In honor of our Military Sisterhood Initiative monthly theme of “Poetry for the Soul,” today’s post is going to talk about Slam Poetry. 

Please note that the poem shared in this post touches on ideas of suicide, sexual assault and military trauma. Be advised when listening.

In honor of our monthly theme of “April Showers” coming to a close for the CAVARTS community, I wanted to share a bit about a concept that we can take along with us throughout the entire year to help make our rainy days, chilly days, and life in general just a little bit cozier!

Co-presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Legion Auxiliary, the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival is a culmination of VA facility competitions in art, creative writing, dance, drama, and music for Veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs national health care system. 

Today we get to celebrate our beautiful Mother Earth. What an amazing honor it is to celebrate all the things this beautiful planet has to offer; from lush rainforests to snowy mountaintops, it feels nearly impossible to see every bit of beauty our Earth has to offer. 

Blackout poetry  - also sometimes referred to as redacted poetry or erasure - is a type of “found poetry,” which is using pre-existing (“found”) text to create something completely new and unique.  Portions of the original text, whether entire sentences or singular words or letters, are kept, while the rest of the page is crossed or blacked out to create a fresh Canva #1s around the newly created prose.

Did you know that today is National Haiku Poetry Day? 📚 This day couldn’t align more perfectly in the MSI community with our monthly theme of “Poetry for the Soul”, and we are excited to celebrate it with you all! 

To celebrate World Art Day, and to honor our CAVARTS theme for this month - April Showers - we thought we’d share a variety of “Rainy Day Art!”  We’re going to feature a few infamous pieces of art that spotlight the rain, as well as share a few fun crafts and projects for you to try on a rainy day!  Last but not least - we want to see YOUR rainy day art!  After you peruse the art in this post, we’d love you to share your own pieces of art in the comments section - whether it features rain in the artwork, or was a project you created on a rainy day!

National Gardening Day on April 14th is a day of encouragement, a day created to give gardeners a shove and a shovel so that they can begin their gardening journey.

Many of us have been experiencing an upswing of rainy days - “April Showers,” if you will!  Some of us find them cozy, some of us feel cooped up, and all of us have different ways of spending them.  Today, I’d like to share a bit about incorporating music into your rainy day, whether you’re a rainy day lover or someone who can’t wait for the sun to reappear!🌦

Do you have a song that you listen to for certain occasions? Maybe a type of music for cleaning? Or waking up in the morning? Much like music, poetry can also trigger these emotional responses and be helpful in our everyday lives! There are so many poems in the world, that just like music, it can be important to make sure you pick poems that resonate with you. 

Today is a sobering day of recognition - Gold Star Spouses Day. According to the U.S. Army 's official website, the Gold Star is a tradition that began during World War I. During this time, service flags were flown by military families, with blue stars for each family member serving in uniform.

Each year on April 3rd, National Find a Rainbow Day challenges us to look to the sky and find a colorful ray of hope cast across it. 

This month, the MSI Community is embracing our theme, “Poetry for the Soul,” as we continue celebrating the incredible women in our community. Together, we’re honoring their strength and stories while taking time to indulge in a little soul-nourishing self-care. 💗The inspiration behind this month’s theme is that the month of April is National Poetry Month, an amazing opportunity to celebrate the power of words, expressiveness, and charm of poetry! 

Today is incredibly important to us here at Challenge America - March 29th is designated as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.  A time to honor and pay tribute to the 9 million Americans who served during the Vietnam War era, the 58,000 names memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and those who never received the recognition they deserved when they returned to America from war.

Medal of Honor Day, held annually on March 25, provides an opportunity for Medal of Honor Recipients, fellow Veterans, and civilians alike to pause and reflect on the importance of service and sacrifice.

A season full of fresh starts and new life, one of the most visible signs of spring is the blooming of foliage after a long winter.  As artists of all kinds, many of us draw inspiration from nature, foliage, flowers, and blooming beauty.  

We invite you to celebrate by taking some extra time to be out in nature in the way that feels right to you today. Whether that’s taking a leisurely stroll, doing some pre-spring time garden work, going on a hike, listening to birdsong, or simply sitting outside in the fresh air appreciating the wonders of nature with a good book in hand, we invite you to look for and savor the beauty of the outdoors around you today. 

We’ve all heard it - laughter is the best medicine! 

In celebration of today being National Let’s Laugh Day and tomorrow being International Day of Happiness, we wanted to take a moment and highlight the benefits of daily laughter!

Have you ever felt blissfully “lost” in a project?  Perhaps working on a new painting, writing a song or composing a piece of music, or playing a sport you love?

We are delighted to share in the celebration of the incredible, powerful, selfless women in the world and in the Challenge America community, specifically, who have served and sacrificed for us all. To the women in the Challenge America community, you amaze us in so many ways! Your dedication and service to this country and fellow men and women, your artistry and creativity, your ability to connect with each other and build camaraderie within this platform - the list is endless.