Retro Arts Spirit Center

06/18/2024

Update 6/17/2024, https://gofund.me/43efe2ec
Most recently after our MI State tax refund failed to appear in May, we missed an auto insurance payment. Insurance has threatened to cancel (after 17 years with the company) if I don’t pay $550.00 by May 20th.
Any donation or advise leading me to resources for Emergency Grants would be greatly appreciated!
Since creating this campaign I’ve described two roof collapses in my building housing two small businesses which also is my residence. already described in the campaign. Trying to fix some of the damage myself since the first collapse in Feb. to the second collapse May 31st has depleted my recourses to threaten the loss of not only my two businesses housed in the building but also residence.
Once again, THANKS to those that have already contributed. Sincerely, Steven Larson

Hello again: A SECOND PORTION OF THE ROOF COLLAPSED and I had to raise t… Steve Larson needs your support for RoofCollapseImperilsArtistHomeStudioInsDidn'tPay

06/02/2024

6/2/2024 https://gofund.me/43efe2ec Fundraiser URL: 6000-lb-water-on-flat-roof-collapsed-ins-didnt-pay. Hello again: A SECOND PORTION OF THE ROOF COLLAPSED and I had to raise the GOAL to $50,000. again. CAMPAIGN RECLASSIFIED AS “EMERGENCY” with twice the damaged area of caved-in roof as before. I Urgently Need donations to help me hire a contractor to continue repairs on the roof before damage gets worse. I LIVE IN THE BUILDING WHERE I WORK! To prevent me from losing my home & business while my time is consumed trying to save the interior and my inventory of VINTAGE CHILDREN’S BOOKS from additional damage; PLEASE HELP SOON!
Once again, thank you to the people that have donated so far. However, it’s been too long since anyone made a donation. I realize it must be difficult to give money to a person you haven’t seen for years or never met. I wanted to run a “Rewards Based Campaign” where contributors could select either Prints of my Artwork or select from my list of 200 different titles of Vintage Children’s books or both, but GoFundMe prohibits offering rewards. However, you could still contact me on my page if you’d like to purchase: https://www.facebook.com/artspiritcenter Looking forward to hearing from you all soon. Steve Larson

Our Mission: We hope through our work to increase the awareness of the general public of many options for the healing power of art.

05/18/2024

I Urgently Need 1,000 donations to help me from losing my home & business: https://gofund.me/43efe2ec
5/18/2024 Once again, thank you to the people that have donated so far. However, it’s been too long since anyone made a donation. I realize it must be difficult to give money to a person you haven’t seen for years or never met. I wanted to run a “Rewards Based Campaign” where contributors could select either Prints of my Artwork or select from my list of 200 different titles of Vintage Children’s books or both but GoFundMe prohibits offering rewards.
I’ve been a successful award winning world-class professional painter & printmaker for decades. However (as mentioned in my campaign) Redundancy in my “Visual Arts” profession (due to circumstances unrelated to job performance) that I never could have anticipated has severely reduced the demand for artwork created by the human hand (by artists like me) in favor of computer generated faster/cheaper AI images. The conversion and restoration of old slide images of my artwork using software programs to remove dust, discoloration, etc. is very labor intensive before the artwork image will be ready for digital printing and marketing online which will generate an income from digital prints.
I cannot borrow the money we need to fix the roof & stay in business. I have no retirement income; Social Security only counts the last 10 years of employment before you apply for SS benefits and those were my worst years handicapped with injuries so I can’t exist on SS. If we lose phone & internet, we’re totally cut-off from the world and honestly, I doubt that I could survive being homeless again.

