Special Projects

Random Acts of Kindness

Learn more about the Kindness Project by watching the video below.

In February 1999, Jennifer Finkle, a teacher at Andes Central School (1990 – present) wrote on the first page of an empty journal: Kindness Chain Key: “Remember you as a human being are very powerful and challenges teach us about the elasticity of the human spirit.”Use this journal to record a random act of kindness that you do for someone else. Pass the journal to the recipient and have them do the same. I hope you’ll be surprised to see how good random kindness can feel and hope it will continue within our school community.  The first of hundreds of entries by faculty and staff followed, filling two large journals by 2019. Finkle was inspired by an episode of the Oprah Show in which she spoke of random kindness and how it can be just as fulfilling to the giver as it is to the receiver. The journals contain small, heartfelt and uplifting acts of random kindness, in written form. A retired administrator, who now helps with teacher evaluations, received the book and was so moved he recommended Finkle should get it published; “a lasting tribute to our unique school and all of the people who work so hard to make Andes Central School such a special place.”

Finkle partnered with Bright Hill Press to begin planning for the publication and circulation of The Andes Central School Faculty and Staff Kindness Journal, as well as the partner program “Kindness is Contagious Project.” Bertha Rogers, Editor-in Chief, will edit the manuscript, and Beatrice Georgalidis, executive director, is producing the project and promotional campaign with associate producer Sophie Bille.

500 copies of the Andes Central School Faculty and Staff Kindness Journal will be printed; one copy will be mailed to each of the 46 schools in the Delaware County and Otsego County BOCES school districts, including the gift of an empty journal, and a letter detailing the “Kindness is Contagious Project;” the hope that every school will begin their own kindness journal, and archive the kindness of their respective faculty and staff for years to come. A video, email and social media campaign will launch to publicize the publication of the journal, and the Kindness is Contagious Project.

On Thursday, September 23 , 2021, Bright Hill hosted a special Word Thursdays event featuring Jennifer Finkle and the Random Acts of Kindness Journal Writers. Watch BELOW.

Bright Hill Press and Literary Center of the Catskills awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Artworks grant, and a New York State REDC grant for “War, Words, Dance: A Collaboration,” a multi-disciplinary performance and arts education project.

“War, Words, Dance” brings veterans of war; professional dance choreographers and student dancers; high school student artists; and Shakespeare together for a series of workshops that  culminated in staged and outdoor performances held for the general public of the Catskills in upstate New York in August. The final project performance was held at The Walton Theatre on Saturday, August 18 at 7 PM.

Feast of Crispian Directors Nancy Smith-Watson, Bill Watson, and Jim Tasse

Collaborators include the not-for-profit organizations Lake Arts Project (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Feast of Crispian (Wisconsin), and Jessica Vecchione (Delhi, NY), owner of VeccVideography.

Bright Hill Press Executive Director Beatrice Georgalidis designed the project in 2017, based on a 5-year collaboration with Lake Arts Project, with Feast of Crispian joining to further expand the scope of the multidisciplinary arts education and performance project. Bright Hill was awarded the Regional Economic Development Council of New York State grant in the amount of $27,260 in the category of Arts and Cultural Impact: Art in Public Places.

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $16,000 to Bright Hill. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category, and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

“The variety and quality of these projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Through the work of organizations such as Bright Hill Press in Treadwell, NY, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.” Additional funding for the project has been awarded by the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor Foundation and the George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation to support workshop costs and scholarships for students in Walton, Hancock and Deposit.

“War, Words, Dance” brought post-deployment combat veterans, high-school student writers and visual artists together to collaborate in a series of acting, writing, dance, and videography workshops; the project aimed to facilitate the interaction of students and veterans in order to generate ideas for creating professional caliber visual art, poetry, and dance. Results of those workshops were choreographed into dance works by professional choreographers, taught to student dancers who performed the final pieces in a flash mob, and a final performance at The Walton Theatre.

