"A bullet didn't stop me, it spurred me to action"
Tax deductible
October 2019 UPDATE
A year since my shooting and, with your support, we’ve made so much progress!
On Wednesday October 31, 2018, a frustrated, and misguided young man came into the barbershop shooting. He wasn’t aiming for me, but I was shot along with another client. I was lucky...clearly God was telling me that I had a lot more work to do here in Baltimore, and that’s what I’ve been doing with a sense of urgency and your support and the outpouring of love I’ve received across the city of Baltimore.
I’M SO HAPPY TO SHARE THE GREAT PROGRESS WE’VE MADE.
A quick step back - for 30 years, I’ve been a barber in Baltimore. My shop - New Beginnings in Hollins Market - is much more than a barbershop. It’s where I share my passion for art with the community, it’s where my son Rashad brings young men together to talk about their dreams and challenges in ShopTalk meetings, and it’s where I join with businesses to bring health screenings and vital services to the community.
Being a barber is how I make a living, but the community inside and outside the barbershop is my life. My focus over this past year has been working to share our experiences at New Beginnings with barbers across Baltimore - to significantly scale positive impact.
With the outpouring of support, in December 2019, I launched "More Than A Shop" (MTAS) - a network of barbershops and beauty salons across the city of Baltimore. Funds have been used to bring shops together and share how to replicate our model to bring much-needed services to their shops and neighborhoods including:
* Health screenings in partnership with Kaiser Permanente
* Expungement support services with Baltimore City’s Job Opportunity Task Force
* Conflict resolution skills with Safe Streets and CeaseFire
* Safe sex awareness with the Baltimore City Health Department
We’re learning how to best broaden the base of shops within Baltimore to prove the MTAS model. But we’re just at the beginning.
I’m thankful for the companies who have reached out to learn how they can work with and through barber shops in their neighborhoods.
I’ve also been invited to speak about this experience and MTAS since the shooting. I appreciate these opportunities as they let me recognize the outpouring of support from you and the organizations that showed up to support my work over the last year.
I’m currently applying for fellowships and grants to continue the work. I hope you’ll once again consider helping me to reach more people with my work through my organization, the Luvs Art Project. Help me reach more young people so they can see their possibilities beyond hopelessness and violence.
Will you help me raise $15,000 to grow our impact with More Than a Shop throughout 2020?
A bullet did not stop me - it spurred me to action. I’m ready to grow further, to keep pushing for our community, especially for young men like the man who shot me, whose life circumstances lead them to feel they have no option other than violence. I want to reach them and show them that there is another way. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to pass on my skills and wisdom - to be teaching the next generation of barbers thru a new program launching soon with city schools.
Thank you for supporting my dream and my vision!
Troy Staton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of the Luvs Art Project, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partnerships, Inc. Donations are 100% tax deductible.
__________________________________
December 2018 Update
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE LUVSART PROJECT. THIS IS THE FIRST GRASSROOTS SUPPORT I'VE GOTTEN FOR MY WORK, AND I'M GRATEFUL! LET'S KEEP IT GOING. MORE SUPPORT MEANS MORE WORK CAN GET DONE, AND WE HAVE A LOT TO DO TO END THE VIOLENCE IN OUR CITY.
For 30 years, I’ve been a barber in Baltimore. For the last 10 years, I’ve had New Beginnings Barbershop in Hollins Market in Southwest Baltimore. My shop is much more than a barbershop. It’s where I share my passion for art with the community, it’s where my son Rashad brings young men together to talk about their dreams and challenges in ShopTalk meetings, and it’s where I join with businesses to bring health screenings and services to the community.
Being a barber is how I make a living, but the community inside and outside the barbershop is my life.
On Wednesday October 31st, a frustrated, and misguided young man came into the barbershop shooting. He wasn’t aiming for me, but I was shot along with another client. I was lucky...clearly God is telling me that I have a lot more work to do here, and that’s what I plan to do.
So many of you have reached out to me asking how you can help or what you can do.
Here’s the answer: help me reach more people with my work through my organization, the Luvs Art Project. Help me reach more young people so they can see their possibilities beyond hopelessness and violence.
When I first launched the LuvsArt Project, our mission was to bring art to the community and the community to the arts. But, as I gathered people around art, I realized that our ability to bring people together served a deeper purpose, and we expanded our work to community gatherings, health screening, ShopTalks, block parties, and other activities that help us all find the beauty in each other.
Will you help me raise $5,000 for the LuvsArt Project? With that, the LuvsArt Project will curate an art exhibition and series of community dialogues about violence in our City. We need to talk -for real - about this issue.
A bullet is not going to stop me. I’m ready to elevate even further, to keep pushing for our community, especially for young men like the man who shot me, whose life circumstances lead them to feel they have no option other than violence. I want to reach them and show them that there is another way. We have to do better as a city.
Will you join me in reaching more people? Thank you for supporting my dream and my vision.
Luvs Art Project is a 501c3, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partners.
