Monthly Archives: January 2013

Without Limits

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On 15 Feb 2013, Charles Thomas and I will be presenters at TEDxCharlotte. We hope you’ll register and come if you’re in the area.

UNLIMITED: Ideas Take Shape is this year’s theme for the annual, daylong creative forum. As collaborators on Giving Back, Charles and I will share what we learned while pursuing our idea of reframing portraits of philanthropy.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll experience . . .

If you’ve never attended TEDxCharlotte and want to know more, go here. And, if you’re unfamiliar with TED.com and its locally focused spin-off TEDx, go here, too.

After attending the last two years, I can tell you that TEDxCharlotte features a dozen or so selected presenters who share their ideas and 300+ participants who come to . . .

  • hear bold ideas…about technology, entertainment, design and other stuff
  • experience informative, entertaining and/or inspiring presentations
  • see innovative art projects and short films
  • network and connect with a mix of people
  • learn about new topics
  • find inspiration
  • laugh
  • maybe cry
  • eat (really, really) well
  • let loose
  • dance a little
  • never forget the day

Seeing you at TEDxCharlotte 2013 would be great!

peace of ice

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Dawn’s damp chill hanging
behold divinity etched 
Master’s piece in ice

— Ava Wood

Frosty paisley etching seen on my rear windshield last week | VF’s iphone

Quick Biopic ‘On Writing and Giving Back’

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In November 2011, right after the release of Giving Back and during filming for the book’s trailer [ philanthropy reframed ], we created this 3-minute piece….I call it my micro biopic.

After a year, we finally carved out time to complete this short film and just posted it to YouTube yesterday. Watch. Enjoy. Share.

GBP video snapshot

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Here’s my year-end interview with Chad Jones, executive director of Community Investment Network. The conversation allowed me to reflect on the past year, share some thoughts and experiences, and envision the best scenarios in 2013.

 

gvngbydsgn's avatarCollective Influence

Valaida Fullwood, is a founding member of Charlotte’s New Generation of African American Philanthropists giving circle as well as a member of the CIN board since 2009. Yet, she is becoming most recognizable as the author of Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists. In late December, Valaida answered the following questions, from Chad Jones.
________


CJ: What have been three highlights of 2012?

VF: It seems 2012 was overflowing with remarkable experiences. If I must choose only three, the ones that stand out at this moment are:

  1. Co-presenting with Charles Thomas, photographer of Giving Back, at a book talk hosted by the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. It was one of our first and largest book events.
  2. Participating as a featured speaker at the Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy State of the

    Race Conference in San Francisco, where I…

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Blog. Blog. Blog.

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blog2-1“The image of the hands captivated me—aged, weathered and furrowed with wrinkles, strong yet gentle, one hand cupped in the other. I couldn’t help but think of my own mother’s hands.”

— Dan Schipp, The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

At the end of 2012, I felt tremendous gratification when three bloggers decided to write about me and my book. Here are links to their blog posts. Check them out!

a meticulously beautiful life

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some lower flags to mark a death. here instead is a lower case tribute. perchance, writing will raise my spirit because i’ve been sad all day long.

shaken hard sums me up today since some random web-browsing last night led me to stumble upon the stunning news of a friend’s death…six months ago.

i’ve forever been blessed by an expansive circle of friends of every order. dearest ones i’ve never known life without. a good many found at school and in college. numerous others defining and enriching every chapter of my life.

with a few, the bond remains seamless and the chit-chatting endless. then there are some to dial up or meet up with once a year or so. others go faraway though forever stay near to heart. denyse was the latter and among the rarest of friends. after an instant spark and then years and years apart, she was an unforgettable force who left a profound mark.

denyse created amazing art and showed me how to live fully and fiercely. the meticulous beauty of her life, as she appeared to will each and every one of her dreams into being, makes the loss bittersweet. her passing has left behind a highly regarded body of artistic works; the love of her life with a broken heart; a precious two-year-old whom she adored; grieving family, students, colleagues and admirers; and an unquestionable and permanent imprint on me.

this article and short film tell some of her story: http://www.gwarlingo.com/2012/samein-priester-on-fatherhood-film-loss-of-his-wife-artist-denyse-thomasos/

— vf