OUT OF THE DARKNESS from beneath the stormy skies, a New England photographer Donald Verger barely escaped the EF-5 tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri last year in May. From that harrowing experience, he turned to peace and hope and started The Joplin Art Project, wanting to reach out to the people of Joplin. He created a series of 25,000 postcards featuring inspiring images (shown below in the photo slide). He sent them to the tornado survivors in Joplin, believing in the healing powers of art and caring.
"I do know that there is kind of a gentle power in art and there is a healing power in people caring. I suspect that by offering something to a young person in Joplin or a grandmother in Joplin, people know that there are people in the world thinking about them." -Donald Verger |
Join us with Don and be part of the hope and help for Joplin:
- Rebuild Joplin ~ connecting needs and resources
- Share your creative talents to help support the people of Joplin
- Lift the burden, listen to their stories
- Spread the peace and hope
- Give what you can ~ making a difference
Many thanks to Don, for sharing his photographs with us, for showing us the gentle power in art and the healing power in people caring.
-Mia
*For more on Don, continue reading below. For readers receiving this post via email, please click here (then scroll to the middle of the post) to view the photo slide of Don's Peace & Hope postcards.*
DONALD VERGER is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning photographer and Founder and President Emeritus of the world-renowned Children's Discovery Museums and Science Discovery Museum in New England. His visionary work at these discovery museums was featured in two episodes of the PBS television series "Curious George."
He has served on numerous boards including Chairperson of UNICEF's New England Advisory Board, along with members Ted Kennedy and Arnold Hiatt, as well as the board of directors for Wheelock College and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. All of Verger's philanthropic work benefits families and children.
A member of Society for East End Arts in Portland, Maine, Donald Verger's photography has earned him numerous awards and accolades including: Fryeburg Fair Best in Show 2008, Bangor Flower Show First Prize 2008, and Fort Williams Art Show First Prize 2008. In March of 2010, Verger debuted his 2011 Naturescapes Calendar Series featuring his most cherished and sought after images worldwide. This inaugural, limited edition calendar series celebrates twelve months of nature's glory, from sunrise at Acadia National Park, to the intimate elegance of a single rose.
Verger was born in Brooklyn, New York and resides in Falmouth, Maine, just footsteps from the ocean, where he captures the early moments of nature's true splendor.
*For Don's full bio, click here. Connect with Don on Twitter, Facebook, and his blog.*
*A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and The Becoming Daily. February and March 2012.*
He has served on numerous boards including Chairperson of UNICEF's New England Advisory Board, along with members Ted Kennedy and Arnold Hiatt, as well as the board of directors for Wheelock College and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. All of Verger's philanthropic work benefits families and children.
A member of Society for East End Arts in Portland, Maine, Donald Verger's photography has earned him numerous awards and accolades including: Fryeburg Fair Best in Show 2008, Bangor Flower Show First Prize 2008, and Fort Williams Art Show First Prize 2008. In March of 2010, Verger debuted his 2011 Naturescapes Calendar Series featuring his most cherished and sought after images worldwide. This inaugural, limited edition calendar series celebrates twelve months of nature's glory, from sunrise at Acadia National Park, to the intimate elegance of a single rose.
Verger was born in Brooklyn, New York and resides in Falmouth, Maine, just footsteps from the ocean, where he captures the early moments of nature's true splendor.
*For Don's full bio, click here. Connect with Don on Twitter, Facebook, and his blog.*
*A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and The Becoming Daily. February and March 2012.*
