Celebrate our Anniversary!

With a creative spirit, Joni, the creator of Characters shares her humble beginnings. While a teaching assistant in a public school where there was no art class, the staff embraced me for my creativity and asked if I would like to teach some art classes on Fridays. Well, you don’t have to twist my arm, “Yes” I said! Keep in mind that there was limited supplies if any to use so even more imagination came into play.

Something I don’t think that I have shared are how the characters came about? When you look at Behavior Bear, Healthy Hippo, Friendship Frog and Warm-Hearted Walrus you will notice their outline is the same. The eyes, ears and features are added on. Therefore, we could make Friendship Frog on one side of the paper and Behavior Bear on the other! This alone was fun for the students to do and for me! From this elementary school I went to another to assist in a Behavioral classroom of nine young boys. While there were only nine, they were a handful! The first day I was in the class a student left the room, RUNNING out into the court yard where naturally, I followed him! This was not protocol for the school itself, but it was for the mom in me. He and I became very close, and as a matter of fact he would call me mom, this was both touching and heart wrenching for me. During my time at this school I would lay butcher block paper on the floor and the boys and I would draw on it, talk about whatever they felt comfortable sharing and created a classroom jungle if you will. I used the characters in this class but they did not yet have names or titles. The boys began naming them, and I tweaked them as we built nice relationships during the year.

I left that school to join another elementary as a teaching assistant and soon became a member of the Reading Team. This is where I piloted the characters and they earned a National Promising Practice Award through the Character Education Partnership in Washington D.C. The year was 2005. The following year I took a leave of absence to form Characters of Character as a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization and we were formed in 2007! Whoo-hoo I thought! How fun, how easy, how about that! I’m here to tell you that there is nothing easy about forming a non profit organization! There is little fun involved until you’re established and take on the mindset of the bigger picture. For me the bigger picture is Making a Difference in the Life of a Child. It took me some time to embrace all of this, setting up classes, writing grants, creating content, publishing books, creating costumes, sharing messages at local libraries and park districts, filing paperwork, attending classes, networking, joining Chambers of Commerce, volunteering at community events, learning, growing and impacting our children and youth and all of a sudden sixteen years unfold!

So much been accomplished through the years and we will continue to accomplish more through the years, we wish to thank you for your support through it all! You may have donated financially, shared our work, follow us on social media, donated from our wish list, sponsored some of our projects or read our blog or newsletters? Keep up the good work!! Whatever you have done to keep us alive……………

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TELL me and I forget, TEACH me and I remember, INVOLVE me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin