2019 Highlights - The For C.J. Initiative

This year we celebrated a successful first year of the For C.J. Initiative. We cannot say THANK YOU enough to everyone who supported this initiative, through endorsements and/or partnerships and through showing up!

Left to right, Artistic Director Davalois Fearon and performers Njeri Rutherford, Mikaila Ware, and Morgan Anderson in For C.J. at BAAD 2019 Tony Turner Photography. Costumes, wearable sculpture, and makeup design by Jasmine Murrell. Set design by Myssi Robinson.

Within the first year of the project, we held 6 events, reaching 350 people. We concentrated our effort in the Bronx, where the asthma hospitalization rate for children is 70% higher than the rest of the city and 700% higher than the rest of New York State. The majority of our focus was bringing these events to churches, community centers, and local venues in hopes of reaching target groups in concentrated areas within the local community. See our detailed report for more information.

​The For C.J. Initiative was awarded a MAP Fund grant and BRIClab Residency! The project will also be supported by the 2019 Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) award through Bronx Council on the Arts and by Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) 2019/20 Parent/Artist Space Award.

This support has made it possible for us to fund the For C.J. Initiative and the entire company’s expenses through the end of the year, which is half our fiscal budget! We are celebrating this success and everyone on the DFD team is charged up and ready for next year! 

We are so glad to share this news with you in celebration of a successful year! Thank you again to all who played an important role in this initiative! 

Sincerely, 
Davalois Fearon and DFD team