Monday, October 5, 2009

a post event THANK YOU...

to all the artists, crafters, cooks, volunteers, donators and businesses that helped us put this all together and have such a huge collected showing I am now and always and forever indebted and thankful to and for you. I can’t believe the charity, love, compassion, trust, excitement, drive and a singular willingness to work together that you all displayed. My heart swells with appreciation and pride, I hope you share this feeling with me.

To the 4th st arts crew a round of high 5’s and thank you’s. you guys blew me away. It was an epic and monumental day for my entire family and group of friends and artists. Thank you for giving us a great platform to expose some artist, get our message out and raise a boat load of money. Our charities will know of your direct involvement with these funds being raised, you too should feel the pride that comes with a job more then well done.

My family, friends and volunteers who showed up at 7-8am to help me put together our outdoor tented gallery I owe you several beers and a nice home cooked meal, thank you for your hard work your sweat and your time! I love you all and thanks for stepping up and doing a bang up job. (though next year I will need to schedule a sober 10pm breakdown crew or make provisions for an easier disassembly!)

i am going to upload pictures of the couple pieces that arrived the day of to the virtual flickr gallery. the pieces that did not sell and we were ok'd to "SET SELL" we will be posting here with a price that will include shipping. I will also be recompiling a list of contributors with links to their personal websites, and posting it here in the upcoming days. I’d love it if you would consider supporting these artist and contributors in the future, they all gave us so much to work with and view during the auction. I am still in awe of how many people came to me over the past year with their eagerness and willingness to contribute. HUGE THANKS brothers and sister it was a true testament to D.I.Y. ethics and a lesson on how to work outside “the box”.

I can not thank you all enough.

IN PURSUIT OF THE CURE

MISSION REMISSION

Saturday, October 3, 2009

today we raised over

$3,387 to benefit our three charities, so much thanking to do...but i must sleep now.


with love

MISSION REMISSION

Thursday, October 1, 2009

shout out to jackie farry















jackie was awesome enough to donate a bunch of FUCK CANCER hats, if you would like one CLICK on the image and it'll bring you to her site! thank you jackie

if it doesn't work click right here FUCK CANCER HAT

THE STORY OF MISSION REMISSION

By Vanessa Velez

Behind each person is a gathering of people, who lay the groundwork, through aid and encouragement, for the foundations of a life. They manage to, brick by brick and block by block, build a city based upon the steady frames of friendship. At the 6th Annual 4th Street Arts and Music Festival, you will see this city thriving.

"Mission: Remission" is about people who are held together by the same ideals and beliefs; uniting together under the canopy of a shared vision, who are willing to contribute their best talents to a single cause. As Jeanne Caldwell, the inspiration behind this foundation, said, “Its about having empathy for people in the same situation, and sometimes the best possible way to countermeasure the fear is by individuals gathering together to create a positive environment for a negative situation.” "It's always been about friends helping friends" says, her son, Jesse Caldwell, "helping friends, where ever and when ever."


Only a few years ago, Jeanne was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. When asked about the subject, all Jesse could state was “I’m frightened.” However, according to Jeanne, when it comes to her condition, there is nothing to fear. "You must face the things you fear the most and overcome them," she states in her blog, cancerwhatelseisnew.blogspot.com. "Everyone's life is scary sometimes. But try when you can to just look at what you fear. Look at it right in the eye and spit."

A career nurse familiar with the toll a threatening disease can take on a family, she has been an active participant in Race for the Cure, a member of Gilda's Club, and a guest panelist on local New Jersey talk shows alongside interim Governor Cody. When asked about how she wants her children to feel about her condition, Jeanne states "I want my children to feel strong and secure. They need to acknowledge the fear and insecurity that this disease brings out in everyone, but like me, I want them to be strong and not let their emotions take over. I want my children to feel empathy for anyone who is going through what we are going through and have the strength to help others in the same situation if and when they can."

As we all know, the Caldwells are not alone in their struggle. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2008 alone, 745,180 men and 692,000 women were diagnosed with some form of cancer within the United States. Behind each one of those individuals is a family—a Jeanne Caldwell persevering through the challenge, despite the condemning statistics, and a Jesse trying to help and ease the situation in anyway possible.

