Feel Good Friday - Academy of American Poets

April is National Poetry Month, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of the celebration, making it the perfect time to spotlight the Academy of American Poets, the organization that started it all.

Founded in 1934 and headquartered in New York City, the mission of Academy of American Poets  is "to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry."

The Academy launched National Poetry Month in 1996, and it has grown into the largest literary celebration in the world, with schools, libraries, publishers, and poetry lovers across the country participating every April. But their work doesn't stop when the month ends.

Year-round, the Academy runs an impressive slate of programs. Poem-a-Day is their beloved daily series, publishing more than 200 new, previously unpublished poems each year alongside exclusive commentary from the poets themselves. Dear Poet  connects K–12 students directly with living poets through letter writing. This year, for the first time, the program includes poems in both English and Spanish! Teach This Poem  is a free weekly resource for educators, pairing a poem with discussion questions and classroom activities. And Poetry Near You is a searchable calendar of poetry events happening in communities nationwide.

The Academy also administers the American Poets Prizes and Fellowships, distributing more than $1,000,000 to two hundred poets each year, making it the largest funder of poets in the United States. This includes the Poet Laureate Fellowship, which awards $50,000 fellowships to state and local poets laureate, and the Wallace Stevens Award, a $100,000 prize for lifetime achievement.

Upcoming events include Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30th. Everyone is encouraged to carry a poem and share it with someone on that day. And don't miss the Poetry & the Creative Mind virtual benefit reading on April 28th, featuring a star-studded lineup of celebrities reading their favorite poems. It's free and open to all!

You can support the Academy of American Poets in many ways. Become a member, make a donation, or simply share their work on social media. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn and spread a little poetry love with your network.

Happy National Poetry Month! 🌸

Feel Good Friday - Innocence Project

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, a day that invites reflection on the ongoing fight for racial justice in America. The Innocence Project  is doing that work every single day.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in New York, the mission of the Innocence Project  is "to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone."

Attorneys Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld started the organization as a law clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law after recognizing that if DNA technology could prove guilt, it could also prove innocence. It became an independent nonprofit in 2003 and has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform ever since.

The racial disparities in wrongful conviction cases are staggering. Nearly 70% of Innocence Project clients are people of color. Black innocent defendants spend 45% more time wrongfully imprisoned before exoneration than white defendants. Cases involving Black exonerees are 50% more likely to involve police misconduct, and intentionally suggestive witness identifications occur twice as frequently in cases involving Black and Latinx exonerees. These are not anomalies — they are patterns rooted in systemic bias.

The Innocence Project fights this injustice on multiple fronts. Their legal team takes on cases where DNA or other scientific evidence can establish innocence. Their policy work has led to the passage of more than 250 state and federal laws addressing issues like eyewitness identification reform, preservation of biological evidence, and compensation for exonerees. They also push to strengthen forensic science standards and limit the use of unreliable technologies like facial recognition in law enforcement. Since their founding, they have helped free or exonerate more than 250 people who collectively spent over 4,000 years behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

If you’d like to support the Innocence Project, there are many ways to do so. Volunteer your time, make a donation, and amplify their message on social media. Follow the Innocence Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and share their stories of justice and freedom with your network.

Feel Good Friday - Brava! for Women in the Arts

Today is World Theatre Day and the final Friday of Women's History Month, making it the perfect moment to celebrate Brava! for Women in the Arts, a San Francisco institution that has spent nearly four decades proving that theater is one of the most powerful tools we have for socil change.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in San Francisco's Mission District, the mission of Brava! for Women in the Arts is "to produce, present, and cultivate the artistic expression of women, BIPOC, youth, LGBTQIA+, and other underrepresented voices." 

Brava owns and operates the Brava Theater Center, a historic venue celebrating 100 years of being a theater on 24th Street. It began life as the Roosevelt Theatre in 1926, later became the York Theatre serving San Francisco's growing Latino community, and was ultimately transformed by Brava into a vibrant home for boundary-pushing performance and community gathering.

Their flagship program, Brava Presents, delivers an eclectic mix of theater, music, dance, film, and comedy, annually producing 30+ performances by women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC artists from the Bay Area and beyond. The Artists-in-Residence program supports professional artists who are traditionally locked out of the arts, providing space for creation, grant writing support, and fiscal sponsorship. Past residents include celebrated artists like Marga Gomez, Cherríe Moraga, and Rhodessa Jones.

Brava is also deeply committed to the next generation. Through the Mission Academy of Performing Arts, they train 120 youth ages 13 - 18 each year through four programs: San Francisco Running Crew, which pairs teens with professional mentors for hands-on technical theater training; Cuicacalli Escuela de Danza, celebrating Mexican Baile Folklórico, hip hop, and modern dance; Young Actors Lab, integrating drama, movement, and music; and Loco Bloco, a youth performance organization using music and drumming to drive social change.

If you're in SF, catching a show at Brava Theater Center is one way to support their work. You can also make a donation, or amplify their message on social media. Follow Brava on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, subscribe to their YouTube channel and share their stories of art, resistance, and community with your network.

Happy World Theatre Day and Happy Women's History Month!