- April 28, 2024
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Celebrating its 21st annual outdoor exhibit, Embracing Our Differences held its annual luncheon Feb. 23 at Michael's On East.
Photo by Janet CombsPhilip James, Christina Fraser, Dan Weiss, Samantha Kingsley and Darwin Tepe
Photo by Janet CombsHigh school Co-Existence Club docents are students Kennedy Flatch, Ashley Rosas-Rios, Isabella Munera and Lillia Jones
Photo by Janet CombsClara Reynardus de Villanueva, Lorna Mack and Sondra Biller
Photo by Janet CombsKevin Chapman, Tom Edwards and Terry Connor
Photo by Janet CombsStudent speaker Chloe Neiber addresses the crowd.
Photo by Janet CombsStudent Speaker Melora Saing from Sarasota High School speaks to guests about how learning to read bolstered her confidence.
Photo by Janet CombsUnity Day Leader Chloe Niebuhr, Melora Saing, Maggie Graham, and Jaylen Benony all spoke about how Embracing Our Differences has impacted them.
Photo by Janet CombsVolunteer Jude Schwartz collects donations during the Embracing Our Differences Luncheon.
Photo by Janet CombsVolunteer Clare Segall collects donations during the Embracing Our Differences luncheon.
Photo by Janet CombsJudge Charles E. Williams with artist Aliciana Harvey-Lopez, who is a senior at Pine View School.
Photo by Janet CombsCJ Bannister, Sasha Pyatte and Hollie Mowry
Photo by Janet CombsDawnyelle Singleton, Carolyn and Bob Johnson, Barbara Zdravecky, Barbara Banks, Jan Chester, Lauren Stroman, Pam Brown and Clare Segall
Photo by Janet CombsMark Steinwachs, Jarred Wilson, Pauline Parrish, Cathy Wilson, Lauren Stroman and Jan Chester
Photo by Janet CombsJason Owens, Britnee Laughlin, Cristian Raygoza and Steven Wertheimer
Photo by Janet CombsClarence Grier, David Macrae, Peter Casamento, Hank Battie, Alicia Williams, Phyllis Battie, Johnny and Aundria Castleberry, Helen McBean, and Delia Smith-Orth
Photo by Janet CombsAlicia Williams, Peter Casamento and Penny Hill
Photo by Janet CombsSarasota High School student Antonia Watson, and event planner Samantha Kingsley
Photo by Janet CombsChloe Niebuhr, Maggie Graham, Executive Director Sarah Wertheimer, and Learning and Engagement Director Ben Jewell-Plocher
Photo by Janet CombsSamantha Gholar and Michaela Stockhill
Photo by Janet CombsLogan Hiemstra, Viviana Pedroza and Isabella Munera
Photo by Janet CombsCelebrating its 21st annual outdoor exhibit, Embracing Our Differences held its annual luncheon at Michael's On East.
Photo by Janet CombsWhen Sarah Wertheimer, executive director of Embracing Our Differences, delivered her speech at the annual luncheon held Feb. 23, the numbers were staggering: 16,604 art and writing entries were received from 125 countries, 44 states and 584 schools. Sixty-five percent of the entries were from students, and the top five submitting countries to this juried exhibition were India, United Arab Emirates, China, Iran and Russia.
The nonprofit organization was founded and is based in Sarasota, and it uses the power of art and education to celebrate and promote individuality and humanity. The large-scale art installation can be seen through April 14 at Bayfront Park.
EOD staff, board, advisors, and volunteers sold 432 tickets for a luncheon held at Michael's On East. Four students spoke about the Coexistence Clubs, which are the student-driven middle and high school component of Embracing Our Differences' education initiative.
Pine View senior Chloe Niebuhr, Sarasota junior Melora Saing, Riverview senior Maggie Graham and Booker senior Jaylen Benony delivered speeches about how their participation in their high school chapters has changed their lives and set them on positive paths with regard to self-esteem, the art of listening, acceptance, diversity and personal goals.
The EOD mission is to educate and inspire to create a better world through the transformative power of the arts, and its vision is a world that embraces diversity, respects differences, and actively rejects hatred and prejudice.
