This post is three weeks behind, so consider it a belated Christmas gift! And it is indeed a gift to share the vision and heart behind two very talented alumni and one precious 5th grade girl.

Helen Brooks, Class of 1992, and her family, daughters Mary Helen, 7th grade, Virginia 5th grade and Katie, 2nd grade, have been volunteering at Home is Where the Art Is, an outreach ministry to the homeless community of Columbus. The program is the brainchild of Bo Bartlett, Class of 1974, who has partnered with Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministries and Rose Hill United Methodist Church, to bring art to one of the most disenfranchised and vulnerable segments of our community.

The result is a beautiful collaboration.

In fact, the entire experience so moved fifth-grader Virginia, that she wrote a letter to Santa asking for art supplies for her new friends in the program.  Read and watch more about Virginia’s Christmas wish by clicking here and read Helen’s entire blog post about the experience by clicking here.

To say I am proud of these two alums is an understatement. Helen is one of my dearest friends and I could not be prouder of the way she lives her life and models her faith. Not to mention, she is an incredibly talented artist. Bo Bartlett, an internationally acclaimed artist, has long been a fixture in my family’s life, and I have been inspired by him and his artwork since childhood. I feel a special affinity for these two and to see them work together in this way, using their gifts and loving on people in such a way – it’s simply beautiful. I am grateful to call you both friends.