The Salida Circus Outreach Foundation / 501c3 non-profit

The Salida Circus Outreach Foundation - 501c3 Non-Profit

Salida Circus Outreach Foundation Mission Statement

The Salida Circus Outreach Foundation was established in Sept 2007 to offer free circus training to children and adults throughout Chaffee County, Colorado. SCOF is committed to providing circus skills training as a personal development tool in a nurturing, non-competitve environment. While making circus skills training available to all members of the community, SCOF aims to use circus training as a team-building tool for businesses, mentoring programs and parent/child programs. SCOF is committed to community-building by bringing shows to senior centers, nursing homes, community centers and other community events throughout Chaffee County. SCOF is committed to fostering links with other community circus schools throughout the US and the world, including the American Youth Circus Organization in New Hampshire, Circus Joy in California, The Belfast Community Circus in Northern Ireland, the Zip Zap Circus in South Africa, the Sligo Youth Circus in Ireland and La Cambalacha in Guatemala. (Also see the International Outreach Page.)

Salida Circus Outreach Foundation

WHO WE ARE
The Salida Circus Outreach Foundation (SCOF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in September 2007 to provide circus training to children and adults in Chaffee County as a personal development and community-building tool. SCOF tutors offer weekly workshops and three annual camps to teach acrobatics, stilt-walking, juggling, trapeze, unicycling, plate-spinning, clowning and more. SCOF participants have the opportunity perform in more than 20 shows a year at senior centers, nursing homes, festivals, fundraisers, parades and other community events.

WHAT WE DO
SCOF provides circus skills training in a nurturing, noncompetitive environment. SCOF workshops are held at local yoga centers, community centers, libraries, and parks. While making circus skills training available to all members of the community, SCOF works to provide scholarships for members of the Chaffee County Mentoring and Nurturing Parenting Programs.

SCOF builds intergenerational connections by bringing shows to senior centers, nursing homes, community centers and other events throughout Chaffee County. SCOF fosters links with other community circus schools throughout the US and the world, including the Colorado Youth Circus, Boulder Circus Center, the American Youth Circus Organization, Santa Fe Wise Fools, The Belfast Community Circus in Northern Ireland, the Zip Zap Circus in South Africa, the Afghan Children's Circus in Kabul and La Cambalacha in Guatemala.

SCOF'S ENVIRONMENT
Salida and Buena Vista are remote, rural towns where an estimated eleven percent of families, and nine to sixteen percent of juveniles, live in poverty. Our participants come from all sectors of the Chaffee County community, including schools, social services programs, and church youth groups. Eighty five percent of our participants are at-risk youth and/or come from low-income families.

THE NEED FOR SCOF
Builds Confidence and Connections for At-risk Youth Circus training can be a way for young people to experience something about themselves they haven't experienced before. It can also be a way to create connections through non-traditional means of intervention. In a collaborative project between by the Los Angeles Youth Network and My Friends Place homeless shelter, young people involved in circus training were more likely to work with a social worker or probation officer. "Youth organizations are always looking for quantifiable ways of measuring how affective a program is," said project director Philip Solomon. "What they have found is that the youth that interact with the social circus program at My Friend's Place are two-thirds more likely to start working with a case manager or therapist."

Provides Employment Opportunities
Trainees who attain a professional level of ability may be hired to perform at events through the state. In the past year, SCOF participants have performed at the Taste of Colorado in Denver, the Santa Fe Children's Museum, Salida ArtWalk, the Chaffee County Fair, the Manitou Art Theater Cabaret and the Cheyenne Mountain Boo at the Zoo. Participants who receive workshop leadership training may also become paid tutors.

Provides a Vehicle for Creating Intergenerational Connections
Presenting regular performances at senior centers and nursing homes provides an opportunity for young people to create connections and bond with senior citizens and creates an inclusive experience for senior citizens. Many of the young SCOF participants have already formed relationships with the seniors who have seen them perform.

