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free arts Volunteer News November 2011
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Frederick Douglass
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Welcomesee the ways free arts is impacting youth in the community
Recently, I've been noticing many testimonies to the impact Free Arts mentors have on their mentees. Overwhelmed with the feeling of "we are doing something right" and giddy to be involved in such a meaningful program, I thought I would share one example of this evidence with you, the foundation of our existence, the hands and feet of the mission, the weekly mentor. Marques is a mentee at called Headway, a day treatment center for teens. Although he struggles with depression and anxiety, he felt compelled to speak at the Art Heals! Breakfast and explain how Free Arts changed his life to 400+ people.
At the breakfast, Marques explained that, " Free Arts has been a very important experience for me. Working with Free Arts volunteers has changed my perspective on how society is... the volunteers were always really nice to me and it made me more comfortable being around people... I learned to stop being such a critic of my own creative work. Free Arts helps me with a lot of my therapeutic goals. The Free Arts volunteers come in and have conversations with me and listen to what I have to say. That helps me with my conversation goals in therapy. The projects we do help me with my self-motivation goals. I criticize myself so much, that when I get something done and I like what I have done, it feels like I've accomplished something." After the breakfast, Tim Erickson, a therapist who worked closely with Marques congratulated Free Arts saying, "It was great to see Marques do such a great job with his speech. It shows how much he has grown and changed in his time at Headway and in working with you all."
Program UpdateNorthpointOur first session partnering with Northpoint was a success! Approximately 40 youth from the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club came to make art and spend time with our AWESOME mentors! It was great fun to make connections with the kids and see them warm up to our volunteers. We even learned some hip new dance moves! The youth enjoyed going to different “art studios” and using their “portfolios” to collect the pieces they created. They made jewelry, mini-framed canvas pieces, puzzles reflecting our wishes for the community, and self-portrait quilt squares. As always, the young artists blew us away with their incredible artistic abilities and creativity. 10th Annual art heals! Breakfast
The 10th Annual Art Heals Breakfast was a huge success this year! We were fortunate to be able to share Free Arts' Mission with over 400 people. Special guests included Marques and Kat (a mentor and mentee from Headway), Sue Abderholden of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Chastity Brown and the kids from Northside Child Development Center to read a recap of the breakfast, visit our Tumblr page. Special thanksSpecial thanks to all our volunteers who helped at the breakfast and Northpoint, we couldn't have made these events possible without you! Mtm CornerThe Mentor To Mentor Committee is off to a running start this year. We would like to welcome JJ Hernandez, Ben Brockman, Elsa Perushek, and Arielle Courtney to the committee. Be on the look-out for events the MtM Committee is working on this winter such as the Art Sled Rally and participating in a HUGE volunteer fair! |
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