You are viewing this secure link by invitation as a 2024 Inductee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers. Congratulations on this career milestone and honor of distinction. I was a 2024 Inductee into the Collegium of Scholars. In addition to my scholarly work and practice as a Behavioral Health Therapist, I am a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/producer with an extensive catalog of original music.
This year I am celebrating my 25th year combining my gifts, talents, and treasure to promote health, hope, and healing. You may recall that I am the inductee whose name was left off the official 2024 Program. I will never forget the moment I was called to the Talley-Butts Pulpit and recognized by the esteemed Dean Lawrence Carter, whom I have known and admired since my days at Morehouse College some 40 years ago. For your convenience, I am attaching a clip of that memorable moment when the huge screen descended from the ceiling and I was introduced to the audience by Dean Carter who graciously explained that I was being singled out because my name and photograph had been omitted from the program. This was both a humbling and memorable moment!
I am reaching out to propose a partnership between your organization and the Here’s 2 Life Foundation, a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization I founded in 199 whose mission to provide education and technical assistance that leverages the broad appeal of the arts as content and context for dialogue, discover, discernment and decision making in alignment with health, hope, and healing.
Please allow me to introduce Celebrate Life™, 2024-2025. The initial launch of this signature program includes three components. These three components are proposed in the sequence below. Our goal would be to achieve maximum engagement, impact, and sustained interest by the target audience.
The following three components are noted:
Live Performance by Julian Owens during the weekly scheduled morning worship service with up to two songs presented as “special music” during this regularly scheduled worship experience. The date of this performance is to be determined based on an agreed date in in the fall or winter of 2024, or winter, spring, or summer of 2025.
Stakeholder Meeting/Presentation to develop 2024-2025 Celebrate Life project goals and to discuss how to align these goals with the strategic plan of your church or organization. Included in this discussion is the potential for sponsored programming targeting special populations with an emphasis on mental health and wellness.
Outreach Presentation to present funding opportunities to local faith and community-based organizations that may be interested in improving access to print and digital health information resources, equipment. and training.
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Description of each component:
LIVE PERFORMANCE: Attached is a link to live performance of Surround Me, performed at Unity of Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. Additionally, I am providing links to studio recordings of Surround Me and Celebrate Life - Classic. One or both songs would be performed during the morning worship service. I wrote them both and am delighted to share with a live audience.
STAKEHOLDER MEETING/PRESENTATION: As the Founding Executive Director of the Here’s 2 Life Foundation, I give presentations regularly about work we do in partnership with stakeholders with health ministries. The proposed meeting/presentation is based on your community or faith-based organization’s strategic plan. This plan would be provided in advance via a signed confidentiality agreement in ample time to review and align your strategic goals with our capabilities, expertise, and mission. NOTE: This service would be provided pro bono in exchange for an invoice indicating the same.
OUTREACH PRESENTATION: This proposed Outreach Presentation is based on what I learn in consultation with stakeholders you identify and from the Stakeholder Meeting. The target audience is comprised on invited local ministers, ministries, and representatives from community and faith-based organizations locally or regionally. NOTE: This service would also be provided pro bono in exchange for an invoice indicating the same.
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