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Today's
economy has many communities facing extreme economic hardship.
Unemployment, homelessness, and crime are on the rise. At a time when
food pantries are bare, funding for the arts in some communities is being
stretched even thinner than before; there are simply more pressing
issues on the plate.
Yvonne Orr,
Founder/Principal of YORR Consulting Group Incorporated, a
minority-based business formed in Illinois to serve nonprofits, is
dedicated to keeping the arts in Chicago alive. Her tireless work as an
entrepreneur has benefited numerous organizations through youth
leadership training, event planning, nonprofit management, fund
development and strategic planning.
When
asked how important does she think arts organizations are to the
functionality of a community, she responds with, "Arts organizations
are the fabric of a community. When you think of fabric or something
that is woven, if the threads are broken it has to be sewn back
together or repaired. If it isn't repaired you will have a garment
that is no longer able to be in use. That's what we are experiencing
with the decline in funding for the arts. The inability of arts
organizations to receive the philanthropic support they need to thrive
and offer quality programs is resulting in broken communities. The
people are broken because they don't have that thread of arts and
culture in their lives."
 Orr
sites the recession as having a huge impact on the reduction of
participation in the arts. "It is difficult for people to be as
involved as they once were in the arts, the emotional strain has taken
it's toll on our motivation to get out and experience the arts. Our
minds are focused on paying our bills, keeping a home for our children,
holding on to our jobs if we have one, or getting a job if we are
currently unemployed. Sometimes people lose the spirit of imagination
and childlike joy that comes from experiencing new things through the
arts."
Orr
remembers
a time when the community reached out to children and took them on
artistic excursions, an important thread in the garment of a healthy
community. Sadly, a thread that is quickly unraveling or no longer
there. "The
communities that were once filled with profes-sional, two-parent
households are not that way anymore.The communal base isn't as strong
as it used to be, when arts flourished and we all supported each other."
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In
an effort to keep art alive, Ms. Orr conducts financial literacy
programs, that help non-profits become stronger by educating their
boards to be fiscally responsible and run their organizations so they
can continue to offer their services to the outlying community. Orr,
who has been an artist, dancer and thespian, for over 25 years,
incorporates her artistic flair into these exciting workshops.
 Orr
is a champion of the arts in Chicago, her dedication is evidenced by
how passionately she works with the youth in the literacy workshops she
conducts in Chicago area schools. After
a fun opening exercise Orr encourages students to first connect
emotionally, through the art of writing. Emotional connection is
pivotal to learning, and can increase receptivity to the lessons that
will follow. She utilizes writing as the emotional opener, through an exercise she calls, "Get It Out!".
Each student gets a journal in which to write their thoughts. They are
encouraged to feel free to express anything that is painful, that they
haven't been able to let out. They are comforted in the fact that this
book is a private journal for their eyes only.
As the the workshop continues they are given the opportunity to share, if they choose. Orr say's, "You'd
be surprised at how many of our children are actually hurting for the
community. They are not as selfish as we portray them. They feel the
pain of the community, they feel the loss of the communal family. Most
of them are growing up in broken homes, they see the decline in jobs,
they see the violence and they feel the difference."
The
journals open the children up to another method of expressing
themselves and students derive a sense of therapy from this artistic
medium. Orr has found that some students are very depressed and see no
future, however the process of writing expands their perceptions and by
the end of the workshop series they have moved into a more optimistic
space. The success of Orr's literacy workshops is no doubt directly attributable to the way she feels about our nations most precious and valuable resource, "Children will always be in my heart. I believe I am mother to many, outside of the two that I have birthed into this world."
Grass
Roots Art tips our hat to guardian of the arts, Yvonne Orr, for her
never-ending commitment towards preserving and promoting artistic
expression.
To
contact YORR Consulting Group Inc., email yorrconsulting@comcast.net.
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