Category Archives: Charitable Projects

Announcing XLIX G1 – 5th Annual Super Bowl Party

High fives everyone! Super Bowl 49 is right around the corner and we hope you’ll join us again.  Last year Mr. Manning and the Broncos failed to show up as the Seahawks sacked their way to an easy win.  Our crowd at Gamut One Studios still had a fantastic time.

Again, we’ll have the big game projected in HD on our 35 ft. cove wall. The back studio will be loaded with fun for the kids and of course, great food, beer and our famous chili cook-off.  Greg was a repeat champion last year with his Poblano Peppers and Beef chili.  The question now is can anyone knock him off?

We hope everyone will help us support this year’s charity, Soles4Souls, by donating their gently used shoes. If your shoes are too stinky to donate, we’ll have some great silent auction items and raffles to help make a difference.

Help our preparations with a RSVP on our party page.  Doors open at 3pm. We look forward to seeing everyone again!

Share the Joy of the Holiday Season

Each year Gamut One Studios chooses a charity to support and feature in our holiday card. The 2014 card was created by Greg Kamin to help raise awareness and donations for Soles4Souls.

Soles4Souls is a global not-for-profit institution
dedicated to fighting the devastating impact
and perpetuation of poverty.
The organization advances its anti-poverty
mission by collecting new and used shoes.

Read more about their life-changing programs at: http://soles4souls.org/

The shoe drive will conclude on Feb. 1st, at our 5th annual Super Bowl Party. You will have the opportunity to join us for the party and drop off your donations. Don’t wait till then if you want to clean up your closets and drop off your donation during this season of giving. Adult and children sizes welcome.

From all of us at Gamut One Studios, we wish you and your family a season filled with joy – Joy to share with all!

Big Game, Big Hearts! – XLVIIIG1

If the Broncos could only have played with HALF as much heart as our guests showed at the 4th Annual G1 Super Bowl party, they may have had a chance against the Seahawks.

XLVIII-G1 Super Bowl Party (2014) from Gamut One on Vimeo.

The generosity showed by our guests was truly amazing. With the silent auction tables, VIP seating auctions, and cash donations, the total raised for the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf was $908. In addition to this, our guests brought over 30 bags of food donations!

We want to wish many thanks to our friends and clients who donated their products and services for our silent auction. It was because of your help that we were able to raise the amount of funds we did. Thank you: Wild WingsMindwareDroolin’ MooseSkyline StadiumsTrain Me Tom,  and Frost River.

Yes, the Broncos were trampled by the Seahawks 43-8 in Super Bowl 48. The Seahawks came to play and play big – just like the 75 or more kids who rushed into Gamut One Stadium’s fun zone.

The G1 Super Bowl is where a kid can be a kid, Ok so someone else has that tagline, but it fits here. It fits well.

Our studio B kids’ zone is always a big hit with our 36’ obstacle course, basketball shoot out, and touchdown pass challenge. This year we added a new G1 signature bean bag toss and the graffiti wall.

Kids don’t try this at HOME! Really. Many grabbed the Sharpies by the neck and took to the graffiti wall. “Go Seahawks”, “Broncos”, “Sponge Bob”, “I love Cathy”… whatever your message, we offered 160 sq. ft. of white space to let the creative juices flow.

The 30 foot HD screen and amped up sound in the studio never disappoints, unlike the Broncos attempt to put points on the board.

Greg won the G1 Chili Cook Off  for the 2nd year in a row. He left the jalapeno brats in Wisconsin this time and opted for a new recipe from his pepper arsenal: Poblanos! When asked about the recipe, he said, “I have to give some credit to Paige (his 14 yr. old daughter). She was my taste tester for the early experimentations of this recipe and helped me turn this into a winner!”

If you missed this year, be sure to plan ahead for the 5th annual event. At Gamut One Studios our mission is: to enjoy what we do, who we do it for, and produce the best images to create success for our clients.

The annual Super Bowl party is just an extension of our mission: we really enjoy to share this time with our clients, family of clients, and of course our friends and family.

XLVIII G1 – 4th Annual Super Bowl Party

Year number four, here we go!  Last year was a blast, great food, great friends and a ton of fun as we watched the Harbaugh brothers battle it out.  This year we hope the lights will stay on (at the stadium) and we’ll all be warmer than everyone at the big game!

