Our Projects

Out-of-School Time Programming:

We provide after-school programming, job training, internship creation, community-based arts programs/projects, family art programs, and public art projects. These programs allow us to provide support to students K-12. We provide academic support through project-based learning, and opportunities for students of all ages to build professional skills, develop creative thinking skills, interact with the community in multiple ways, and create a lasting mark on the community through public art. Students in the community are provided with a safe space after school and during the summer that gives them a sense of belonging through the above-mentioned programs.  This addresses a high need in our community for that safe space, particularly for at-risk families with few to no resources. Our program’s curriculum allows students to build their creativity through play and inquiry, develop their social-emotional learning, boost their overall academic performance, and become active community participants through service learning.

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Job Training and Mentorship:

Students in grades 5-12 participate in the program as mentors and job-training interns. These students mentor the students in the after-school program through positive character building, leading by example, and the creation of their own art. They participate in leadership and mentorship training on an ongoing basis while also working to create and implement community-based arts projects by following the design cycle, using 21st-century skills, practicing communication, presentation, and building of networks within a community. At all levels, students’ attendance and grades are monitored, and feedback is given on a regular basis to support them in all realms of their life. Family participation is expected and encouraged through monthly family art nights, in which parents and other family members of the students are asked to make art with their children and eat dinner together. Through spending time in play with their children, parents develop and strengthen their relationship with their children as well as learn a little bit more about themselves in the process. 

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Currently, our program hosts 100 students in our out-of-school time programming. 

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Family Services: 

We provide family services through our family advocacy program. Through this program, we work to connect families to local resources. We help to stabilize families by providing them with family education options such as parenting classes for teen and school-aged youth, helping them to navigate the school system and other systems, and connecting them to mental health resources. We also provide family and community support through our Free Community Closet, and Thanksgiving Food Boxes, partnering with Toys for Tots and our Christmas Food Boxes.  We are working towards supporting thirty families this year through this program. We hope to help stabilize families and provide them with the necessary preventative support to allow them to operate more successfully as a family unit. 

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Community Partnerships: 

We have fostered partnerships, including working with the San Juan Mountain School to provide art instruction, collaborative art opportunities, and community arts planning and implementation. We also partner with The Aspen House, a group home for adult children with developmental disabilities. We partner with them and the Special Talents department at the local high school to offer adaptive arts classes once a month, and create and implement community arts projects. 

 

Adult Programming: 

This fall, we will be implementing community classes based on a variety of interests and abilities. We hope to create a place where the community can come together, learn and inspire one another.