Education Matters: Transforming Tomorrow by Embracing Our Differences

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

October, 2020 – who’s been in Sarasota in the early part of the calendar year has surely seen the most visible facet of what Embracing Our Differences (EOD) does—the large-scale juried public art exhibit in Bayfront Park. “The annual international outdoor exhibit is at the heart of our entire program of activities,” says Sarah Wertheimer, the not-for-profit organization’s Executive Director, who joined them a little more than six years ago. “It’s a great catalyst to promote diversity and create awareness.” This year’s exhibit received 16,118 entries from people in 127 countries and all 50 states. 

While the Bayfront Park exhibit is the most public-facing thing EOD does, it creates a misconception, reports Wertheimer. “When people learn that I work with the art exhibit, they say, ‘Oh, and what do you do for the rest of the year?” Yes, it’s true that the art exhibit runs each year from mid-January to mid-April. But what many people don’t fully realize is that EOD has activities and events throughout the year.

Despite having only three full-time employees, they manage to run one of the largest education programs in southwest Florida. Since 2004, over 400,000 students have participated in EOD education programs. In 2020, more than 1,000 teachers and 36,000 students took part in events and activities through their organization. Thanks in large part to 400+ volunteers, EOD runs workshops and retreats that provide diversity curricula for area educators, student docent programs in high schools, and free visits for classes in our community to visit cultural venues.

The impact of these events is impressive. For example, a two-day art teacher workshop at the end of July had 41 participants. The actual student reach of those art teachers in our community? More than 13,000, because a single art teacher in a single school often reaches every single student there. 

“We do a lot with teachers because it’s so impactful. They take the information and resources into the classroom and pass the information on to so many children,” says Wertheimer. “Last year, we worked with 1,000+ teachers through the school year, though not all of that was exclusively professional development.” 

Those professional development opportunities are always free, and sometimes they can even offer a small stipend for attendees. What teachers surely appreciate most is how many resources EOD makes available to provide Florida-standards-satisfying curricula and lesson plans relating to art appreciation, character building, and diversity education. “We’ve now generated far more virtual resources, too,” Wertheimer adds. “That’s one positive outcome of the current situation.”

EOD has been able to quickly adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic in creative ways via online and virtual platforms. They worked with educators and curriculum specialists to redesign upcoming education programs to be easily accessed. For example, instead of face-to-face class visits throughout Manatee and Sarasota County schools, volunteer readers will visit K-3 classes virtually and read to the students in the November “bucket filling” event that uses a series of book by Carol McCloud to teach kindness, appreciation, and love by “filling buckets.” 

“We picked the books entirely on their own merit,” says Wertheimer. “But we were so surprised and excited to learn that Carol spends half the year in Venice. This last year, she worked as a volunteer reader for us at Venice Elementary and Fruitville Elementary. We’re already talking with her about how she can participate in this year’s event, too.”

Among EOD’s many activities and initiatives is a noteworthy new scholarship program. Two Riverview High School seniors who start classes at the University of Florida this fall both received $1,000 four-year renewable scholarship for their fine work in the Coexistence Club, which has chapters at Booker, North Port, Sarasota, and River View high schools. The club members all serve as docents for the thousands of students who visit the outdoor exhibition each year, as well as create student-driven initiatives in their own schools to promote acceptance and inclusion.

“The fierce commitment of Coexistence Club members to promote diversity, inclusion, integrity, and respect in their schools and at EOD’s annual exhibition led us to consider how we could further honor their efforts while also supporting their education after graduation,” says Ben Jewell-Plocher, EOD’s Education Director. To apply for the scholarships, students simply need to demonstrate how the Coexistence Club and their participation as docents has had an impact on their life, point of view, and high school career.

If you haven’t been to the Bayfront Park art exhibition, you might not realize that it’s not just about art—it’s about using words powerfully, as well. To that end, there are separate competitions, with the selected works being paired together later in the process. “The words and art are judged by two separate committees,” Wertheimer notes. “You don’t have to have visual art skills to be able to participate. The writing part can be a really fun project in the classroom.” And, of course, they have ample lesson plans available for teachers in any discipline to help them get their students writing about diversity, respecting differences, and rejecting prejudice and hatred.

“We really want to create a community—and, hopefully, a world!—where people treat one another with respect and kindness,” Wertheimer says. “We like to think that one day, our organization and mission won’t be needed. But the reality is that the values Embracing Our Differences stands for are more important now than ever. Creating a climate where everyone feels valued, respected, empowered, and included is what’s at stake. A future that honors those values cannot be taken for granted. We’re here to promote these values—and we invite the entire community to join us.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Embracing Our Differences, please visit www.embracingourdifferences.org or call 941.404.5710.