Studio Blog

It’s that time again! It’s time for us to announce the winners of our Enrichment Opportunities Program for February. Please join us in congratulating the following members of our community.

Work/Life Balance Award

Writer Jane Williams recently lost an important part of her home – her washing machine. Since then she has been taking a trip down memory lane by using a 1050s wringer washer due to the high cost of a new washing machine. Now Jane will be able to retire the wringer in favor of a new 21^st century washer.

Writer Cynthia Domenghini left her full-time job back in August to pursue her writing career and spend time with her five year old son. She and her husband are also in the process of expanding their family by adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. This joy brings with it some serious financial stress that the Studio is more than happy to help with.

 

Writer Anthony Oster and his fiancé are both active contributors to the Studio. That’s why they plan on creating a brand new home office where they can spend time together while working. This grant will help cover the cost of a new wall, paint, and electrical work for their home improvement project.

 

Writer Dachell McSween was recently elected president of a Harlem-based nonprofit that provides free programs and resources to young people in their neighborhood. This new responsibility in addition to her other non-profit work is starting to take time away from her work with the Studio. This grant should help Dachell stay on top of her bills while she takes on this new role.

Professional Resources Grant

Writer Drea Christopher has spent the past two years homeschooling her Autistic daughter. This required a lot of changes around the house including turning her home computer into an integral part of the classroom set up in the master bedroom. With a new laptop, Drea can get her writing done at night without dismantling the school room setting.

Co-Working Award

 

Writer Eulalia Palomo lives in Port Townsend, which is about an hour and a half outside of Seattle. While she loves the small town feel, she has been feeling a bit isolated. Eulalia’s prayers were answered when The Port Townsend Coworking Group announced they were opening the town’s first ever co-working space. Now Eulalia will have the funding to cover three months of membership in this new space.

Remember, applications for all awards are accepted during the first seven days of each month. Be sure to get your March application in!

Our team just heard back from January Work/Life Balance Award winner Karen Sherman and we thought we would share her email with you all. Karen applied for the Work/Life Balance Award to help make more time in her schedule for volunteer work. Karen's passion project has been volunteering with relief organizations in New York helping to clean up after the impact of Superstorm Sandy.

Here's what Karen had to say about her experience:

I just thought I'd follow up to let you know how happy this work-life balance award made me!  I went volunteering Thursday, and it was such a nice relief when I got home that I didn't have to worry so much about making up the work hours I missed.

I've attached a couple of pictures. Amazingly, the situation on Staten Island is much the same as it was when I first started volunteering after the storm.  The picture of me in front of the big pile was taken on Thursday -- we'd just finished clearing out a collapsed shed, so the pile is full of the stuff that was in the shed (everything got swamped and was filled with storm water or covered in mold) and the pieces of the shed itself.

It's exhausting work, but a nice change from sitting in front of my computer!  And it means a lot to me that Demand has been so supportive.

Thanks,

Karen