Donor Newsletter April 2026

Here’s Your COMPAS Donor Newsletter!

COMPAS Donor Newsletter Spring 2026

You helped over 20,000 Minnesota kids use the arts to spark their creativity and imagine more for themselves.

COMPAS’ mission is to deliver creative experiences that unleash the potential in all of us. Thank you for being a partner in this work!

Donor Newsletter

Spring 2026

You Turn Art Into Action

The Kid Who Couldn’t.

But Did.

Learning can be difficult. YOU made a difference!

COMPAS Principal Teaching Artist, Frank Sentwali, shares a magical moment made possible by you...

At the end of my spoken word residency with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in a south-central Minnesota town, the students were nervous about performing for their classmates, but ready. One by one, students came to the front and shared their couplets and quatrains, and even poems that didn’t rhyme but were rhythmic in delivery, authentic to each child’s personality.

Then it was time for a student whose voice hadn’t been heard throughout the entire residency. I only knew the sound of his voice because he’d managed to utter a few words during the allotted practice time. When his name was called, he went silent and still. His classmates cheered encouragement. And still, he didn’t move.

After some gentle persuading, he finally stood and walked to the front of the room. That act alone was met with roars of approval. It was clear that he carried more than just a piece of paper to the front of the room.

His classmates, his teacher, and the Teaching Artist who’d put him in this awkward and

COMPAS Principal Teaching Artist, Frank Sentwali

uncomfortable position (AKA me) all stood beside him, ready to hear his poetic cry. We were no longer an audience. We were his accompaniment.

We waited patiently. He tried and tried, standing there holding his poem, just barely audible, some mutters and mumbles as he stared at the page. I could see everything in his spirit wanting to break free. I told him it was okay. And then, I did something I’ve never done in a class before.

I asked the class to all join in and say his poem together. The excitement was unanimous. I read a line and the class repeated. I read the next line and the class chorus followed once again. I became performative with my voice as I read each of the 8 lines of this young man’s poem and each of his classmates flanked on either side of him repeated the phrases. After the last line I thanked the class for showing love and community and asked them to give their classmate a round of applause for

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even trying.

They cheered. They consoled him. They showed him love. The teacher later told me it was more encouragement than he was used to receiving. “He needed that,” she said. She was hopeful it would be a turning point for him. I hope it will be a turning point in all their young lives. A moment where they experienced the satisfaction of being an active player on Team Human.

Our young friend didn’t manage to get his poem out

audibly that day. But he did manage to display his humanity to classmates who had misunderstood him, and they found themselves cheering for him and, even more importantly, standing beside him.

Spoken word is hard and vulnerable. But there’s no better example of the simplicity of right, wrong, and human connectivity than the expressions of unbridled joy that come from the youth.

Thank you to the students and educators in south-central Minnesota for reminding me why we fight and why we “art.”

Sharing Love from a Parent “Having organizations like COMPAS that champion young minds and creativity is vital to persisting through moments that often feel too big to bear and too confusing to sort out.

I deeply appreciate the work the COMPAS team continues to do - it is so important!” ~ Parent of a teenage COMPAS program participant

You are part of the COMPAS team! Thank you for helping young people across Minnesota imagine what’s possible.

Want to get creative??? Check out compas.org/calendar for info on public art-making events across Minnesota.

Your gift sculpts a brighter future Help students build creativity, confidence, and community with a gift to COMPAS. Giving is easy and secure at COMPAS.org/donate.

You can also mail a gift, direct a gift from a donor advised fund, donate stock, or turn an old car or motorcycle into creative experiences for kids! Details at compas.org/donate.

Checks can be mailed to 450 Syndicate St. N., #325, Saint Paul, MN 55104

You Fuel Creativity Each year, you help over 60,000 people across Minnesota actively learn and create with COMPAS teaching artists, right in their own school, after-school program, or other community site.

Here are just a few ways you make a positive impact on people’s lives...

Writing poetry takes courage and emotional openness. Having others listen to your words and feel something... that’s magical.

Reduce, reuse, recycle... Turning a plastic jug into a butterfly puppet takes imagination, perseverance, and teamwork.

Creating together at any age brings joy and vitality into the community.

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Learning to paint your emotions is fun and helps kids process and respond to what they are feeling.