Hello. I am singer/songwriter and dreamer J.R. Rhodes and I am fundraising to lend a helping hand to uplift girls and women of colour. The funds will be used to create community events as well as providing resources and information around health and well being, including mental health and financial well being.

This work is personal. The picture you see here is of my mom, my older and younger sisters and me. There's wee me in the green dress. We were very close. They are no longer with me. So, I look at this picture often to inspire me onward to do this work. When I think back and sense into family memories, although they were functioning, productive and successful in their own lives, there were signs that my mother and older sister were challenged by depression as a result of the challenges of simply being black in America. My little sister, my first best friend, took her own life.

This work is also personal for me having experienced first hand the inside of a mental health facility after being involuntarily admitted for attempting suicide myself. That dark day I decided I didn't want to be here anymore I woke up exhausted. Tired. Sick and tired, as a matter of fact. Sick and tired of what, you may be wondering? Well, of a few things. I'll name simply a few things:

Thing 1: The stresses of being the 'only one', the only black woman in rooms full of folks who've maybe never been the 'only one' and/or have maybe never dared consider what that might be and feel like.

Thing 2: Being financially challenged as a musician in a cultural climate that typically views and values art as a hobby.

Thing 3: Seeing girls and women of colour and my artist friends struggling, scratching for a living.

These things and more have moved me to focus on creating partnerships, spaces and opportunities for girls and women of colour. So far music partnerships have gotten things rolling with organizations: Continuum Culture & Arts, Inc., The Center at Orchard Hill, The Office of Arts & Culture, The Hope Corps Grant Award, Artist Trust, The Fellowship, Jack Straw Cultural Center and more including private donors. I'm also in talks with other creatives as well as with SBA/SCORE mentors and more. I see this focus as the philanthropic wing of my already running music business, J.R. Rhodes Company (jrrhodesco.com)

The focus is on collaborating with partners with similar values to create offerings such as:

*Music and arts in schools, libraries, community centers, low-income housing, homeless shelters as well as traditional music and arts venues.

*Speaker events of women of colour figures like writers, poets and community building thinkers and organizers that encourage self-care, mental well being and financial well being.

*Mentoring through internships

*Grants

*Scholarships

*& more…

It's been quite the journey to turn pain into purpose. There are many loved ones to thank, who I cannot thank enough, for their love and support. I am grateful to be here with you to do this work. I invite you to follow along, be involved and/or contribute support. You can help by:

*Joining my Email List: https://www.jrrhodesco.com/contact

*Sharing this Fundraiser: https://gofund.me/0f316406

*Contribute to this Fundraiser on my GoFundMe page.: https://gofund.me/0f316406

*Contribute to this Fundraiser in other ways that work best for you on my website: https://www.jrrhodesco.com/contribute

*Have ideas for an event collaboration? Email me at: [email redacted]

Thank you for listening.

Be well.

(((Love)))

JR

https://gofund.me/0f316406