My Right Hand by Painting With Purpose

I came across an article tonight and was compelled to write this post. Mary Ann Hennosy was born with cerebral palsy in 1952. Despite Mary's serious motor skill limitations she is quite capable intellectually. She grew up in Charleston, West Virginia with her six brothers and sisters. At the age of 20, Mary's family moved to Saint Petersburg, Florida where the flat terrain made getting around much easier for her. In 1977 Mary met artist Betty Blue who took an interest in Mary. What happened next was quite remarkable. With Betty's encouragement and guidance, she created a system of sandbags and pulleys to steady the movement of Mary's hands. Betty also taught Mary the basics of color mixing and painting technique. Soon after Mary's gift flourished and her paintings began winning blue ribbons at art shows.

Today Mary has a career as an artist and her paintings can be purchased from her site, My Right Hand. Betty used her creativity and innovation to give a life long gift to Mary. This is a shinning example of our mission statement. Well done and all the best to Mary and Betty!

By Jon Thornham

Painting With Purpose is Business of the Month at Costco

Painting With Purpose was selected as Costco's Business of the Month at the Summerlin location for the month of December. The next time you are in Costco check out our display. You can find us behind the cash registers at 801 S. Pavilion Center Drive Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jon Thornham

A True Champion, by Painting With Purpose

I heard recently of a man named D.J. Gregory. D.J. is helping raise money for United CP, the same charity we (Painting With Purpose) are raising funds for in Round 1. Please take a minute to watch the video, read the story, visit our store and buy a painting to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 for cerebral palsy. You might even win $25,000.



D.J. was born with cerebral palsy and was told by doctors he would never walk. D.J.'s plan was different. It seems if you tell D.J. he can't do something, he will find a way and show you that he can. That's what happened this year on the 2008 PGA Tour.

D.J. has had a profound love for golf since childhood. When other sports were not possible for D.J. to partake in, D.J. taught himself to play golf one handed. At 12 his father took him to his first tournament in North Carolina where he met sports announcer Jim Nantz. Jim has been a life long friend and a key factor in this years event.

D.J. creatively came up with a way to be involved with the sport he loves. His idea, walk every hole, of every round, of every tournament in the 2008 PGA Tour, and follow a new golfer each week. His work as a reporter would then be entered on a blog on PGAtour.com. D.J. put together a sample package of his work, which Jim Nantz hand delivered it to the PGA commissioner. Well the commissioner loved the idea and D.J. set out on his journey.

After 45 weeks, 44 tournament, 3256 holes and 988 miles D.J. completed his journey in Orlando. D.J. had his struggles along the way. CP has caused his toes to overlap so the friction from all the walking created blisters. Instead of stopping or hitching a ride in a cart, he put on 8 band-aids a day to ease the pain. None of the golfers on the tour walk every hole. I myself know from personal experience that walking one round of golf can be a challenge. D.J. however never gave up.

D.J.'s journey ties in close to our mission at Painting With Purpose. D.J. came up with a creative way to spread a positive message. I can't speak for what D.J. feels his purpose in life is, but I feel part of it is what he accomplished this year on the PGA Tour. Watching the interviews and reading how D.J. was named person of the week at abcnews.go.com, you quickly learn that the golfers he followed have a greater appreciation for life. Instead of complaining about a certain round of golf, they are grateful to be out playing the game they love. Thank you D.J., I am sure your creativity has effected many more lives than the 44 golfers you followed.

Jon Thonrham

Painting With Purpose, Charity's Saving Grace.

The following is a press released submitted today.

The gloves are off and the bell has rung. The recession is here and it’s delivering blows across the nation. Families, corporations, government and sadly enough, even nonprofit organizations are feeling the effects. Painting With Purpose plans to make a difference by helping the nonprofit organizations fight back.

Founders Chris and Jon Thornham have created Painting With Purpose as an affordable and innovative approach to charity. They also plan to stimulate the economy by awarding cash prizes of up to $1,000,000. Painting With Purpose sells $3 digital copies of paintings created by children with special needs, donates 50% of the gross proceeds to charity, and awards prize money to their customers. Every 1,000th purchase is a winner and the prizes range in value from $5 to $1,000,000.

The digital paintings, similar to the Lance Armstrong bracelet, are a symbol of involvement. Every time a painting is purchased, customers are entered to win and the digital painting is emailed to their inbox. Painting With Purpose encourages their customers to be creative and show their paintings off however they like.

Painting With Purpose has also created a feature called AutoPay. AutoPay makes giving and winning affordable for everyone interested in continued involvement. Starting at $3 per year, customers choose how many digital paintings they would like to purchase, and how often they would like to purchase them. After that, AutoPay automatically emails your paintings to your inbox.

To learn more about Painting With Purpose or to become involved, visit their website at www.paintingwithpurpose.com.