Update on my 74th Birthday: Once again, thank you to the six people that… Steve Larson needs your support for RoofCollapseImperilsArtistHomeStudioInsDidn'tPay

05/05/2024

RoofCollapseImperilsArtistHomeStudioInsuranceDidn’tPay
If only 972 people donated $45.00 to my fundraiser (not including fees), I would be able to meet my fundraising goal! Please help make this a reality. Please help me Overcome this Roof Damage Crisis. We haven’t had any donations for 6 days! Thank you again to those who have already donated!
To donate, just click the link to my fundraiser: https://gofund.me/b5298a81
Even if you are not able to donate, it would also really help if you could share my fundraiser link with your friends. The more eyes on my fundraiser, the better! I appreciate your support! Without external financial support I won’t be able to REPAIR ROOF DAMAGE (Inside & out). Medical and other hardships had already Bankrupted us the end of 2023. Repairing the roof & interior damage would be a daunting task for a man half my age even without my handicaps. We can’t borrow money so please, a donation of any amount will help keep us from becoming HOMELESS currently in our 70s (I also have items for sale on F.B. Market Place!) With adequate donations I can hire contractors to remove the collapsed roof debris from inside the building.
I also am fighting to keep my feet from being amputated from PHG (peripheral artery disease) which requires changing bandages and medication twice a day for the last two years. Foot Doctors Just want to cut-off toes, etc. Your help could make a difference, at least people can’t say they didn’t know. Thanks…
Sincerely, Steve Larson, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071907262294
[email protected]

For over 40 years I have been creating original watercolor and oil-paintings from small (7"x 11") to murals over forty feet in length.

04/12/2024

https://gofund.me/be96d77c
We desperately need help! I am disabled and this May I’ll be 74 years old, We are now dangerously low on cash to pay for utilities (Electric is threatening to shut-off power on 4/22/2024) and we lack basic money even for food and vehicle fuel. The approaching serious threat of losing our phone and internet service would totally cut us off from the rest of the world.

I was informed (Feb. 15th, 2024) that our insurance wouldn’t co… Steve Larson needs your support for 2000 lbs. water on flat roof collapsed & Ins. didn’t pay!

03/12/2019

PLEASE HELP TEDDY BEAR CLINICS DISTRIBUTE OVER 22,000 VINTAGE BOOKS TO THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN. If you know an ill or injured child convalescing at home, consider sending books directly to them as your donation. “Fact: 60% OF UNDERPRIVILAGED CHILDREN DO NOT OWN A SINGLE BOOK.” (Quoted from: Reader to Reader, Inc.) PayPal “Add-To-Cart” buttons are on the web pages with book lists. YOU CAN PURCHASE DIRECTLY FROM THIS PAGE LINK: http://www.teddybearclinics.com/Pg.1BookInventory.htm CLICKING ON “ORDER” BUTTON WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO A SECURE PAYPAL PAGE WITH A LIST OF CART ITEMS. Before moving to MI, Mr. Larson was a Warehouse Distributor for TROLL BOOKS delivering book-fairs to over 70 schools in Colorado while driving over 5,000 miles a month. Although we now finally have a Bricks & Mortar building location in Unionville, MI; currently we are an ONLINE ONLY business. We started a GOFUNDME crowd-funding campaign, for more information PLEASE copy & past SECURE LINK: gf.me/u/rc9xa3 into your browser TO DONATE. HOWEVER, if you decide you would rather give some of our books to a needy family or school in your area, you can order a minimum of 5 books directly from our website where SHIPPING IS FREE WITHIN THE USA ...If you have any questions or if you have placed an order qty. of 50 books or more to be sent to a school, day care, etc. please contact Steve Larson directly so I will know there’s a large order to box-up. Thank You gf.me/u/rc9xa3

01/22/2019

I just launched a GOFUNDME campaign with short video. The video was quickly created just to give you a visual verification that the book inventory and Teddy Bear Stuffing and physical space actually exist, also to show how far we have progressed developing the new space. The Art Gallery where I anticipate being able to teach classes needs lighting improvements and advertising funds. I drove approx. 26,000 miles to move our 2 businesses and personal belongings from CO. to MI.; we're so close to having a real-time "Bricks & Mortar" place for people to shop. There is no similar place within 75 miles for children to enjoy stuffing a "Reading Buddy" and get "free books" with every purchase. Please help us reach our funding goal. Thank you!

01/20/2019

I will be launching a fundraiser soon to open the www.teddybearclinics.com store. Meanwhile books can be ordered from the website on the page link listed in the left hand column of the website. Thanks, Steve

01/19/2019

Artwork created for entry in 2018 ArtPrize, MI...

My wife & I moved to MI In 2017 into an old Funeral Home I'm remodeling for my Graphic Art business: www.retroartsspiritcenter.com where I’ll be able to t