Art and Heart is dedicated to promoting the educational and emotional development of impoverished and homeless or vulnerable children. A locally based project started by two Santa Barbara women, Kaye Theimer and Annette Suding Muse, their project has been chosen to compete in a nation-wide $250,000 grant from Pepsi.
Art and Heart will provide children with their very own painting kits and mentors to support them in artistic expression and trauma recovery. Art therapy is a normal form of communication for children yet so many children have not had the opportunity to express themselves with art. Art therapy is especially useful for children who have experienced a traumatic event such as homelessness.
Art and Heart will recruit over 50 volunteers and train them as art mentors. Training manuals will be created by Art and Heart. In addition we will use volunteer art therapists who are mental health professionals specifically trained to use art with children of all ages who are emotionally stressed or traumatized. They will be able to use the art process with over 50 homeless or impoverished and vulnerable children on an individual basis for one year to help the children express their recent traumas and transitions.
Art and Heart will procure art materials and individual painting kits so that each child will have their very own art kit – complete with paintbrush, paints and sketch book in an easy to carry satchel.
The children’s artwork (with the permission of the “artists”) will be offered in an Art Auction at the First Annual Art and Heart Fundraiser – Show Some Heart. Funds raised from this event and auction will be used to fund Educational Scholarships for the young “artists.”
Our goal is to continue Art and Heart in communities with large homeless populations and vulnerable children all across America.
Voting began November 1 and takes place throughout the entire month. Art for Heart organizers are asking the public for their vote. Vote everyday during November by visiting the Pepsi website.