Meeting One Information--July 7, 2007

Here is information from our first meeting.

First of all, here is the history of this idea for the non-profit that Dan Cleberg talked about at our meeting--


The Fallout Creative Community is a byproduct of the Red Rooster Coffee House. The Red Rooster was opened in 1996 by brother and sister, Dan and Kileen Cleberg with the purpose to have a great meeting place for people and an outlet for artistic expression. With a stage for music, poetry and other performances, a gallery for art and a projector and screen for film it became a hub for creativity. A diverse community of creative people naturally formed in this environment. One of the characteristics of this community was compassion for the underdogs of the world; people with mental and physical disabilities, troubled youth and the elderly to name a few. The group became known for it's Art & Music Parties, unique Bicycle creations as well as it's vision for community.

Bruce was a young guy with mental and physical disabilities who would hang out at the Rooster most of the day. To encourage creativity he was hooked up with paint and canvases and soon had his own art show. He then explained that he had a fantasy story about himself as an alien. He was encouraged to write it down. The story was good enough to inspire the production of a campy low-budget film production. The film snowballed into a project that included dozens of people and attracted the attention of local media and drew hundreds to the premier.

The excitement of this event spawned the current burgeoning local film-making scene, gave fuel to a movement for creative people to collaborate to produce art and events, and inspired people to help the underdog find creative opportunity. The Community recognized the potential to help more people with organization and financial support. Therefore, it was decided to make The Fallout a non-profit organization.

Meeting 1 Notes:
Three questions/prompts were posed:

1. How can we build and strengthen creative community?
2. Identify local people with limitations.
3. How can we use our creative community to help people with limits get into creative experience?

-We need to define and exemplify consistent community that builds relationships and creates a lifestyle of compassion and care for each other versus a charity event.
-We need a board of directors of creative thinkers to keep ideas flowing and to avoid burnout as well as administrators to manage day-to-day tasks.
-We need a core group of creative community members that reaches out to the community through events, programs, etc.
-We need to find talented mentors/supporters/advocates who would be willing to become part of the community.
-We need to consider and pursue grant writing, fundraising, and promotional resources.
-We can consider collaborating with other organizations such as Parks and Rec, Arts Council, and the Granary, possibly to work towards a large event such as a Special Olympics for the Arts.
-We identified a variety of groups that represent people with various limitations: New Beginnings Center, Dakota House, Special Ed students, ATC, the Deaf Community, the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the elderly, low income kids, NE Mental Health, grieving groups, those with addictions, at-risk youth, etc.
-We discussed more specific ideas for providing opportunities for creativity such as: showcasing skills through newsletters/videos/a website, connect with teachers—past and present, draw from people and groups established in the community to seek assistance, provide transportation for those who need it, and focus activities on specific groups.

The next steps we discussed are: work up a vision statement/mission , create a brochure as well as a video to communicate the idea, and meet again as a group for further discussion.

Last but not least, we're working on the Name/Mission statement for our organization. We think it would be best at this point to call it the Fallout Creative Community. Creative Bridge therefore could be our mantra. The working Mission that we've come up with is: A visible and vibrant arts community that serves as a Creative Bridge to people with limitations. What do you think about this name and mission statement so far?