The nonprofit formerly known as Whimsicalitea

22 April 2017 - Whimsicalitea has its first fundraiser, with big changes on the horizon.

I'd been a contributor to arts organizations since I was in college. I can't tell you how much Top Ramen and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese I consumed because I'd donated my meager funds to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Huntington Library, and Orange County Performing Arts Center.  Over the years, as I watched arts funding being cut in schools, I increasingly cherished the idea of starting an arts nonprofit with an emphasis on supporting arts in peril of being 'lost'.

A friend and I teamed up to open a brick and mortar spot, having both had experience owning retail eateries. She was going to have a tearoom there 3 days a week. The rest of the week would be dedicated to theme events and arts classes: acting, singing, harp, piano, Fantasy Fitness, you name it. For a variety of reasons, it seemed natural to finally set up an arts nonprofit. Because of our dual interests, we combined them into Whimsicalitea.

By the time of our last fundraiser at the end of the year, she was forced to back out of the project and I was left holding the bag. It wasn't possible for me to man a place 7 days a week, so I switched gears and took over the nonprofit and starting devoting time to the Omni project—something I could not have done if the shop had come to pass. It was at this point I finally got the hint that greater forces were at work moving me toward Omni. I still didn't know what it was all about, but felt irresistibly compelled to keep going. While on the surface it appeared that one thing after another had fallen apart, I secretly sensed things were actually falling together. They just weren't the things I expected.

Since the time of Whimsicalitea's incorporation as a federally recognized 501c3, I've been bombarded with emails selling or seeking tea paraphernalia. It became apparent, the nonprofit's name needed to change. As the nonprofit is now officially affiliated with the Academy, it seemed natural for the charitable organization to have a name as equally ridiculous as the reset of Omni's projects. Hence, we are now Whimsicalidocious, and couldn't be more pleased. Things are truly gelling, and it's a marvel to watch.

Rah rah for Writers

1 January 2015 - I sought to support writers during the non-Nano months and came up with an online month-long writing challenge that has since blossomed into Writing on a Whim and (more recently) the weekly author meetup hosted by the ocademy's nonprofit Whimsicalidocious.

Writings that fell outside the magazine's pages

22 September 2013 - I launched a tiny entity called E. Gads Hill Press as a means of posting and sharing the work of those in our growing writing circle who were coming up with great stuff that did not fit the theme of la Vie Sirene's upcoming issues. It became quickly evident folks wanted help with publishing their stuff on Amazon and such, so we started helping with that.

The name E. Gads Hill is a play on words. "Ee gads" is a favorite saying of mine and Gads Hill Place was the home (now musuem) of my favorite author, Charles Dickens. I spliced the two and voila. Little did I know, the non-publishing company would one day be sought out by two authors asking for us to publish their books.

The treasure that remained buried in sight for 10 years

26 November 2010 - Black Friday, the day of mass consumption that often brings out the worst in Americans. That's when the idea for Shared Treasure Hunt first cropped up. The concept was that kids would collect 21 things -- specifically, gently used items such as backpacks and books, and new items such as toothbrushes and socks, to give to a homeless child.

Because of all the factors mentioned in this blog thus far, the philanthropic project floundered in the harbor, unfulfilled. I am more grateful than I can say to state it will launch 11 July 2020 under the auspices of Omni's oh so official 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Whimsicalidocious.