Art Auction
Newspring's first visual arts program, saw professional artists visiting the art classes at Landrum and Northbrook Middle Schools and also at Northbrook HS. The artists mentored promising art students on career and business opportunities in the world of visual art.
This project culminated with our first art auction held March 11 at Guadalajara Restaurant. The auction sold 48 original artworks for an amount in excess of $7,500. For the students who frequently hear the importance of staying in school, this auction may have been the first tangible encouragement they have received. Here are some of their reactions:
- “I loved it and I will enter next year with more pieces.”
- “…the whole process was awesome.”
- “Wonderful, loved the interaction of the people with me, the artist.”
- “Great experience and I will be honored to participate next year.”
And from the teachers:
- “The most impressive part, for me, was that the guests were SOOOO appreciative of the work WE have done as teachers. It totally makes what WE do seem more worthwhile. I left the auction, and called two people on the way home to tell them how important I felt after leaving….”
- “…this is a good motivator and will help keep the students involved.”
- “The original mission of this is really great and is needed.”
You can see the artwork on our website at www.newspringcenter.org
Business Plan Competition
Our second project was the Business Plan Competition, sponsored jointly with HCC’s NW campus. Our team of 45 experienced business advisers worked with the students, producing some remarkable ideas and then packaging those ideas into comprehensive business plans. On March 31, the finalists were judged and winners announced. Prizes ($8,000 for first, $6,000 for second and $4,000 for third) were awarded on April 28. Responses from the students included the following:
- “My mentors were awesome. They encouraged me, they made themselves available to meet with me, they had very positive attitudes, they wanted to see me win, they were excited about the competition just as I was, and they were real & genuine with me; in other words they did not sugar coat some of their opinions if they thought some of my work needed adjustment and/or improvement. They also communicated with me very well and they really tried hard to understand me.”
And from the advisers:
- “I liked the format of the competition. I thought the mentoring, the training classes and the personal interaction that students had with ourselves was excellent.”
- “Open to other campuses/schools.”
- “The Training Classes were excellent, and should be part of the experience offered the participants.”
- “[I] believe that this kind of activity can do wonders, directly, for certain (interested) students…”
- “I truly appreciate and see the value of the concept and I commend the leadership for it’s strong commitment to the established goals of the program.”
And from Zach Hodges, President of HCC’s NW campus:
- "We knew that a business plan competition for a community college would present some unique challenges and it did. However, the upside is significant.”
From Jack Barry, one of the leaders of the competition:
- “A Business Plan Contest enables participants to think about what is possible and how to make it a reality. They experience taking an idea or passion and building a plan to turn it into a business. The participants with the assistance of successful business people acting as advisors learn the business fundamentals necessary to build a successful business. This includes how to organize a plan and how to sell a business concept to an investor. Most importantly the participants learn that they personally have the responsibility to make their business successful.”
And from one of the judges, David Weekley:
- “It was a great opportunity to see these aspiring young leaders present some really outstanding new business opportunities. Houston is blessed with some great educational institutions and talent to move our community forward!”
You can read more about both of these projects on our website, www.newspringcenter.org. We anticipate repeating both of these in the 2008-09 year. In addition, we are making plans to more directly assist businesses in the Spring Branch area.
