THE YOUTH ART FOR HEALING PROGRAM

Youth Art For Healing partners with art teachers and schools to nurture the creativity and empathy of students, who create healing works of art for healthcare sites. These paintings are designed to be uplifting permanent installations for hospitals, outpatient centers, children’s medical centers, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, and more. Once the paintings are complete, we deliver and assist with the installation of the art for patients, loved ones, visitors, healthcare professionals, and other employees to enjoy on a daily basis.

Phase I

1. Youth Art For Healing partners with healthcare organizations to select artwork locations and brainstorm content, measurements, themes and the total number of works of art.

2. Project lists of artworks are developed in collaboration with our healthcare partners. After projects are reviewed and approved by our healthcare partners, an agreement is signed.

3. YAFH distributes project lists to art coordinators in school districts in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

PHASE II

1. Art teachers contact YAFH with interest in participating with their students in our program.

2. Projects are assigned to art teachers in September for completion by their students in March.

3. A presentation provided by YAFH for art teachers and their students, covers the following:

   • Youth Art For Healing’s mission

   • The nature of healing art

   • Power of art to inspire, comfort and heal

   • The healthcare organizations requesting works of art

   • Benefits of bringing the arts into healthcare environments

   • Project details (healthcare location, medium, theme, content, measurements and total number of artworks).

4. YAFH provides students with canvases, brushes, and paints (for some schools, these resources are rare).

5. YAFH Art Advisors oversee and critique sketches and works of art to expand students' artistic development and enhance the final product, encourage compassion and empathy, and promote community giving.

6. Students complete their works of art and provide artist statements about the meaning and inspiration behind their art and how this experience has made a difference in their lives.

PHASE III

1. An Art Show is hosted by YAFH for students, families, art teachers, school staff, YAFH partners, donors and supporters to view the works of art and celebrate the students.

2. The students’ works of art are promoted through media and other social media platforms.

3. YAFH delivers the students' works of art to our healthcare partners and assists with installation.

4. YAFH depends on the generosity of individuals, charitable organizations, government agencies, and corporations to accomplish its mission.

GIFTS OF GRATITUDE

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic limited our access to healthcare locations, so the YAFH team put our heads together and came up with a new idea that would be an extension of our original mission. Our healthcare partners embraced this idea, and art teachers and their students welcomed the idea that they could help spread comfort and healing through their artwork during the pandemic.

During the 2020-21 school year, in addition to two healthcare location-based projects, our student artists created amazing Gifts of Gratitude paintings to give to frontline healthcare HEROES to thank them for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare professionals who received Gifts of Gratitude are able to keep their new paintings at home or at work for daily encouragement.

That is how Gifts of Gratitude began, and because frontline healthcare workers have continued to bravely battle COVID-19, we have continued the program into the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.

To view the rest of the Gifts of Gratitude Paintings, visit our 2020-21 Gifts of Gratitude Gallery and our 2021-22 Gifts of Gratitude Gallery.