Kelsey Lawson takes the stage to represent the Gia Fund (Giovanni Innovation and Arts Fund), a scholarship legacy project honoring her close friend and dance artist Giovanni Malia Powell, who passed away in December 2021. Kelsey shares the fund’s mission of supporting young artists through scholarships and innovative project grants, highlighting $10,000 distributed to three students in 2023 and announcing ongoing fundraising efforts.
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Transcript
[00:44:07] That’s better.
[00:44:08] Thank you.
[00:44:09] Thank you.
[00:44:09] Thank you.
[00:44:10] All right.
[00:44:11] They alive.
[00:44:11] I think they alive.
[00:44:12] They are alive.
[00:44:13] They are alive.
[00:44:14] So we would like
[00:44:15] to prepare you guys.
[00:44:16] We have a lot of speakers
[00:44:20] on deck here and anyone
[00:44:21] who’s coming in and who is an artist
[00:44:24] or who’s got a set, not a set
[00:44:26] because a set’s a whole string.
[00:44:28] Thank you for whoever taught me
[00:44:29] that tonight.
[00:44:31] Five minutes is the time limit
[00:44:34] and I don’t want to be rude.
[00:44:36] I don’t want to go .
[00:44:37] But I will if I have to.
[00:44:40] All right.
[00:44:40] So we are going to call
[00:44:43] up a special someone here.
[00:44:46] Who is yes, you ma’am, yes, you, no, not you, sir.
[00:44:53] Raffle ticket winner of last year.
[00:44:56] But here is someone who is a part
[00:44:59] of this wonderful agency nonprofit called the Gia Fund
[00:45:02] who’s going to speak a little bit about what they’re about.
[00:45:06] Yeah. All right.
[00:45:07] Hey, give it up for her, y’all.
[00:45:13] Hi, everyone.
[00:45:14] So my name is Kelsey Lawson
[00:45:16] and I’m here to represent the Gia Fund.
[00:45:18] It’s the Giovanni Innovation and Arts Fund.
[00:45:21] It’s a scholarship legacy project in honor
[00:45:23] of Giovanni Malia Powell.
[00:45:25] She was a dance artist in this Maryland area
[00:45:29] when she danced, well, actually,
[00:45:31] she grew up in the Anne Arundel area.
[00:45:33] She went to South River High School.
[00:45:35] She graduated from UMBC College where I met her.
[00:45:37] She’s my close friend who passed away in December 2021.
[00:45:42] And we’re just, we’re still celebrating her in honor
[00:45:46] and gratitude.
[00:45:46] And we’re just, we’re still celebrating her through this fund.
[00:45:48] And so what it’s all about is promoting arts education
[00:45:51] and giving scholarships to those, like, young artists
[00:45:54] who just need a bit of help getting started in college
[00:45:58] or even starting a new innovative project.
[00:46:01] It could be, like, a new device that you want to create.
[00:46:03] And we just give as much money as we can out every year.
[00:46:07] So this past year, or 2023, we were able to give $10,000
[00:46:11] in scholarships to three different students.
[00:46:14] And so we’re hoping to do something
[00:46:16] to do the same thing this year.
[00:46:18] We actually just finished our, just closed
[00:46:20] up our scholarship applications for in June.
[00:46:23] And we’re going to be probably doing another round of 10,000
[00:46:26] or more.
[00:46:27] And so we’re just fundraising.
[00:46:28] So we have a fundraiser that’s open.
[00:46:30] It’s a popcorn fundraiser.
[00:46:33] Hopefully you like Double Good.
[00:46:34] It’s, you know, caramel popcorn, cheddar popcorn,
[00:46:37] all that sort of good stuff.
[00:46:38] We also have a yoga event tomorrow.
[00:46:41] It’s in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
[00:46:43] I’m not sure if any of you are in the area.
[00:46:45] But it’s just about $20 for a yoga event tomorrow outside.
[00:46:50] And we’re going to have snow cones and everything.
[00:46:52] And we’re hoping to do as much fundraising as possible
[00:46:55] so we can do a good work and keep my friends’ legacy going.
[00:47:00] So thank you all so much for your time.
[00:47:02] And hopefully I can talk to you in the back.
[00:47:05] And I also have cards I’m probably going to pass
[00:47:08] out later on.
[00:47:09] So just take one and scan it if you ever get a chance.
[00:47:12] Thank you.
[00:47:13] Hey, give it up for her, y’all.
[00:47:21] That’s dope.
[00:47:21] That’s dope.
[00:47:22] So like she said, you can talk to her in the back.
[00:47:24] So don’t be shy.
[00:47:25] If you want to go talk to her, she’s right there in the back to the right.
[00:47:28] So go back there and talk to her.
[00:47:29] Give it up for her one more time, y’all.