Glassybaby partnered with SYM for the Shine Bright benefit where attendees learned more about SYM's work with homeless youth. It also shed light on the challenges and successes of these youth. Long time SYM supporter Judy Myers shared these words at the event:

Tonight as I look around this space, seeing the colors, the craftsmanship and the glass blowing talent, I am reminded of a lesson learned in school from a craftsman by the name of Vitruvius. He described good design as needing three elements: strength, function and beauty. And in his words true beauty is order and balance. When I see a Glassybaby lit up and being used as it should, I think that these objects embody the words of Vitruvius.

I think of the artists who carefully study their craft, understand the science behind glass blowing, and fully understand the unique qualities of the material – how hot the glass needs to be, how long it should take to cool the product so that in the end, the color is clear, and the object is strong.

It takes a team to work together to make a truly beautiful work of art. From their hard work and craft, we receive joy from looking at the object but also in the use of the artwork. And we get deep satisfaction when we give great works of art to others to use and reflect on its beauty.

This is the work of Street Youth Ministries. They are in the business of turning brittle shards back into something with full strength, function and beauty. They work hard as a team and they know their kids. Their commitment is to rebuild, teach and restore the broken lives of young people... They serve around 500 youth, all of whom are stuck in a story. Each story is unique, describing pain, rejection, abuse, brokenness and barriers and the common theme that they have been told is “you are not worth being reclaimed or redeemed into something beautiful and functional”.

There is a process in glass blowing where the glass cools too quickly to be shaped, it is returned to a furnace called the glory hole for another melting down, making the glass once again workable and transparent.

“The doors of SYM open onto this path: they change the message of useless into a message of worthiness.”

Each of their youth get to place their name and lay down stakes with a healthy environment that knows them, knows their name and gives them a home to be rebuilt.

I encourage you to imagine the final outcome of the work of SYM: building strength, function and beauty in our youth. Our generosity means SYM gets to name each of the youth – I think of the joy I get from reading the names on the Glassybaby, our generosity helps SYM catch each of the kids and speaks their name out loud...With the beauty surrounding you in these pieces of art, give with the same vision: we can capture the street youth, changing their lives to reflect beauty, strength and function.

written by Judy Myers

Something Strong. Something Beautiful. Something Functional.