Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art 1200 Forrest Park Drive

Nashville, TN 37205 (615) 356-8000

www.cheekwood.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Candice Goodman Public Relations Director Office: (256) 426-6048 Cell: (615) 854-4722 Email: cbgoodman43@gmail.com

Palema Woods of Bath England comes to Cheekwood

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The renowned decorative artist and craftsman Pamela

Woods will return to debut her two day event, “Holiday Party Ideas - The Making of

Favors for Holiday Parties,” on Tuesday, Dec 3.

The lecture and demonstration will be held in Botanic Hall on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

It is a free event and open to the public.

The second day consist of a four-hour workshop and will be held in Cheekwood’s

Education Building starting at 1 p.m.

The workshop fee is $12 for regular guests and $10 for Cheekwood members.

Woods, of Bath, England, conducted “Creative Flower Gifts” last spring which

turned out to be one of the most popular and successful lecture/demonstrations

Cheekwood has ever held.

Many of the participants expressed their eager interest in her return.

For further details and registration information, please contact Cheekwood’s

Education Department at (615) 353- 9827.

Early registration is strongly advised due to limited enrollment.

About Cheekwood

Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum located on the historic Cheek estate. Our mission is to preserve Cheekwood as an historical landmark where beauty and excellence in art and horticulture stimulate the mind and nurture the spirit. Cheekwood is located at 1200 Forrest Park Drive in Nashville, 8 miles southwest of downtown Nashville. Current hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. New 2014 Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Friday nights May – October open until 10 p.m.

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Competitive Analysis:

Competition for VSA includes the Special Olympics, The American Association of Peo-ple with Disabilities, and The ARC. The main difference in VSA compared to these three organi-zations is that VSA does not have as broad of an audience which does not make it as strong of a brand name. Although the competition has a stronger brand image (for now), VSA has opportuni-ty to gain international attention and strengthen its brand across the globe.

Another factor that differentiates VSA from the competition is that factor that VSA does not have a donate button on their website. The three competitors have a direct link on their web-sites so people who visit can donate instantly. Although VSA-Tennessee chapter does have a link on the side, it is not apparent at first glance that you can click the image to donate. This gives them an advantage over VSA because VSA does not discuss donating on their website which may lead people to think they do not accept donations.

Special Olympics:

The Special Olympics was also founded by the Kennedy family but focuses on helping youth and adults with disabilities have an opportunity to experience life through sports training and competition. This organization has gained a lot more attention than its sister organization for the arts, VSA. The Special Olympics has helped 2.5 million children and adults with intellectual disabilities compete in a variety of sporting events. In Tennessee alone, the Special Olympics offers 17 sports for athletes to compete in. They also focus on the Healthy Athletes program and the Athlete Leadership Programs so they have the chance to learn and become public speakers or coaches.

The Special Olympics has a strong support particularly because sports has always tri-umphed arts when it comes to the attention of the public and news coverage. Bill Mitchell of Poytner.org states, “…sports has earned its strong and defining place in the community. And it looks as if they’ve concluded that the arts, while still warranting coverage, are clearly more mar-ginal, attracting an influential but narrow segment of the community.” Contributing to this is the fact that the majority of all people will watch a sporting event versus a select community that will be interested in art exhibits and showcases. It can also be noted that sporting events have a strong impact on communities and with the Special Olympics. Therefore, it is likely to get more donations because it attracts to a larger market. In 2013 the Special Olympics raised $118, 335, 656 dollars.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD):

According to AAPD’s mission on their website, they are the nation’s largest disability rights organization. They focus on creating an equal quality of life for people with disabilities. They are different from VSA in the realm that they do not focus on showcases people with dis-

abilities through their talents but the AAPD instead is devoted to creating equal opportunities on a grand scale for people with disabilities. This is important because their focus is on all people with disabilities, not just those who have a specific talent.

The AAPD reaches an audience much greater than that of the VSA and even has an awards show for their leadership positions. They also have national partners to support their pro-grams which gives them an advantage with high volume audiences. Their partners include CBS, Time Warner, Johnson & Johnson, Comcast, and AT&T. These strong partnerships expose the AAPD to the masses as well as establish more credibility in communities.

The Arc:

The Arc focuses on the intellectual and developmental disabilities and maintaining the education and work rights for those effected. They are a very established brand with 60 years of history in the community. The Arc also provide support for families that have children with intel-lectual disabilities. One of their very successful programs is the School-to-Community Transition Initiative created in 2009 to create a smooth transition from high school to early adulthood. This has enhanced community involvement at more than 50 chapters. In 2013, AT&T joined the initia-tive so The Arc could maintain the program and their commitment to the community.

The Arc has an array of other national partnerships with brands such as Comcast, Wal-Mart, Verizon Foundation, Volkswagen Group, and MetLife+. According to The Arc’s 2013 An-nual Report, they received a total of $731, 453 in contributions in 2013.

Citations:

"Help Us Make a Difference!" Special Olympics: Home Page. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

S.O) Mitchell, Bill. "Why Arts Coverage Should Be More Like Sports." Poynter.org. 14 Nov. 2002. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/3365/why-arts-coverage-should-be-more-like-sports/>.

The Arc 2013 Annual Report. 2013 Annual Report. Washington: n.p., 2014. Print.

"VSA Tennessee." VSA Tennessee. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.