Sarasota Livin'

I was not really familiar with our local Hospice provider and some of their programs.

I was asked to serve on an advisiory board for them and have learned a good lesson ... "understand the story behind the story".

Do you know why they are looking to put up clowns around downtown? (Oct 2006 - April 2007) ... They want to raise $1,000,000 to create a childrens hospice program in Sarasota.

Here is part of their mission statement:

The mission of TideWell's Children's Services Program is to positively impact the well-being of children and their families who are dealing with advanced illness — either their own or that of a loved one.
......
We believe in hope as a primary component of this program; families and children are continuously encouraged to seek joy in each day. TideWell helps young patients live life to its fullest while providing pain management and symptom control. We support patients and families in developing coping mechanisms to work through the many emotions that accompany advanced illness.

Through education, we seek to alleviate the fear of the unknown.

Read more about the program at Clowning Around Town

No one will design a piece of "art" that most everyone will like. They have a group of professional clowns reviewing the latest designs and have updated the design based on community input.

Perhaps if someone will donate the million bucks they won't need to spend all of the money to create the clowns. Although the staff was pretty excited by this project.