Imagine life without art…
We just arrived back home after a week long trip to the Arabic-Mediterranean county of Tunisia. We taught art workshops with inner city youth ages 9-13 who’ve never participated in art classes before & collaborated with five local street artists at a gallery called El Makhzen. The original plan was to have around ten students but the hunger for art was so overwhelming that we had over 75 students throughout the week. What an amazing time. Your support of Rise Up helps us conduct art empowerment projects like this! Please check out some of the photos.

We are very excited to be headed back to Tunisia. Rise Up was awarded a grant by the embassy to conduct a street art workshop & collaborate with local artists. We’ll be screening PUSH Tunisia. Thanks to you all who support us in our vision to spread peace through art!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the sold out New Year Eve bash to see Larry & His Flask and friends. The Flask were recently listed by The New York Times as one of the best live shows of 2011 along side such names as: Jay-Z, Paul Simon, and Taylor Swift.  Click here to read the article. LAHF have been huge supporters of Rise Up. We thank them for all they do and for making amazing music around the country!

Here are a group of students in Nicaragua that Rise Up sponsors to go to high school. These teens are from the community of La Chureca which is a large waste facility where many young people are forced into child labor. Many youth recycle good found in the dump in order to survive. In an effort to help empower children out of poverty & exploitation Rise Up International has partnered with other relief agencies to provide free elementary education for children in this community. There are currently 348 students attending preschool-6th grade, and thirty two attending high school. Click here to see some pictures from the school. 

Rise Up International is a grass roots humanitarian organization that uses art, apparel, and music events to provide free education to over 450 underprivileged children in Nicaragua, and India. Rise Up operates as a non-profit based in Bend Oregon, which promotes the arts in our local community and Northwest.

Rise Up Clothing is an apparel line focused on socially conscience-nuglobalmystic inspired designs & is carried globally by major retailers, niche boutiques, and action sports stores alike. Since our inception Rise Up has donated over 30% of sales towards our non-profit.

Click the links to learn more about our projects in: India, Nicaragua, and the USA.

Rise Up is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and you can donate directly to help provide educational opportunities for underprivileged children. Thanks!

Rise Up from Rise Up Presents on Vimeo.

For the past five years Rise Up has been involved with social projects in Nicaragua. In an effort to help empower children out of poverty & exploitation, Rise Up is one of the supporters of “Colegio La Esperanza,” a school located in the community that provides all of the kids in La Chureca the opportunity to receive a free education, lunch, a safe environment, tutoring, and a chance for extra curricular activities. There are currently 348 students attending preschool-6th grade.

In 2008 Rise Up began sponsoring the “Scholarship Program” which allows the kids from La Chureca to continue into their secondary education once they complete the sixth grade at “Colegio La Esperanza.” Typically when the kids graduate from the 6th grade they are forced to work to help provide for their family. Many of the children are desperate to break the cycle of poverty that is keeping them in the dump and this program gives them that chance. Thanks you many of you have have helped support this school by attending Rise Up events, purchasing clothing, giving your donations of time, ideas, & funds!

PUSH Tunisia // Short Documentary

This November we are heading to Tunisia as part of an international goodwill team to introduce skateboarding to the young Tunisians, find and skate new spots and make a film called PUSH Tunisia. We have professional skate boarders flying in from around the Middle East & Africa & we’ll be working with our friends theBedouins to promote peace through skateboarding. Our goal is to capture the spirit of the Tunisian youth culture who’s voice was instrumental in their recent revolution. The finale is an art show featuring underground Tunisian & international artists. For more information visit our PUSH FB page & new site.

Thank you Bend for another amazing Roots Revival!! Over 100 bands & 4000 people attended the fest last weekend. Thank you to the many many volunteers, bands, Century Center, Oregon Community Foundation, US Bank, Parrilla & The Vic, Deschutes Brewery, Good Life, Rise Up, & Mark Ransom. We were able to raise almost two-thousand dollars for the Rise Up-Roots educational project & $580 for PoetHouse Art through the guitar raffle at the door! //roots//rawk

If you would like to volunteer for this year’s Roots Fest please email: jesse@riseupinternational.com