In honor of Giving Tuesday, we have a very special gift to share with you! 

As our travels have been so limited this year, GlassRoots joined with other Glass Art studios and the Glass Arts Society (GAS) to create a Passport - a way to learn about all of our studios and the incredible medium of glass. We  hope the family-friendly Passport project will be a fun way to remind us that despite the need to distance ourselves from each other, we are indeed connected, through the wonderful material of glass.

This unique Passport allows you to take a journey around the world, from the NY Metro area to the Southwest of the USA, to Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and all the way to Australia, to interactively explore ideas and techniques in glassmaking with activities that don’t even need glass! What better way to learn about art than to create your own masterpiece and visit studios at the same time.

​We hope you enjoy the Passport as much as we did making it. After you finish an activity, give yourself a stamp to mark it complete, and if you want to post your artwork on social media, please give us a shout-out with the following tags: #gaspassport #glassconnections #glassartsociety #glasspassport #glassroots

November 23, 2020

Dear Friends, 

​What a year it’s been! As 2020 draws to a close, we look back with gratitude on the bright spots in a challenging year, and few of them glow brighter than our strong, passionate, and generous GlassRoots community. We also look ahead to next year with hope, knowing that with supporters like you, we will be able to face any challenges that may come and continue providing an impactful educational and life-affirming experience to the students we serve.

The devastating coronavirus pandemic forced us to close our studios in March, but within two weeks, we quickly implemented our innovative Virtual Studios programs. Determined to stay connected to our community, our dedicated and innovative staff created a series of daily, online programs using our social media channels as broadcast stations that engaged more than 20,000 people from around the world!

Additionally, we created GlassRoots At Home, our remote learning programs that expand upon and utilize our expertise and experience in glass-art making, and which promote hands-on learning through the use of at-home activity kits.

When you support GlassRoots, you support innovation, connection, perseverance and resilience - in our spunky organization, and in our students. While we were faced with challenges we never could have anticipated, we also learned new ways of operating that will enable us to stay engaged with an even larger/broader audience going forward.  

We have incorporated what we’ve learned into our new hybrid programs, which we have added to very small, socially distanced, in-person classes and private lessons. Our new array of offerings will keep our students engaged and learning until we’re in our new home, within the Newark Arts Commons, early next year.

In the midst of this all, we began our celebration of our 20th year! We know that for the past two decades, the transformative power of the GlassRoots experience has changed lives and reshaped the Newark community.  By giving to GlassRoots, you’ll help us continue adapting into next year and beyond to ensure our students have access to the exceptional experiences they need and deserve. Your support makes this happen.  Within this new reality, your contributions are more important than ever.

If you are able to do so, please support GlassRoots and all of our students and programs by donating today.  If you’re able to give online, at glassroots.org/donate, we’ll be able to put your gift to work immediately.  Otherwise, we welcome your gift at 10 Bleeker St, Newark NJ 07018. GlassRoots is also able to accept gifts of stock or securities. Our Development Director, Karen Gonon, would be happy to assist you with these gifts, or answer any questions you may have.  She can be reached at  973-353-9555

With our heartfelt appreciation and best wishes,
​
Barbara Heisler, CEO ​