Kids in Camden need inspiration – a lens to the beauty and magic of everyday life, especially in a tough city where people like you are working – community by community – to create a brighter future.

Haiku poet Nick Virgilio was one of those Camden kids. Word by word, he wrote his way onto the world stage. Now, to honor his commitment to giving back to kids -  to spark their creativity, to foster literacy and to fuel appreciation of beauty in the darndest places - the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association needs to raise $6000.

We have built a Writers House where kids like Nick can find inspiration. Now we’re ready to re-stage and film the original play “Nick of Time... Nick of Time” written by Camden native the award winning New Jersey playwright and founding producing artistic director of South Camden Theatre Company, Joseph M. Paprzycki. The play probes the roots of Virgilio’s writing. What spurred him to draw such beauty and universal connection from nature and from his personal loss? His short form verses brought others all the way into the poet’s realm.

To make the new production of this play part of the inspirational programming at the Writers House, we need your help. With the money we are raising, we will complete a dynamic documentary film that intersperses footage of the new production with images to enrich the play. With the help of board members and corporate contribution, we have already been able to stage the play produced by board member Henry Brann, directed by John Doyle of Iron Age Theatre, filmed by Marc Brodzik of Woodshop Films and Andrew Geller, featuring actors Bob Weick, Rocky Wilson and Ned Pryce.  

The film is slated to premiere at the Haiku North America Conference in Santa Fe which has accepted it for screening in September 2017. Then the film will become a key element of programming at the Nick Virgilio Writers House, Camden, NJ, when it opens later this year. It will be featured there along with a previous documentary by Sean Dougherty called "remembering Nick Virgilio."

The people behind this project are a small 501c3, the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association. We welcome additional board members with passion for progress. We particularly seek people with skills in the creative and professional arts and with fundraising  background. The organization has amassed quite a track record over our 28 years, operating haiku workshops for educators and kids, creating works of theatre and film in support of teaching poetry, operating the annual Nick Virgilio Haiku Competition sponsored by the Haiku Society of America that now draws more than 3,000 entries annually from around the globe, and partnering with Rutgers University on digitizing the Virgilio archives. 

Again, there are many ways you can help:

• Contribute funds to help with our mission 
• Contribute your passion and expertise: join our Board
• Contribute your energy - engage with committees making new programming
• Help with grant writing - NVHA seeks experienced grantwriters
• Donate an up to date computer to the NVHA office 

This IndieGoGo account is linked directly to the non-profit Nick Virgilio Haiku Association and all funds raised here will go directly there, earmarked for this endeavor. For other contribution opportunities, to buy books of Virgilio’s haiku or to learn more, visit www.nickvirgiliohaiku.org  The Nick Virgilio Writers House joins the burgeoning Waterfront South Arts District in Camden which includes the Camden FireWorks art collaborative and studios, the Camden Shipyard & Maritime Museum, the South Camden Theatre Company, Brigid's House, the Michael J. Doyle Fieldhouse, the Poet's Walk, and the Center for Environmental Transformation.

Watch for the upcoming story in the Courier-Post about this! We'll post a link here when it runs.

By funding our project, you’re saying you care about inspiring (and aspiring) writers, you care about kids, you care about literacy and you care about building community resources in places in need. Thanks for helping.