We’re Welcoming in this New Year with Hope
Celebrate! Maya Project
Welcoming 2026
Let’s welcome the new year—together! Celebrate! Maya Project is claiming 2026 as another “Phenomenal” year. Read more below, or by visiting the link below.
We’re Welcoming in this New Year with Hope
A Message from Janis F. Kearney, President & Founder, Celebrate Maya Project
Friday, January 2, 2026
Let’s welcome the new year—together! Celebrate! Maya Project is claiming 2026 as another “Phenomenal” year. As we end this year with deep gratitude for all we achieved in 2025, we are ever grateful to our friends, partners and supporters who made our successes possible. And, while this past year brought its share of challenges for small nonprofits, with your support, we were able to continue our work and even expanding our community partnerships and the number of youths served.
Our Mission and Impact
The Celebrate! Maya Project continues its mission of helping change the lives of Arkansas’ youth by introducing unique literacy, arts, poetry, and history curricula, never ignoring the critical role that children’s villages play in their future success. Using Dr. Angelou’s life philosophy, and lessons as our blueprint, we seek to help youth dare to dream, discover their God-given voices, and use their invaluable gifts for positive change.
Our "Why"
As the world and Arkansas grieved the passing of Dr. Maya Angelou in May 2014, that deep sense of loss led to the decision by a small, diverse group of Arkansans to celebrate Dr. Maya Angelou’s life and legacy in the place she called home for much of her childhood—Stamps, Arkansas. On October 18, 2014, a Day of Remembrance was held in Stamps honoring Dr. Angelou’s life, her work, her lessons, and her legacy. Stamps Mayor David Bright joined me in co-chairing this historic event. In 2015, Celebrate! Maya Project, a nonprofit organization, was born. Our purpose: to share Dr. Angelou’s legacy with young people and adults throughout Arkansas – with a special focus on Arkansas’ Delta region.
We spent most of 2016 creating literacy and arts programs and identifying school and community partnerships. Since those earliest years, we have continued to expand our work into other parts of the state, increasing our school and community partnerships.
In 2022, we announced our campaign to raise funds to create a memorial to Dr. Maya Angelou in the Little Rock Central High School historic district in Little Rock, Arkansas. This multi-purpose venue will be our first-ever home, an art and history gallery honoring the Angelou legacy, a youth learning center, and a community events space. And, while we have modified some of our initial construction plans, our goal is unchanged: to create a space in Little Rock that honors Dr. Maya Angelou’s life and legacy and serves as a safe space for young people to learn, to imagine, to dream, and begin their journey towards success.
Looking Forward: 2026 and Beyond
As we enter this new year, we hope you will help ensure 2026 will be another phenomenal year for our children and their communities. We are grateful for the continued support of friends who have believed in our work since our inception! Beyond financial support, we hope you will join us as our special guest at some of our exciting programs throughout the year.
Please Donate Now
This is how you can help us continue our work, expand our reach, impact more lives, and connect with more communities:
- Give to our Capital Campaign to complete our new memorial site.
- Help expand youth services like tutoring, mentoring, and summer camps.
- Give to help us expand our reach to more schools and communities.
- Donate to our Planting Seeds. Growing Dreams Learning Garden.
- Help increase academic scholarships for graduating seniors.
Every gift, large or small, counts. Every friend, supporter, and partner adds value to our efforts. Together, we can make a real difference for Arkansas’ children and their villages.
For more information about our programs, events, or plans for our Dr. Angelou memorial site, contact me at janis@celebratemayaproject.org.
With your help, 2026 can only shine brighter!
With heartfelt thanks,
Janis
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Who we are
Celebrate! Maya Project
The Celebrate! Maya Project promotes the life, contributions, and history of Dr. Maya Angelou through our work with children and communities of Arkansas. We seek ways to educate, advocate, and promote literacy and humanities by teaching the history of literary icon, Maya Angelou. We seek partnerships with Arkansas schools, communities, and nonprofit organizations to help bring this legend to life.
“The ache of home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” — Maya Angelou
