A personal note from Michael:
When I was 14 people started to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said “a philanthropist”. Optimistic for someone who came from NJ blue collar roots! It was something that resonated with me and wouldn’t go away. But it was my parents who instilled in me respect for others, compassion, caring and helping others who had less than you. I went to Elizabethtown College and graduated as an occupational therapist (OT). I remember clearly the day Doris Gordon, our chairperson, brought me into her office and asked if I wanted to be an OT or an actor, given I was onstage as much as I was in anatomy lab! And so, without regret, I became an occupational therapist. But I never stopped performing (for either a theatre or therapy resume, if you are bored, you can go to www.michaelpizzi.com).
After I became a proud Equity member in 2007, I decided I wanted to do more than audition and and hope to be hired! Thus, TOUCHING HUMANITY, INC. (THI) was created. A 501(c)3 charitable theatre and educational organization is actually a life long dream come true. I get to do philanthropic things, and I get to combine two careers that I love equally. I am a lucky man!
Our mission statement is our vision for this organization. The primary goal is to produce theatre and develop and present educational health care workshops that inspire, instill hope, engage people’s minds and hearts and encourage communities to be more inclusive of people with disabilities no matter the disability. We educate through our artistic endeavors and through straight forward presentations about disability, particularly workshops that focus on wellness and prevention strategies and strategies to improve one’s quality of life. Our art educates audiences through our motto: “given opportunity, always able”.
One other mission of THI also includes helping other charitable organizations by partnering with them. In these very tough economic times, what better way to help others is there than to create partnerships and make money to help other charitable organizations?
I have always enjoyed bringing people together to empower others. So, one way I am creating partnerships with both the medical and arts communities is through our creating and producing the Symposium on Wellness/Health Promotion and Arts Festival Promoting Disability Awareness and Social Justice in NYC. This, to me, is an opportunity for individuals and organizations to come together and heighten awareness of what disability is, what the disabled can do and help to educate others through the arts and educational workshops. As an organization, we are very excited about this event. We hope you will be as well, and contribute however you can, be it with time, money or skills and expertise (e.g. directing, performing, grant writing, playwrighting, or just wanting to do good). Please contact us!
Finally, some of my personal and professional beliefs include:
- Care, compassion and concern for others should always be our primary human mission
- Our art should reflect life in honest, unabridged ways, including the disabled life
- Disability is often a perspective of inability which needs to be corrected through education
- Adapting situations, environments and strategies to engage in life activity, including the arts, is always possible
- The arts and education are primary methods to bring communities together for transforming disability and creating awareness for disability inclusion
We are so pleased that you may wish to join us. Look around our site, and please contact us with any suggestions, questions or ideas. We’d love to brainstorm with you!
Have a joyful day!
Michael A. Pizzi, PhD
Actor, Founder, and Artistic Director
TOUCHING HUMANITY, INC.
www.michaelpizzi.com