Philanthropy: Swil Kanim Foundation
Hannah Martine, the foundation’s marketing director, gets a hug from Swil Kanim at an event. He ends all his events with hugs all around the room. (Staff photo)
Making honor work through music Foundation seeks business bookings to bring sense of community to the workplace By Sherri Huleatt
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wil Kanim has been honored with many titles, among them a virtuoso violinist, and a passionate storyteller. His performances have ranged from elementary school groups to events around the world. He’s had a role in a network TV show (“Northern Exposure”), starred in a movie (“The Business of Fancydancing”), played violin and spoken at the American Indian Film Awards in San Francisco, and performed by invitation 78 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM
for the Dali Lama. Without an artistic outlet to channel his emotions, he said he never would have been able to overcome the suffering of his early childhood and help others avoid or heal from similar circumstances. He has transformed his experiences into a non-profit foundation, HonorWorks, designed to “inspire self-expression for the honor of all.” HonorWorks relies solely on private donations, and recently undertook a path of booking appearances at corporate and other private-business sponsored gatherings. The foundation’s staff of five and board of directors is steeped in for-profit business experience—professionals, according to
HonorWorks.net, “…who believe that healthy intergenerational and intercultural societies are possible if people learn to express themselves honorably.” “The business community is vital to our well-being,” Swil Kanim said during a recent public appearance at the Beach Store Cafe on Lummi Island. “As a nonprofit, we need to be mindful of that, and grateful for the support.” His story-telling, interwoven through his violin music, draws from his at-risk childhood. As a foster child growing up in Bellingham during the ‘60s, his fourth grade teacher at Silver Beach Elementary School in Bellingham handed him a violin