Thank you for joining us for episode 435 of Live Happy Now.

Creative arts such as painting, dancing, acting, and singing can play a powerful role in self-care

and mental health, but they're often overlooked, particularly in rural communities.

This week's guest is determined to change that.

I'm your host, Paula Phelps,

and this week I'm talking with our happy activist, Becca Finley,

founder of the nonprofit This Is Noteworthy.

This Is Noteworthy supports the creative community

and now is working to develop new spaces in underserved areas.

Becca is here today to talk about why she feels it's so important to emphasize the arts,

how it can improve our mental health, and why she is focusing on rural areas.

Let's have a listen.

Becca, welcome to Live Happy Now.

Thank you, Paul.

I'm so happy to be here.

You have a lot going on. And I think before we get into the how and why of what you're doing, I want to hear about the what. Can you explain to our listeners what this is Noteworthy is all about?

This Noteworthy is an organization that was founded in late 2010. And the purpose of the organization was to give creatives a space to grow and to experiment.

So whether that be as a graphic designer or as a writer or as an artist, a visual artist,

we sat through the process of people don't have access to try and fail.

And so really what this is noteworthy started as is a place where creatives could come together

to build something as a unit and then try and have this space and ability to fail, but still put it out and utilize

the creative process. You say that it started in late 2010. You started it, correct? I did.

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