Dear DSCI Friends,
We'd like to share news of a wonderful and very personal donation recently made to Denver Sister Cities International by Dr. James Aubrey.
Jim has entrusted DSCI with a collection of art and cultural objects gathered through years of international experience and relationships. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with him and hear some of the stories behind the pieces—and, as is so often the case with Sister Cities, the stories may be just as interesting as the objects themselves.
The collection includes several pieces connected to India, including a many-armed goddess figure with a lion to include a silver trident that Jim had made while he was in India as a Fulbright scholar, and brass marriage figures created by artisans from a tribal community in South Chhattisgarh.
There is also a beautiful Ethiopian print depicting Saint George, a subject with deep significance in Ethiopian history and culture.
And one of my favorites is an extraordinarily delicate original Indian movie poster from the 1950s, printed in Madras—today’s Chennai. Jim described the film as belonging to that wonderful early era of Indian cinema filled with music and dancing. The title translates roughly to “Many Days Ago.”
What I loved about hearing Jim describe these objects was that none of them was simply “something he bought.” Each had a place, a person, a trip, or a relationship attached to it.
That feels particularly appropriate for DSCI.
And this generous gift comes on the heels of another.
One of our members and City Committee Leaders, Judy Constantine of the Denver-Kunming Sister City, recently made a significant monetary contribution to DSCI—and, importantly, paired her gift with a funding challenge designed to encourage others to join her in supporting the organization. More details on this funding challenge to follow later.
Judy’s generosity is helping support the broader work DSCI does on behalf of Denver and our international relationships, while her challenge invites the rest of us to think about what we can do to help strengthen that work.
These are two very different gifts, but I think they have something important in common.
They are acts of stewardship.
One member has entrusted us with objects and stories collected over a lifetime of international engagement. Another has invested financially in DSCI’s future and challenged others to help ensure that the organization has the resources to continue its work.
Both say, in their own way: this work matters, and I want to help carry it forward.
Over the coming weeks, we will work to document Jim’s collection more carefully, learn more about the individual pieces, and determine how they might best be displayed, shared, or used to support DSCI’s mission. I also hope our committees—particularly those with connections to Chennai and Axum—will help us uncover more of the stories behind them.
We hope Jim and Judy’s generosity will inspire all of us to think about the role we can play in strengthening DSCI. That might mean becoming a member, volunteering with a committee, sharing a story, attending an event, introducing someone new to our organization, offering financial support—or simply showing up and helping us tell more people about the extraordinary relationships being built between Denver and communities around the world. There are many ways to contribute, and each one helps strengthen the community we are building together.
In the coming weeks, we’ll share more about ways our members and friends can help build on this momentum.
For now, we simply want to say thank you.
Thank you, Jim and Judy, for believing in Denver Sister Cities International and for investing in its future in such meaningful ways.
Citizen diplomacy is ultimately built by people: people who share their experiences, preserve relationships, open doors for others, and decide that connections between communities around the world are worth sustaining.
These two gifts are wonderful reminders of exactly that.
Warmly,
Cherish
Denver Sister Cities International
Want to be part of what comes next?
If you’re not already a DSCI member, we invite you to join our community and become part of the people-to-people connections that make this work possible. Whether you’re interested in membership, volunteering, joining a City Committee, attending an upcoming event, or simply learning more, we’d love to hear from you.
Reach us at info@denversistercities.org to get connected.
Every relationship begins with someone deciding to participate. We hope you’ll be one of them.
