DONOVAN ROBBINS
Staff Reporter|djr029@latech.edu
The Ross Lynn Charitable Foundation showed their appreciation for the artists of Louisiana in their Pop Up Sale event.
The Ross Lynn Charitable Foundation is an organization that tries to cultivate compassion in individuals, family and community through various events they put on. These events are centered around art, healthy living and outdoor activities. On May 1, the foundation hosted its Pop Up Sale event on Trenton Street. The Pop Up Sale featured a number of different works from various artists around the community on sale. There were also different activities held during the event, such as a live music, live painting and a silent raffle.
The sale was held in accordance with Give For Good, which is a day of online giving that is always held on the first Tuesday of May. Give For Good gives nonprofit organizations the opportunity to come together with the community to raise money for charity. Dylan Sanders, program director for Ross Lynn Charitable Foundation, said one of the goals for the event was to demonstrate what Give For Good was.
“We decided we wanted to have some kind of event here in Ruston that showcased what Give for Good was and one of the ways we wanted to do that was with the Pop Up Sale,” Sanders said. “We support local artists and artisans, so it was a natural decision to feature the local artists in the community for our event.”
Jane Watts, director of Ross Lynn Charitable Foundation, said the event was also held to bring attention to the foundation.
“We wanted to raise awareness for our work in the community and to raise funds through sales and donations,” Watts said. “All the proceeds we gained will go to charity.”
Dasia Canales, market manager of the Ruston Farmers Market, said the overall attendance for the event was good and she enjoyed the inviting atmosphere of the event.
“The turnout has been really good; we had a lot of people come in throughout the day and it got a good amount of publicity,” Canales said. “The event also had a very relaxed and welcoming environment.”
Ryan Botts, a senior industrial engineer, said the sale was a good learning experience for him.
“There were a lot of artists here that I did not know about until today, so it has been nice being able to look around and familiarize myself with their work,” Botts said. “It is interesting to see the community come in and support the artwork.”
Botts also said he was able to learn more about community service work because of the event.
“It was a learning opportunity for nonprofit work,” he said. “Seeing what these events are like gave me ideas for how I could do my own events later on.”