Welcome to the launch page for CASP’s May Arts Marathon!
After the presidential election CASP received the following note from one of the asylum seekers we support:
Queremos agradecerte por apoyarnos y si no miento que tenemos muchos nervios pero todo está en manos de dios.
We want to thank you for supporting us and I am not lying, we have a lot of nerves but everything is in God’s hands.
Now more than ever we need creative ways to provide support for those who are fleeing violence and oppression in their home countries. The Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) is excited to bring this fundraiser and community builder to Southern Vermont. We invite artists of all kinds – painters, writers, poets, musicians, fabric and multimedia artists, sculptors, photographers and more – to take a stand for justice and join this fundraiser for the many asylum seekers we are supporting.
During May the writers and artists who wish to participate will commit to practicing their art five days each week and pushing their creative work out to sponsors. The sky’s the limit – poems, essays, non-fiction, stories, sketches, paintings, photographs, fabric art, multimedia, music, multi-genre pieces – anything is possible.
The artists’ sponsors will commit to supporting and following the artists by pledging a donation to CASP. They will then receive copies of the artists’ work over email, Instagram, or in a blog five to days each week in May.
All of the contributions to CASP will go towards supporting asylum seekers in Southern Vermont who must wait at least 6 months before receiving work permits. During this time CASP pledges to meet all of their basic needs -housing, living expenses, and legal fees.
CASP thanks CVRAN (Central Vermont Refugee Action Network) for developing this highly successful fundraiser and sharing their secrets with us!