Community Connections

From Maureen Eppstein, MCWC Co-director

Last night, in the gracious lobby of the Stanford Inn in Mendocino, representatives of many of Mendocino County ’s arts organizations gathered to celebrate grant awards in the Community Foundation of Mendocino County’s Arts for our Future Program. These grants were made possible through funding from The James Irvine Foundation of San Francisco.

 It was my privilege to accept a substantial check on behalf of the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference (MCWC). These funds will help us make the transition to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to strengthen our board with collaborative training with the Mendocino Film Festival, and to increase our visibility through collaboration with youth service organizations and the California Poets in the Community.

 As I mingled, I was struck by how interconnected local arts, business, and social service organizations have become. The Arts Council of Mendocino County received funding for a huge collaborative website project that will link participating organizations and artists. Visit Mendocino County, Inc., a promotional alliance, is working to boost the local economy by identifying the Mendocino Coast as an arts destination. MCWC’s grant-funded community outreach project involve a large number of partners. We funded a poetry slam workshop for at-risk kids through the Mendocino County Youth Project. We’re helping Big Brothers Big Sisters keep their after school art and cooking classes alive while we work with the City of Fort Bragg to find space to add a writing workshop component. Safe Passage, Cancer Resource Center, Coast Community Library and South Coast Senior Center will partner in writing workshops for adults whose stories need to be heard.

 It’s exciting and humbling to be part of an undertaking so big and so important, and to realize that as writers we can make a difference.