Today we’d like to introduce you to Ophelia Brinkley.
Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
For my final college project, I was assigned to create a business plan. There was no given topic; the business could be anything I wanted. So immediately, I started brainstorming. At the time, I had no intentions of creating a nonprofit – I just wanted to complete my business plan. Deciding on the purpose of the business was my first task; to do so, I drew from my life experiences (including the eight years she spent as a Girl Scout Leader), talked with mentors, evaluated the needs in my community, and looked at relationships with my family. Initially, I only knew that I wanted to create a business that would help children – a vague idea that came with hundreds of options:
-Teach nutrition.
-Offer recreational activities.
-Train teens for careers.
-Provide in-home care; the possibilities were endless.
My mentors encouraged me to narrow my ideas down to one specific area and after some serious consideration, Ophelia chose the arts.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I knew that the arts play an important role in childhood creativity and emotional development: I also loved how they created parts of the community through art. She saw the amazing impacts of art firsthand in my oldest son, who is now 19. Throughout his adolescent years, he loved to dance; through dance, he built confidence and friendships. These connections with his friends and the ability to take his art with him wherever he went positively impacted his life in several ways; dance kept him active, entertained, and out of trouble. The benefits brought into his life (and others) made it clear that more kids needed the opportunity to express themselves and build a community through art and creativity. I also wanted to ensure that kids had a safe space to practice their art – something her son and his friends never had. These experiences and an understanding of her skills and the needs surrounding her gave me a solid foundation as I started her business plan. The organization now had a name – Creative Emajinations – and a purpose: enabling every child to explore their imaginations without limitations, which would empower them to discover their full potential.
Through relationships I developed with my mentors, I founded our first partnership with the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council in 2019. The program taught modern and jazz dance throughout the summer and fall of that year. This was my first opportunity to see the idea in action, and the six months of execution allowed evaluating my plan and make necessary improvements.
At the end of 2019, I was invited to pitch to the Charlotte Street Foundation. The Charlotte Street Foundation is another nonprofit that provides resources to the arts community in Kansas City; they are passionate about inspiring change in our community through the arts. I prepared well, won the pitch, and was offered the opportunity to partner with them and her teachers were to lead dance classes starting in January of 2020. But we all know what happened in early 2020: COVID struck. This limited the ability to hold in-person lessons – but Creative Emajinations couldn’t be stopped that easily. In a proper display of grit, Our amazing volunteers transitioned to offering online classes, allowing them to continue their partnership with the Charlotte Street Foundation. Now, roughly a year and a half later, they are slowly reverting to in-person options.
Creative Emajinations had prepared to establish a relationship with The Upper Room, an organization that addresses the educational equality of inner Kansas City. Creative Emajinations volunteers taught art in the park throughout the summer of 2021 and established a relationship with BBBSKC to be a program partner for Bigs and their Littles. Creative Emajinations is now celebrated on June 1st, proclaimed by the Mayor of KCMO in our efforts to provide arts enrichment activities and opportunities to young people.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work with CREATIVE Emajinations 5013c Charity est. 2019 as a CEO/Founder to help provide performance, art, music, and dance services and opportunities to the young people regardless of circumstances to enable them to reach their fullest potential with the help of skilled volunteers, businesses, and other non-profit organizations. I help promote 🎭 performers and groups of ⅗+ performers skilled in hip hop, majorette, jazz, and freestyle dance style choreography; what sets me apart from others is that my work does not involve a financial gain.
Past Performances:
-Break the Chains-Aim4Peace
-Spring Valley Park-One Love Event
-Concorde Park-One Love Event
-Winter Wonderland-Church of Scientology
-A Way to Happiness Video-Church of Scientology
-Let’s go to School feat Juyles and King D
-Kauffman Future Stages
-Juneteenth KCK
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Creative Emajinations supporters support our mission, including clients and board members. These individuals’ role is very appreciative and cannot be in words as many give back their time and skills to help advance our mission and goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ce816kids.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativeema/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativeemajinations/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/emajinations/
Image Credits
Tarah Jansen Ophelia Brinkley Grace Fanozzi
