Creative Happiness Institute Launches $200,000 Endowment to Honor Poet Laureate David B. Axelrod

The Creative Happiness Institute has initiated a $200,000 fundraising campaign to establish the David B. Axelrod Memorial Endowment Fund, securing ongoing support for poetry and arts initiatives across Volusia County. This endowment honors Dr. David B. Axelrod, the county's recently deceased co-poet laureate and founder of the nonprofit, who dedicated 16 years to teaching, mentoring, and promoting local poets and artists.

Axelrod's legacy includes a six-decade career as a prolific poet and educator, authoring 25 poetry books, earning three Fulbright awards, and teaching 12,000 students as an English professor at SUNY Suffolk County Community College. He served as poet laureate for both Suffolk County, New York, and Volusia County, Florida, and was renowned for his populist approach to poetry, focusing on universal themes in an accessible style. His imprint, Writers Ink Press, which published over 50 books by diverse poets, is now being transferred to the Creative Happiness Institute.

The fund will be officially unveiled at a tribute event on September 6 at the Dr. Noble "Thin Man" Watts Amphitheatre in DeLand, with space provided by the African American Museum of the Arts. The event will feature an open mic session for sharing memories and poetry, live music by jazz guitarist Jim Graves, and emceeing by Axelrod's son, Dr. Dan Axelrod, and Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown. Following the tribute, MainStreet Art and Culture Slam of DeLand will host a qualifying competition for the Southeast Regional North Carolina Poetry Slam.

CHI President Anthony Ehrlich highlighted Axelrod's commitment to using poetry and the arts to foster happiness, healing, and health, noting that the endowment will enable the organization to continue enhancing local lives through creativity and artistic mentorship. The institute's programs, funded by donations and grants, include a Young Poets Mentoring Program, poetry slams, readings, and publishing initiatives for schools, colleges, seniors, and veterans.

This endowment underscores the vital importance of arts funding in preserving cultural legacies and supporting community well-being, ensuring that Axelrod's vision of creativity and fellowship remains accessible to future generations in Volusia County.