For more than 20 years, Art Buddies has paired creative mentors one-on-one with underprivileged kids in Minneapolis. Last year, the program expanded to its first public school in St. Paul, Riverview West Side School of Excellence, where arts curriculum for third through fifth graders had been cut.
Art Buddies also partners with two Minneapolis schools, Whittier International Elementary and Bancroft Elementary. Annually, the program pairs more than 200 children with 200 creative mentors during after-school programs in the Twin Cities.
This year, Art Buddies is taking a giant leap far beyond the river to Dallas, Texas, through a licensed partnership with the Dallas-Fort Worth area chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design.