Encouraging Non-competitiveness and Self-expression
For the child who does not thrive in traditional team sports, such as soccer, basketball, football, etc., circus training can provide an excellent alternative. With the variety of skills taught--acrobatics, juggling, stilt-walking, unicycling, clowning, trapeze, etc.--every participant can find a niche. Because circus training is a creative, non-competitive activity, each participant can work at his or her own pace and achieve skills in his or her own time.

Physical Fitness
In this era of the overuse of computers and video games and concerns about childhood obesity, circus training provides a much-needed opportunity for young people to become physically fit in a fun, collaborative way. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, thirty-two percent of children from two to 19 years old are considered overweight or
obese. Circus training gives them a fun, unique way to stay physically fit.

SCOF STAFF AND BOARD
SCOF was founded by Jennifer Dempsey, circus performer/director for 20 years. Formerly the Artistic Director of the Belfast Circus School, Jennifer founded and performed with the Scarlet Sisters Circus in California before moving to Salida in February 2007.

The SCOF Director's responsibilities include:
• Teaching workshops with tutor team
• Maintaining membership and enrollment
• Scheduling and directing twenty performances per year
• Serving as community liaison with schools, civic clubs, youth groups, etc,
• Marketing the SCOF
• Fundraising for the SCOF
• Recruiting and training the members of the tutor team

SCOF's current tutor team includes: Destiny Meseke, Mike Pollock, Joan Grant, Sarah Leamy, Heather Mori, and Andrea Mossman.

SCOF is managed by a Board of Directors which meets quarterly. The members are:
President Marti Thomas, of the Chaffee County Child Task Force
Treasurer Katie Davis, Salida Realtor
Secretary Andrea Mossman, Dancer and Acrobat
Michelle Riggio, Physical Therapist
Ann Marie Swan, Yoga Instructor
Cathy Haruf, former Hospice Coordinator
Tom Russell, Retired Judge
Jennifer Dempsey, Founder and Executive Director

MARKETING STRATEGIES
• Public performances. Every show is an advertisement for SCOF and brochures and business cards will be available.
• Speaking engagements at local civic and business groups and private employers, including Rotary Club, Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Salida Business Alliance, Brazen BusinessWomen, BBI International and others, to spread the word about SCOF among potential donors.
• Marketing workshops and performances in newspaper, on radio and through internet.
• Hold “Have-a-go” sessions at schools, youth groups, Boys and Girls Clubs, and others.
• Email updates and quarterly circus newsletter to contact lists.
• Mail annual brochures and letters to members, event planners, donors, and businesses.
• Create and maintain a dynamic, attractive website.
FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES
• Hold two annual performances at the Salida SteamPlant, our local performing arts center: $2,000
• Solicit donations from individuals and families: $4,000
• Solicit donations from local and regional businesses: $4,000
• Hold two annual Poetry Parlor Performances: $1,500. These events will be by invitation only and will be hosted by local residents. They will feature local poets, musicians and performers. Guests may make donations starting at $25.
• Hold an Annual Salida Circus Stilt-A-Thon (a pledged stilt-walk): $3,000. SCOF members and supporters will collect pledges for a two-mile circus parade through Salida. Participants will include unicyclists, stilt-walkers, tumblers, jugglers, clowns, musicians, and supportive celebrities and citizens. A performance will be held in Riverside Park following the parade.
• Apply for grants from appropriate foundations and businesses.

A NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Twenty years experience in the circus business has taught me that building a community circus cannot be a one-woman act. When I founded SCOF in September 2007, it was to create a vehicle in which traditional circus skills could be passed on and the magic of circus experienced by anyone who desired it. Last year, thanks to the support of the SCOF Board and members of the community, approximately 300 children in Chaffee County participated in workshops, camps and performances. Participants who attained a professional level of skill were hired through the Salida Circus to perform at events throughout the state including The Taste of Colorado, Cheyenne Mountain Boo at the Zoo, the Denver Children's Museum, the Prowers County Fair and the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge. With your help, I look forward to growing SCOF, including more children and adults in circus activities, and creating more connections through circus.

--Jennifer Dempsey, SCOF founder