A year since my shooting and, with your support, we’ve made so much progress!
On Wednesday October 31, 2018, a frustrated, and misguided young man came into the barbershop shooting. He wasn’t aiming for me, but I was shot along with another client. I was lucky...clearly God was telling me that I had a lot more work to do here in Baltimore, and that’s what I’ve been doing with a sense of urgency and your support and the outpouring of love I’ve received across the city of Baltimore.
I’M SO HAPPY TO SHARE THE GREAT PROGRESS WE’VE MADE.
A quick step back - for 30 years, I’ve been a barber in Baltimore. My shop - New Beginnings in Hollins Market - is much more than a barbershop. It’s where I share my passion for art with the community, it’s where my son Rashad brings young men together to talk about their dreams and challenges in ShopTalk meetings, and it’s where I join with businesses to bring health screenings and vital services to the community.
Being a barber is how I make a living, but the community inside and outside the barbershop is my life. My focus over this past year has been working to share our experiences at New Beginnings with barbers across Baltimore - to significantly scale positive impact.
With the outpouring of support, in December 2019, I launched "More Than A Shop" (MTAS) - a network of barbershops and beauty salons across the city of Baltimore. Funds have been used to bring shops together and share how to replicate our model to bring much-needed services to their shops and neighborhoods including:
* Health screenings in partnership with Kaiser Permanente
* Expungement support services with Baltimore City’s Job Opportunity Task Force
* Conflict resolution skills with Safe Streets and CeaseFire
* Safe sex awareness with the Baltimore City Health Department
We’re learning how to best broaden the base of shops within Baltimore to prove the MTAS model. But we’re just at the beginning.
I’m thankful for the companies who have reached out to learn how they can work with and through barber shops in their neighborhoods.
I’ve also been invited to speak about this experience and MTAS since the shooting. I appreciate these opportunities as they let me recognize the outpouring of support from you and the organizations that showed up to support my work over the last year.
I’m currently applying for fellowships and grants to continue the work. I hope you’ll once again consider helping me to reach more people with my work through my organization, the Luvs Art Project. Help me reach more young people so they can see their possibilities beyond hopelessness and violence.
Will you help me raise $15,000 to grow our impact with More Than a Shop throughout 2020?
A bullet did not stop me - it spurred me to action. I’m ready to grow further, to keep pushing for our community, especially for young men like the man who shot me, whose life circumstances lead them to feel they have no option other than violence. I want to reach them and show them that there is another way. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to pass on my skills and wisdom - to be teaching the next generation of barbers thru a new program launching soon with city schools.
Thank you for supporting my dream and my vision!
Troy Staton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of the Luvs Art Project, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partnerships, Inc. Donations are 100% tax deductible.
__________________________________
December 2018 Update
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE LUVSART PROJECT. THIS IS THE FIRST GRASSROOTS SUPPORT I'VE GOTTEN FOR MY WORK, AND I'M GRATEFUL! LET'S KEEP IT GOING. MORE SUPPORT MEANS MORE WORK CAN GET DONE, AND WE HAVE A LOT TO DO TO END THE VIOLENCE IN OUR CITY.
For 30 years, I’ve been a barber in Baltimore. For the last 10 years, I’ve had New Beginnings Barbershop in Hollins Market in Southwest Baltimore. My shop is much more than a barbershop. It’s where I share my passion for art with the community, it’s where my son Rashad brings young men together to talk about their dreams and challenges in ShopTalk meetings, and it’s where I join with businesses to bring health screenings and services to the community.
Being a barber is how I make a living, but the community inside and outside the barbershop is my life.
On Wednesday October 31st, a frustrated, and misguided young man came into the barbershop shooting. He wasn’t aiming for me, but I was shot along with another client. I was lucky...clearly God is telling me that I have a lot more work to do here, and that’s what I plan to do.
So many of you have reached out to me asking how you can help or what you can do.
Here’s the answer: help me reach more people with my work through my organization, the Luvs Art Project. Help me reach more young people so they can see their possibilities beyond hopelessness and violence.
When I first launched the LuvsArt Project, our mission was to bring art to the community and the community to the arts. But, as I gathered people around art, I realized that our ability to bring people together served a deeper purpose, and we expanded our work to community gatherings, health screening, ShopTalks, block parties, and other activities that help us all find the beauty in each other.
Will you help me raise $5,000 for the LuvsArt Project? With that, the LuvsArt Project will curate an art exhibition and series of community dialogues about violence in our City. We need to talk -for real - about this issue.
A bullet is not going to stop me. I’m ready to elevate even further, to keep pushing for our community, especially for young men like the man who shot me, whose life circumstances lead them to feel they have no option other than violence. I want to reach them and show them that there is another way. We have to do better as a city.
Will you join me in reaching more people? Thank you for supporting my dream and my vision.
Luvs Art Project is a 501c3, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partners.
Organizer
Troy Staton
Organizer
Baltimore, MD
Fusion Partnerships Inc
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
