In 2024, Make-It Springfield drew in 2700+ program participants and 1200+ walk-in visitors for learning, teaching, visiting and exploring their potential by using our supplies and equipment to do their own creative work. At the same time, our number of donors increased 73% and our total donations received increased by 107%.
With sincere gratitude and appreciation to our donors, funders and volunteers and for our community’s support, THANK YOU!
Here are some highlights of our year.
JANUARY Make-It sends artists to Impact Prep Middle School to provide in-school creative enrichment classes in multi-media, t-shirt design, poetry, hip hop history and poetry, and crochet.
FEBRUARY Our Social Circle for Creative Men 55+ has been meeting twice a month for over 2 years and is still going strong.
MARCH Make-It staff member, Jamila Jackson, begins her BIPOC Rest Group activities and experiences overwhelming interest.
APRIL Straw Dog Writers Guild holds their April workshop at Make-It Springfield, inviting writers from throughout Western MA.
MAY RAD Springfield welcomes radio hosts Monte Belmonte and Kaliis Smith for an interview and highlight in their popular NEPR radio show, the Fabulous 413 that celebrates life in western MA.
JUNE Make-It joins the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and we begin a process to improve our public WiFi access after receiving a Community Space Public Wi-Fi grant from the CFWM.
JULY Donors and friends are invited to celebrate our 8th year and to honor founder, Michael DiPasquale and RAD coordinator, Rob Thomas.
AUGUST We finish the summer with a 3D Printing workshop led by staff from the Digital Media Lab at UMass, and a Robotics series led by a high school student and alum of Make-It’s 2020 virtual robotics class.
SEPTEMBER Our collaboration with Springfield Community Computer Refurbishing Program begins; we will serve as one of their drop off locations and soon we will host their digital literacy workshops.
OCTOBER Planning begins for our second year of collaboration with Play Incubation Collaborative and the Northampton Center for the Arts as we host a Springfield cohort of young artists who will participate in the Youth Performance Festival in February 2025, at the Center.
NOVEMBER We deepen our collaboration with Jewish Family Service to provide an 8-week sewing program for refugee women recently resettled in the Springfield area.
DECEMBER Sample Flip, a monthly gathering of music producers, started small but now attracts an audience of supporters and performers every first Saturday to Make-It.
