Accomplishments

Sheltered Reality is a nationally recognized, award-winning organization:

• Recently selected as the 2007 Priority Project by the Minnesota Jaycees!
   
• In September, 2004, Steve Schlosser, Executive Director, was chosen by the National Jaycees as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans for 2004! He had been awarded the Outstanding Young Iowan of the Year by the Iowa Jaycees on November 8, 2003.
   
• SR was also awarded the Presidential Award for Best Youth Project Aimed at Ending Homelessness in America, given to us on October 17, 2003, from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth!
• SR is proud to be the country’s first nonprofit musical organization dedicated to helping those who live in less fortunate circumstances, especially children (e.g., homelessness, runaways, domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse, etc.)
• SR is proud to be made up of mostly young people, ages 10-18, and to have a LONG waiting list of people of all ages who want to join. SR is even more proud to have shared our message with over 300,000 people to date, and to have inspired many of them to begin projects to help those in need; either at school, at church, or even on their own!
   
• SR is proud of its Music with Meaning curriculum that combines high-energy music with an educational meaning and serves to inspire others to volunteerism. A typical show features both our own original “meaning” songs as well as our “percussion” songs which are rhythmically choreographed cover songs that have proven popular with all ages; literally 9 to 104!!
   
• SR is proud of the response of each new community; everywhere we have gone, people respond to our message with overwhelming enthusiasm and cannot seem to bring us back often enough. We are currently booked solid almost one year in advance, and have a waiting list of almost 100 communities who want us to come!
   
• SR is proud to be doing its part in raising awareness of the issue on a national level, in drawing young people into the movement, and in helping create the next generation of advocates.
   
• SR is proud to have gathered support from countless organizations, including schools, churches, service agencies, as well as individual community members. We have support throughout Iowa and the country (e.g., OR, TX, OH, ND, NC, MN, AZ, IN, and Washington, DC)

 

Facts:

333 performances in 2006

135,000 people in 14 states heard the SR Music with Meaning in 2006

Nearly 100% of schools responded to the SR message in 2006 with an all-school project