“Mission: Remission” began as nothing but an idea proposed by Jesse in the Fall of 2008, after attending the 4th Street Arts and Music Festival in downtown Jersey City. There he found a community of artists, musicians, and local businesses who united for one weekend in October to celebrate the people who have transformed the area into a hub of sub-cultural diversity. "To me, personally, it was amazing," he states. “I spent my day surrounded by local artists, vendors, musicians, skaters, and friends. It was a beautiful and inspiring day for me."

Now, in 2009, “Mission: Remission” has come into full-form, created to celebrate and support the people who have transformed our own lives who have fallen victim to a cancer, a disease that every health official says is incurable. But daunting statements such as these have not stopped the people behind “Mission: Remission” from searching for their own solutions to the problem. Jesse and his wife, Stephanie Caldwell, have developed their own antidote when an actual cure for cancer seems hidden far off in the glare of the future's horizon.

Through outstanding efforts on the part of the Caldwells, as well as the community of downtown Jersey City, the once seed of an idea has grown into a collective enterprise. During this summer alone, over 50 local artists have contributed their work to the silent auction hosted by “Mission: Remission” for the 4th Street Arts and Music Festival. A Mac and Cheese Bake-Off hosted by 58 Gallery and organized by Marc Caterina and the Caldwells for “Mission: Remission”, as well as the festival itself, also brought in almost $2000 in donations.All proceeds from the fundraiser during the festival will be donated to supporting Gilda's Club (www.gildasclub.org), a foundation which focuses on helping people with cancer, as well as their family and friends, learn how to live with the disease, the Maureen Fund (http://www.humcfoundation.com/site/PageServer?pagename=SpotlightMaureenFund), a fund which focuses on the prevention and early detection of ovarian cancer hosted by Hackensack University Medical Center, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (http://www.ocrf.org/), which is the largest privately funded agency dedicated to the research of ovarian cancer.



This year’s 4th Street Arts and Music Festival is just a cornerstone for “Mission: Remission”. In the years to come, you will be sure to hear more about the new ways the people involved have come up with to bring awareness of the disease to the general public. The foundation welcomes everyone, from friends to families, to join in a day of celebration for the brave souls who live day to day with this condition. A solution for cancer doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of a pill or an injection, nor in the shape of the blade of a knife gleaming under a blinding operating room lamp. We can create our own cure through our own personal ingenuity and efforts by bringing happiness to all the people affected by the disease and uniting in solidarity with their families to remind them that we, as people of this city, are here to help them in pursuit of a cure.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

a few notes on the day of...

i hope you all have checked out the virtual gallery. i will be uploading some last minute submissions today and tomorrow, but will also be recieving several pieces the day of. so not everything we will have up for auction will be displayed there.
the items will be available to bid on in a binder that will be located on 4th street at the MISSION REMISSION sidewalk gallery from the hours of 10am-9pm we will close the book and tally the donations and pledged amounts and announce the total from the village stage, we will have literature from our recipients, $5 dollar bi-hourly raffles , a 50-50 , MISSION REMISSION merchandise and several donation buckets.
all funds raised will be going to the GILDA'S CLUB, the maureen fund and the ovarian cancer research foundation.
there will be a photo series by my wife steph caldwell titled PORTRAIT OF A LADY and the sales of these photos will be going to the susan g. komen foundation, since it is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.
i want to thank 4th street arts, all of the contributors and volunteers for their hard work and beautiful art and all the local businesses for displaying our flyers and posters and allowing me to promote this.

hope to see you all there


in pursuit of the cure

jesse a caldwell


SUPPORT! EDUCATION! RESEARCH!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

a week away...

all merchandise, our banner and 3/4's of the submission are in. the virtual gallery is up and running and updated pretty much daily as i get the pieces in my hands. today we got the posterboards with the resume and sample menu's for Joe Malone's submission, a personal dining experience for 6-10 date and location to be determined. i will warn you that mouths are already watering and budgets are being crunched, so if you have interest in these tasty bits you should come prepared to bid hard on this. check out the photo set on the flickr gallery here


if you plan on submitting something remember you only have 4 days to get it in my hands.

hope to see you all next saturday...

Saturday, September 19, 2009

you can check out the catalogue of submitted works...

right here, it is just the 1st couple of submissions we received, hopefully it will wet your palate.


i hope to get all pieces photographed and catalogued with the auction sheets done by october 1st,