Tailgating starts at 3pm and don’t forget to bring some non-perishable food items to help support the wonderful work of the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf.

Of course we’ll have the big game projected up in HD on our 35 ft. cove wall. There will be games, prizes and bring the kids to jump around in the inflatable obstacle course. Taste, enjoy, and vote on the abundance of homemade selections of chili, as we compete again for the coveted G1 Chili Pepper Award.  Can Greg be the first to repeat as Chili Champion?

Help our preparations with a RSVP on our party page.  We can’t wait to see everyone again!

An Old Holiday Favorite, In a New Light

At this time of year, holiday traditions centered around food often ‘consume’ much of our time and energy.  This year, Gamut One Studios wanted to spotlight the problem of hunger in the Twin Cities.  Cans of green beans, cream of mushroom soup and fried onions were cleverly shaped into a Christmas tree for our annual holiday card, by our own food-savvy photographer, Jeff Schmieg.  With help from the crafty hands of stylist, Laurie Goeman, and G1’s builder-extraordinaire, Myron Wolf, they created a wonderful image that will hopefully warm up the holidays in more ways then one.

While it would be fun to grab our can openers and whip up a super size casserole, this work of art is a small part of Gamut One Studios’ gift to the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf (GEFS). Started in 1975, GEFS is located in the basement of the Plymouth Congregational Church in South Minneapolis. They serve over 1,500 households every month with a mostly volunteer staff.

Gamut One Studios is proud to support their much needed work with a donation on behalf of our clients.  The gratitude expressed by the GEFS volunteers and their clients was incredible and confirms the validity of ‘It is better to give than to receive.’

If you are looking for a way to give back this season, GEFS accepts food donations of all varieties in person and gratefully accepts cash donations through their website at www.grovelandfoodshelf.org.  It’s amazing how they can leverage their food dollars in ways that consumers can not with a normal grocer.

Gamut One Studios will continue to support the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf with a fundraiser and food drive at our 4th Annual Super Bowl party in February.  We look forward to seeing you all there!

Feels like it’s been around forever…

Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole recipe (using their cream of mushroom soup) was developed in 1955.

That’s a lot, but they need more…

Groveland Emergency Food Shelf buys 70-80% of the more then 30,000 pounds of food they distribute every month.

Did you know? Green beans are also called snap beans because of the sound they make when being broken. Green beans can also be called string beans because many varieties used to have a long string that ran along the seam of the bean.

Extending the reach…

The Groveland Food For Youth program was the state’s first food shelf specifically aimed at helping homeless and at-risk youth to age 23 with food and referrals to other organizations.

Happy Holidays from Gamut One Studios!

Halloween meets Winter Olympics

What do clowns, cowboys, Twinkie the Kid and even Donkey Kong all have in common?
They were among the over 450 participants that raced in the Bedrace for Bridging event on Saturday, March 2nd, 2013. The 15th annual fundraiser at Buck Hill was another huge success and Gamut One Studios was there to capture it all.

Bridging, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the greater Twin Cities, is the largest furniture bank in North America. Providing furniture and household goods to families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty, Bridging gives hope–and for many–a leap toward financial stability for the first time.

The 15th annual Bedrace for Bridging brought in $80,000 which will greatly help local families and individuals in need!

The event is like Halloween meets the Winter Olympics — a fun, exciting event with everyone in costume racing down the tubing hill competing to be one of the three team finalists. A team is made up of four riders and you must stay on the mattress for the entire ride down the hill or you are disqualified.

There were 113 teams competing to take home a trophy, either for the race or the most coveted honor of “Best Costume.” Cities 97 radio personalities and producers cast the silent votes for the top 3 best Costumes. Brian Oake announced the winners.

Fran Heitzman, founder of Bridging addressed the crowd in the Buck Stone Lodge with an enthusiastic expression of gratitude. He told everyone that “when good people get together, we can do good things“.  Sara Sternberger, executive director of Bridging, is pictured with Fran and of course the Subway Sandwich dude.

The party continued in the Buck Stone Lodge with live music by Meatsauce and The Whalers followed by The Chris Hawkey Band.

