artists helping children foundation

ARTISTS HELPING CHILDREN FOUNDATION

ARTISTS HELPING CHILDREN FOUNDATION JUST LAUNCHED

By Rachel Goldstein

Remember when you were a kid and you had to go to the hospital?

Remember the strange sights, the sounds, unpleasant smells, and

strangers entering your hospital room? You had no idea what was

happening to you and no one could explain in a way you understood. You

waited a lot with nothing to do except worry about what was going to

happen next.

Artists Helping Children Foundation

(http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org) is a non-profit organization

dedicated to bringing comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and

shelters by brightening their environment with murals and other art.

By painting murals and creating other art for and with the children,

we create enriching and happy places to ease the children's fear and

pain, to take their minds and their hearts out of the cold and into

warm and wonderful places. It is amazing how a piece of paper and

crayons can divert his attention away from pain. This is because

children respond to and use artwork as tools for coping.

The people who work with Artists Helping Children provide art that

brings joy and happiness to the lives of ill, mistreated, and needy

children in communities everywhere. Through the generosity of artists,

patients and community members, Artists Helping Children helps create

murals, pieces of art, and provides arts and crafts supplies for the

kids we serve.

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS WE BRING JOY TO ILL AND NEEDY CHILDREN

(1) Professional Muralists - Our muralists change the look of

hospitals for the better. A team will visit a site to meet with the

facilities' staff. With their help, we plan out a theme, the colors,

and images that we will use within the mural. Then, we present

sketches of designs appropriate to the space. Once the designs are

approved, we begin recruiting volunteers and budgeting for the

project.

(2) Paint-A-Mural Community Events - Community organizations are

instrumental in helping us bring beautiful murals in to as many

institutions as we can. Paint-a-Mural events are entertaining,

stress-relieving, and a great way to bond with your community members.

We provide a color-coded canvas with the mural drawn in, almost like a

big coloring book. The volunteer's job is to paint, paint, and paint.

(3) Local Stores are Getting Involved - Stores are even getting

involved. Some stores have decided to

Display our pre-drawn canvas murals, cut in to smaller pieces for

easier handling. These stores are able to show the local community

that their store is a charitable organization and at the same time get

eager children into their store to help paint the murals. After

completion, we clean up the mural and donate it to an organization of

their choice.

(4) Patients Can Join In - Patients enjoy the chance to get out of

their rooms and do something uplifting and entertaining. Their minds

are focused on happiness and they forget about their pain, if only for

a short while. And even when they can't participate first hand, we try

to get them involved in the experience by providing outlets such as

coloring and watercolor paint-by-number books that they can enjoy in

their beds.

Please visit ArtistsHelpingChildren.org to see more about what we are

doing, and how you can help our cause.

About the Author

Rachel Goldstein is Founder of Artists Helping Children Foundation -

ArtistsHelpingChildren.org - A non-profit charity dedicated to

bringing comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and shelters by

brightening their environment with murals, artwork, toys, and art

supplies.