Thursday, August 19, 2010

Arts for Life

Jake and I sat down the other day at lunch with the director/coordinator for Arts for Life. Based here in Winston-Salem, this organization is active at children's hospitals such as Brenner's and Duke. Not a new concept to have arts as a therapy, as Elizabeth Messick explained, but certainly one that lost luster and has recently come unto its own through hard work and donations by individuals and corporations.

Arts for Life in my simple terms, is a program designed to bring hope, self-confidence and purpose into the everyday hospital lives of critically ill children. From pre-packaged projects, such as mobiles, weaving, sculpting and textile crafts to artists coming in and reading, leading discussions or mentoring, this program injects life and possibility into what can feel like a pretty bleak situation. Elizabeth explained that though we could not actually be with these children one on one due to their compromised immune systems, that the packaged projects and donations to sustain this program would certainly contribute to their overall improvement. She went on to describe how some children are not even able to see their siblings for months on end due to the fragile nature of their condition during treatments. These projects allow them to occupy their time with more than a t.v. or medical treatments, it allows them the ability to nurture their creativity and to see that the completion of a task is a possibility and that positive outcomes DO exist in their world.

Jake and I met with Elizabeth because we wanted to know how we could help and how our daughter could begin developing her own character by serving the community. We are currently discussing the best way to assist this organization and some of the suggestions given to us or that we could come up with were:

*Host a party where participants make jewelry, magnets, etc. and sell them at the Arts for Life showcase.
*Donate money raised from a bake sale or lemonade stand to purchase supplies for packaged projects.
*Take up a love-offering at your church or Sunday school class to be given to Arts for Life.
*Assemble a class, scout troop or neighbors to assemble packages
*Collect donated art supplies for packages
*If you know an artist, ask them if they would donate their time to help

These are just a few of their suggestions and our family is looking forward to finding our place in this fabulous organization. There are so many groups in need currently and so many folks out there asking for funds, but this is one that often gets over-looked and can easily be contributed to with your time and talents, not just your dollars.

If you would like more information please contact Arts for Life in downtown Winston-Salem or shoot me an email or post and I can put you in touch with Elizabeth and her group!

Know of any other cool service projects that are kid-friendly? Post here and let me know!

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