Feast of Crispian held a  3-day acting and storytelling Shakespeare intensive workshop, during which acting exercises based on techniques invented by Shakespeare and Co. give veterans the opportunity to explore the “mask” of character, to express big feelings without telling any personal information. Feast of Crispian is led by director Nancy Smith Watson, who runs the program with her husband, University of Wisconsin Theatre Department Director Bill Watson, and actor Jim Tasse, all of whom live and work in Milwaukee.

Bright Hill then hosted a five-day writing and visual art workshop.

Bertha Rogers, master teaching artist and Founding Director of Bright Hill, led students in a series of exercises during which students wrote and created visual art about the Vets’ experiences, based on various themes that evolve organically, such as leaving and/or returning home (a transformed person).

For the third workshop, Lake Arts Project brought New York State and national advanced student dancers together, with six professional NY-based choreographers, for a two-week intensive, advanced contemporary dance and ballet workshop. Lake Arts Project Directors Karl von Rabenau (principal faculty member at the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy) and Jennifer Miller (faculty, Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy) are former professional ballet dancers and founded Lake Arts Project in 2013; their mission is to bring professional development experience to youth, and immerse them in the arts.

For the final project workshop, Jessica Vecchione of VeccVideography led a 5-day professional videography intensive for (5) students with interest in film and videography, to film rehearsals and final performances. Jessica is an award-winning videographer with 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing.

Bright Hill’s 2018, 26th anniversary programs are made possible by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; National Endowment for the Arts; Otis  A. Thompson; A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor; A.C. Molinari; Dewar, and Tianaderrah Foundations; Stewart’s Shops; the Abraham Kellogg Education Fund; the Delaware Youth Bureau, through the auspices of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services; the Delaware National Bank of Delhi, Delaware County Office of Economic Development, CDO Workforce Career Center, and with the support of Bright Hill’s members and friends. Bright Hill’s facilities include the Bright Hill Community Library, home to more than 12,000 books and literary and art periodicals that may be borrowed by local residents; the complete catalog is online.  The NYSCA Literary Map of New York State and The NYSCA Literary Tree was developed and is administered by the New York State Council on the Arts in partnership with Bright Hill. The organization and library are located at 94 Church Street, Treadwell, NY 13846.

Lake Arts Project Director

Jennifer Miller

Ms. Miller received her formal dance training from the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the tutorage of  Marcia Dale Weary.  Ms. Miller continued her studies at Joffrey Ballet and with the San Francisco Ballet. Ms. Miller danced for the Milwaukee Ballet Company, rising through the ranks to the level of Principal Artist. She has had the privilege of dancing a wide range of  roles in such ballets as, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet. Ms. Miller is currently on faculty at the Milwaukee Ballet School, Danceworks in Milwaukee, Dance Arts Center in Racine, and Steps of Grace in Brookfield. For the past 20 summers, Ms Miller has had the honor to be invited back to teach at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet; she also teaches for Point Park University’s International Summer Dance and Valley Academy for the Arts. Ms. Miller is also an established private coach, working with pre-professional dancers of all ages and levels including Youth America Grand Prix performers, ballroom dancers, gymnasts and irish step dancers.

Lake Arts Project Director

Karl von Rabenau

Mr. von Rabenau began his career as a member of Boston Ballet II and apprentice to Boston Ballet. He has also performed with the Omaha Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet where he had the privilege to dance such roles as Harlequin pas de deux, Tarantella pas de deux and the lead in Divertomento No.13.

Mr. von Rabenau’s second passion in life is teaching ballet. He has had the true pleasure to do this for the past 21 years throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States. He is currently a principal faculty member at the Milwaukee Ballet School. Mr. von Rabenau has also works with the Milwaukee Ballet II. It has been a great privilege for him to teach class and set choreography on the talented dancers that have passed through this program. During the summer months Mr. von Rabenau returns to Pennsylvania where he has been invited to teach at Point Park University for the past 15 years and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, PA for the past 21 years.

Lake Arts Project Choreographer

Thom Dancy

Lake Arts Project Choreographer

Bonny Watson

Lake Arts Project Choreogrpher

Ashley McQueen