When Dean Baer Learned About CSFA's Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund(R),
Which Provides Educational Assistance to Dependents of 9/11 Victims, He
Donated His Impressionistic Painting of the American Flag to the Non-Profit
Organization; Then He Had a Better Idea
At http://www.usoneofakind.com, Prints Of Baer's Collectible Painting of the American
Flag Sell For $24; On Each Sale, Baer Contributes $10 to CSFA
HADDONFIELD, N.J., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, September 15,
2001, artist Dean J. Baer wiped red, white, and blue paint on his shirt. In
the garden of his house in Haddonfield, New Jersey, he stopped to examine the
impressionistic version of an American flag that he had just painted, entirely
with his hands. His 12-year old son, Matthew, and friends took a break from
the lemonade stand where they were raising money for 9/11 victims to proclaim
Baer's painting "cool."
Since the tragic events of 9/11/01, Baer had been unable to express the
mixed emotions he shared with the rest of the country. But in this painting
four days later, he found expression. He named it, "United States - One of a
Kind." He decided he wanted it to somehow benefit the children of 9/11
victims. He researched charitable organizations, and selected Citizens'
Scholarship Foundation of America(SM) and its program Families of Freedom
Scholarship Fund(R) (the Fund), established on September 17, 2001 to provide
educational assistance for postsecondary study to September 11th victims'
dependents.
Baer decided to donate his original painting, inspired by the tragedy of
9/11, to CSFA in support of the Fund. He suggested to CSFA that he would make
museum-quality, 24" x 30" prints of the painting and sell them online for $24
a print. He would donate $10 of each sale to CSFA -- almost the entire
proceeds after expenses. The Baer Gallery became a national corporate sponsor
of CSFA and its programs dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities.
Now Baer has a goal: to contribute millions of dollars to CSFA from sales of
prints of "United States - One of a Kind."
Baer is donating the original painting to CSFA and the Fund, to use
however they wish. But he's hoping that his non-traditional form of fund-
raising will generate much more than the painting would have raised by itself,
and that he'll be able to keep on contributing to CSFA for as long as prints
of the painting sell. His personal goal, in addition to raising significant
funds for CSFA, is to one day create his own scholarship fund to provide
scholarships to students wishing to pursue an education in art, to defray the
high cost of art schools, and to underscore the importance of art in our
society.
Although his work can be found in private collections in the United States
and Europe, Baer is not a household name as an artist. While in the U.S. Air
Force overseas, he was trained in Information Systems Project Management, then
earned his bachelor's degree and worked in the technology industry to support
himself and his son. In 2000, Baer opened a virtual gallery (The Baer
Gallery) and devoted himself to trying to earn a living through art, though he
still consults as a technology account manager.
"When people hear that a full $10 of every sale is being donated to CSFA,
they get excited," says Baer. "People are responding to the print in very
emotional, very positive ways. Every time I show someone the `United States -
One of a Kind' print, they want one. I am extremely motivated to raise monies
for CSFA and FFSF, and I think if enough people learn about `United States -
One of a Kind' it can be done."
CSFA, the nation's largest private sector scholarship and educational
support organization, carries out its mission of expanding access to
educational opportunities and encouraging academic achievement through its
Dollars for Scholars(R), Scholarship Management Services(TM) and
ScholarShop(R) programs. Headquartered in Minneapolis and St. Peter, MN, CSFA
has distributed over $911.5 million to nearly 850,000 students through its
scholarship and other support programs since its founding in 1958. For the
fifth year in a row, SmartMoney, the Wall Street Journal's magazine of
personal finance, has ranked CSFA as one of the 17 most efficient nonprofits
in the country. Worth Magazine also named CSFA among America's 100 best
charities for 2001/2002. In partnership with Indianapolis-based Lumina
Foundation for Education, CSFA founded and helped raise more than $100 million
for the Families of Freedom Fund. For more information, visit http://www.csfa.org or
http://www.familiesoffreedom.org.
To learn more about or purchase a print of "United States - One of a
Kind," visit http://www.usoneofakind.com.
SOURCE Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America
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Related links:
http://www.csfa.org
http://www.usoneofakind.com
CONTACT:
Ellen Warren for Dean Baer, +1-215-886-1666
or info@usoneofakind.com, or Mark Malmberg for CSFA,
+1-952-830-7317 or mmalmberg@csfa.org
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