Youth
Make room for young people to practise expression, develop creative skills and learn alongside other generations. Our history of youth poetry and event leadership informs the opportunities we seek to restore.
Chewstick /Creative expression.
THE CHEWSTICK FOUNDATION
Creative expression.
Public purpose.
The Chewstick Foundation is Bermuda registered charity #857. Since 2003, our movement has used the arts to help people find their voice, share their stories and build relationships across social divides.
To empower one.
To enrich all.
Rooted in Bermuda. Built around people.
2003The movement begins
2009Charity #857 registered
YOUTH. ARTS. CULTURE. COMMUNITY.
Individual voices.
A shared public purpose.
A first performance can build confidence. A public mural can carry a community’s history. A shared experience can begin a new relationship.
Our mission is to empower storytelling, creative expression and social justice to enrich youth, arts, culture and community.
The bye-laws establish our charitable purpose through education; arts, culture and heritage; citizenship and community development; and human rights, reconciliation, equality and diversity.
We create opportunities for people to express themselves and encounter perspectives beyond their own. Our work responds to the need for creative outlets, opportunities for artists and spaces where people from different backgrounds can meet on common ground.
Respect, Freedom, Love and Truth guide the spirit of our work. Our vision—to empower one, to enrich all—connects personal expression with a more connected Bermuda.
Arts
Give emerging and established artists opportunities to perform, create and collaborate, with audiences and participants as an active part of the experience.
Culture
Celebrate and explore Bermuda’s living traditions, identities and histories through storytelling, music and public art, including murals honouring the island’s Gombey troupes.
Community
Bring people across backgrounds and generations into shared creative spaces, where listening and participation can build confidence, understanding and a sense of belonging.
OUR BOARD OF ELDERS
Care for the mission.
Responsibility for its future.
Community participation gives Chewstick its life. Governance gives the work direction and accountability.
The Board of Elders is the Foundation’s governing board. Its role is to safeguard Chewstick’s charitable purpose and provide oversight of the organisation’s direction, resources and accountability.
The board brings together its Chair, Secretary and Treasurer with Chewstick’s operational and creative leadership. Deidra-Lee Bean and Gavin Djata Smith serve ex officio: their board roles arise from their leadership positions.
Mischa Fubler
Chair of the Board of Elders.
Chris Phillips
Secretary of the Board of Elders.
Whitney Ming
Treasurer of the Board of Elders.
Operational and creative leadership
Deidra-Lee Bean
Operations Director. Leads Chewstick’s operations and is a point of contact for programme enquiries and support.
Gavin Djata Smith
Founder and Creative Director. Leads the creative direction of the movement he helped establish in 2003.
GOVERNANCE DOCUMENTS
Our responsibilities.
In writing.
Our approved bye-laws set out how the Foundation is governed. Our protection policy sets the responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable participants.
Protection of vulnerable persons
Approved by the Chewstick Foundation Board on 8 September 2019. Sets out safeguarding responsibilities for board directors, staff and volunteers, including screening, training, supervision and reporting concerns.
Original policy · PDF · 3 pages · 360 KB
Download the policy (PDF)Chewstick Foundation bye-laws
The Foundation’s governing document sets out our charitable purposes, membership, the authority and responsibilities of the Board of Elders, and our requirements for financial stewardship and public reporting.
Governing document · Word document · 171 KB
Download the bye-laws (Word)Contact the Foundation with questions about the bye-laws, protection policy or the responsibilities they establish.
GOVERNED BY OUR BYE-LAWS
Careful stewardship.
A shared public purpose.
Trust grows when people can understand who makes decisions, how resources are used and whose interests come first.
Under the bye-laws, the Board of Elders holds responsibility for the Foundation’s overall policy and direction, and delegates day-to-day operations to staff and committees. Board members serve as charity trustees and must act in the best interests of the Foundation and its beneficiaries.
The bye-laws define how membership, decision-making and delegated authority work. They place charitable purpose, responsible use of resources and public accountability at the centre of the Foundation’s governance.
Clear roles and decisions
The Board of Elders includes a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. The bye-laws assign responsibilities for strategic oversight, meeting records, financial reporting and delegated work, with procedures for appointments and continuity of leadership.
Put the purpose first
The bye-laws require trustees to declare conflicts of interest and take no part in discussion or voting on matters where a conflict exists. The Foundation’s activities and resources must serve its charitable purposes and the public benefit.
Plan, record and review
The Foundation’s financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The bye-laws require board approval of the budget, oversight of major changes, accurate accounting records, and annual accounts and reporting. They also require an independent audit when the applicable threshold is met.
Explain the work and its value
The bye-laws require an annual report explaining programme activity, fundraising, public benefit and plans for the year ahead. They provide for public access to accounts and reports and protect the Foundation’s charitable legacy: if it closes, remaining assets must pass to registered charities with similar purposes.
Request annual reports, financial information or details of the Foundation’s governance at info@chewstick.org.
PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE PERSONS
A welcoming space
carries a duty of care.
Respect, Freedom, Love and Truth must be reflected in how people are treated.
Our Protection of Vulnerable Persons Policy, approved by the Board on 8 September 2019, applies to board directors, staff and volunteers. It commits the Foundation to protection from physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect, regardless of a person’s background or circumstances.
The requirements below describe the approved policy. They give participants, families, volunteers and partners a shared point of reference for expectations and concerns.
Screening and training
The policy requires criminal background checks through the Bermuda Police Service before contact with vulnerable persons, assessment of the understanding of reporting duties, and annual safeguarding training and Code of Conduct consent for relevant personnel.
Care in day-to-day participation
Staff and volunteers working with vulnerable persons must be monitored and supervised, with particular attention to one-to-one interactions. Implementation is assigned to the Compliance Office and/or programme facilitator.
Act promptly on concerns
The policy requires immediate reporting of known or suspected abuse or neglect to the appropriate authority, followed by a written referral. A Critical Incident Report must be completed within one business day and escalated through the responsible officers to the Board of Elders.
Take every allegation seriously
The policy sets out confidential handling of allegations, alternative reporting routes when a responsible officer is involved, and board oversight of protective action. It prohibits penalising an employee solely for reporting abuse or neglect.
Questions about safeguarding or a concern?
Speak promptly with the programme facilitator or ask for the Foundation’s Compliance Officer. Call +1 (441) 292-2439 to request the appropriate contact. The policy explains reporting routes, including escalation when a concern involves leadership; required reports to the relevant authorities should not wait for an internal review.
If someone is in immediate danger in Bermuda, call 911. Current police contact information is available from the Bermuda Police Service .
Read the full protection policySUSTAINING THE FOUNDATION
Support the experience.
Strengthen the organisation.
Dependable programmes need dependable support behind them.
Open Mic, Community Art and Retreats continue despite limited funding. Contributions support musicians, artists, facilitators, materials, transport and coordination, together with the administration and participant care behind each experience.
Strengthening programme coordination, financial administration and impact reporting will help Chewstick plan beyond the next event and give supporters a clearer account of how their contributions are used.
Dedicated T.W.I.G.S. youth and Corrections programmes remain priorities to relaunch when funding and capacity are secured. A dependable home for Chewstick is a longer-term goal.
GROUNDED IN BERMUDA
Local purpose.
Clear accountability.
The bye-laws place responsibility for charitable purpose, trustee conduct, financial reporting and regulatory obligations with the Board of Elders. These duties connect our work in youth, arts, culture and community with Bermuda’s charity framework. Read the bye-laws alongside the applicable local requirements and guidance.
Help the purpose grow.
Support a programme, share resources or bring your experience to the work of youth, arts, culture and community.