about Linden being honored with a “Positive Aging Award” at the following link: http://lenbrook-atlanta.org/about/news/winner-positive-aging-award-says-it-helps-stay-young