WHAT WE DO
Love is ACTION
Action
is IMPACT
For The Love Of is a grassroots nonprofit founded & run by local performers and artists. We believe LOVE is an action word. The 3 major steps FTLO takes to show our communities we LOVE them are SUPPLY, SUPPORT, & CELEBRATE!
​
SUPPLY
Pop-Up Pantries
FTLO's Personal Hygiene Pantry runs 24/7 providing the 7th Ward with basic human needs to alleviate the cost of living. For more information click here.
We also assist with disaster relief. For more information click here.
We are building pop-up pantries across the greater New Orleans area that provide personal hygiene products, clothing, and resources for additional help.
​
​
SUPPORT
FTLO holds multiple events throughout the year highlighting other local nonprofits that have specialized focus missions to improve the lives of women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC communities.
For more information click here.
​
Our BYOB with Picolla Tushy series lifts the voices of performers, small business owners, and nonprofits.
For more information click here
CELEBRATE
FTLO's seasonal Plate Give-Aways give us a chance to hang out and to get to know our neighbors on a more personal level.
Our live and virtual shows showcase local performers and artists from all over the city. From burlesque to comedy to poetry and more, we know art is form of celebrating the human experience and brings communities closer.
To learn more click here
MEET OUR TEAM
DIRECTOR
Picolla Tushy (she/her)
Picolla Tushy is a burlesque performer and producer in New Orleans. After the election of 2016, Ms. Tushy decided to use her voice to raise money for and awareness of local and national nonprofits serving marginalized communities. Soon, Samuel Brantley would join her and together they would find For The Love Of. With the pandemic, Picolla and Sam both knew there was more work to be done and quickly built a Personal Hygiene Pop Up Pantry in the 7th Ward, which Ms. Tushy manages daily. Later in the year, For The Love Of decided to expand their efforts again and have begun doing plate giveaways for the community and neighbors. Picolla strongly believes art is a tool that can be used to heal, to create, and to fight against injustice. She is incredibly grateful for the love and support she receives from her partner, the Board of Directors, and the ever-growing FTLO family.
PRESIDENT
Brandie Litrenta (she/her)
Brandie Litrenta has been a resident of New Orleans intermittently since 2006. She is a Legal Assistant at a local law firm and part-time bartender at Bar Redux in the Bywater. She has been an active audience member and continues to support the burlesque and artistic communities. As a mother of a trans son, she heavily advocates for education and resources for our trans youth. After volunteering with her husband at our Thanksgiving Plate Giveaway she was inspired to step up and continue efforts to provide support for our organization. She plans on using her administrative and marketing skills to advance our mission in raising awareness of non-profit organizations via the performing arts.
VICE PRESIDENT
Dartanya Croff
(she/ her)
Dartanya Lorraine Croff (she/her) is a proud native of Flint, MI. Growing up in a household where creative expression was explored and no idea was ever turned down. In a city like Flint, being an artist comes naturally. Much like New Orleans, Flint is a fighter. At a young age Dartanya knew that singing would always be her first love yet like the arts, you can never have too many connections. From Fa la las to "To Be or Not To Be... That is the question" getting her BFA in Performing Arts Focused in Acting, to Single crochet double crochet Banana Skirts "Thank you Josephine" and Oranges and Honey sprinkled with Cinnamon just the way Oshun likes it... Baby we in Paris now FOREVER... To just being happy with saying out loud for the world to see, feel, and hear, "I AM A CROCHET FIBER ARTIST". This is Dartanya. She is me.
Often times people would ask why she never followed the crowd, to which she would say,
"I dance to the beat of my own Djembe."
ASÉ
SECRETARY
Dick Jones
(they/them)
Dick Jones has been hustling their wares and promoting local activism for over 6 years in New Orleans. Nightlife producer and entertainer, petcare provider, purveyor of Sexy Meatballs -- they are truly a jack of all trades. Dick is proud to have been involved with For the Love Of since its inception and is honored to join the board as secretary.
TREASURER
Samuel Brantley
(he/him)
Samuel is an accountant with a small New Orleans CPA firm that specializes in non-profit accounting and audits. He is also a writer, spoken word performer, and filmmaker. He also happens to be a co-founder of For The Love Of.
VOLUNTEER
Joaquin Emiliano
(he/him)
Joaquin Emiliano is a thrice published Random House author. As with most of his relationships, he bravely walked away from the corrupt publishing industry shortly after it had already walked out on him. He now digitally self-publishes (not as hot as it sounds) through smashwords.com, and will be in print someday, maybe, who the hell even knows anymore? Having been priced out of his hometown in North Carolina, Joaquin has been staying alive in New Orleans for just shy of eight years... holy shit, really? He is (was? will be again?) a regular reader with Toby O'Brien Presents Music & Poetry, a regular performer with Picolla Tushy Presents The Bluestockings, and has been contributing to For The Love Of for over three years. He is the winner of the Joaquin Emiliano Semi-Endowment Prize for hottest Joaquin Emiliano in the northwest territory of his house. For those who wish to see him bare more than his soul, Joaquin also moonlights as a burlesque performer under the moniker Lucky Strikeout. He has written burlesque plays for Honey Tangerine Productions, Dick Jones, and The Gaslight Girls. He is also the co-editor for Cece Dynamite's E-Zine, Tangerine Zine.
GRANT RESEARCH
Mike Marina
(he/him)
Mike Marina is a talented jack of all trades. As an award winning chef, poet, and librarian, you can see him on stage at Esoterotica, competing on Food Network’s Guys Grocery Games, or hosting different food pop ups around the city. Granted, his favorite artistic pastime is poetry. He co-authored the Fringe show Beyond Desire and has been featured in the Esoterotica anthology Enflame and the upcoming Poetry Buffet Anthology. When he isn't cooking, writing or performing, you can see him dancing in Paul Mccartney’s music video Come On To Me #TeamFred.
To follow more of his creative endeavors follow him on instagram @chefmikemarina or his facebook page
VOLUNTEER
Aaron "Duckie" Lirette
(he/him)
Aaron "Duckie" Lirette is from the back end of Marrero but has lived all over Louisiana. He went to Holy Cross back when it was still in the Lower Nine, and graduated from Nicholl's State University with a degree in Poetry and a minor in Bayou Studies. Yes, he studied the culture of his own people. Though he's from the Westbank, his ancestry is 100% Cajun. He's active in whatever community he calls home and enjoys playing nerdy games, marching in parades, and cooking. His real-life superpowers include social networking, gamemastering, and remembering faces.
Jennifer Zito
(she/her)
Married mother of 2 amazingly perfect humans! Family is and has always been my driving force in my life.
I am excited to be a part of the FTLONOLA - FL addition.
Giving back to community is extremely important to me and I look forward to doing what I can to help FTLONOLA.