G1 Studios’ photographers at this event were Greg Kamin and Jeff Schmieg.  Till next year… think about getting your bedrace team together and help support this great local charity.

Give Hope this Holiday Season

Each year we highlight an organization as the focus of our studio Christmas card. The organizations are always something that we feel strongly about supporting due various personal or family connections.

This year, our focus of the card and financial support is the Catalyst Foundation, an organization that couldn’t be any closer to the heart and home of Bill Bartlett .

Bill and his wife Therese are parents of two adopted children from Vietnam, Moya (14) and Nate (12). “My family has seen first hand the dire need for help within the communities of Vietnam,” said Bill about their humanitarian trips to Vietnam.

Catalyst Foundation

The Catalyst Foundation provides hope for Vietnamese children through scholarships, aid in the form of medicine and medical supplies, support programs for schools, and a variety of other humanitarian projects.  Catalyst Foundation was built to help not only children, but also whole communities.

Catalyst, a non-governmental organization (NGO), is fully supported by individual and corporate sponsors.

Catalyst Aid Expedition

In 2006, Bill spent 2 weeks traveling thru the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam where he volunteered as part of the Catalyst Aid Expedition. Areas of assistance included building homes for families in need and participating in a free dental clinic. Many children have never had any previous dental care, much less ever used a toothbrush.

Lending a hand

Sometimes lending a hand can be as simple as listening, playing, just looking into the eyes of child and letting them know that they matter. Catalyst also provides opportunities for kids to be a kid, to play and do crafts and just put a smile on their faces.

“The Children of the Dump”

In Feb. 2012, CNN highlighted the importance of the Catalyst Foundation’s efforts.

CNN anchor, Natalie Allen’s coverage “The Children of the Dump,” tells not only of the heart-wrenching circumstances of these people, but also of the determined efforts of Catalyst Foundation leader, Caroline Nguyen Ticarro-Parker, to help the community fight human trafficking with a holistic approach and hands-on programs that are helping to change the lives of whole families and giving them hope for the future.

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/13/hope-for-vietnams-children-of-the-dump/

How Can You Help?

Catalyst Foundation was founded in 1999 by Caroline Nguyen Ticarro-Parker. Caroline lives with her husband and 2 adopted Vietnamese daughters in Northfield, Minn. Read her full story  at http://www.catalystfoundation.org/our-founder.  We encourage you to visit Catalyst Foundation website, there are programs available for all levels of support.   http://www.catalystfoundation.org/

You can be a catalyst to help the children dying from starvation and the lack of basic medical supplies.

“We truly feel like Vietnam is our second home and having the opportunities to participate with Catalyst’s missions of hope has been a life changing experience for all of us!” ~ Bill Bartlett

Happy Holidays and God bless!

Bartlett Family, 2012.

Faces of Hope

We created our Holiday card to be much more than just well wishes for a great Holiday Season. We believe in making an impact with our time, talents and resources.

There are so many people who are hurting, homeless, and hungry. And, there are incredible programs reaching out and making a difference in the community. We wanted to shine a light on one such program – The Union Gospel Mission.

Since 1902, The Union Gospel Mission (UGM) has been helping thousands of Twin Cities’ residents who are homeless, hungry, and have chemical addictions. The mission depends on contributions and volunteers to meet the needs of those like Doug, shown in our studio Christmas card.

The Faces of Hope campaign was created out of several trips Photographer, Greg Kamin made to meet some of the people blessed daily by the UGM.  Each person has a different story of where they came or how much they were hurting, but the common thread is that each person now has hope.

Helping others is contagious.

Another one of the subjects for the ads, Greg, was so grateful for the help he received from the UGM that he now works there to help others.

“This place saved my life,” Greg said about the UGM.

On November 17th, 2010 Gamut One Studios participated in the Union Gospel Mission annual Radiothon on WCCO. This day was a huge success for the Twin Cities residents in need and for the UGM.

On this one Radiothon day, a total of $103,898 was donated to the UGM, which included all corporate sponsors and individual pledges. This amount will provide more than 54,000 meals.

To learn more about the Twin Cities Union Gospel Mission, visit their site at: http://www.ugmtc.org.

All of us at Gamut One Studios wish you a Holiday Season and New Year filled with hope!