Celebrating 20 Years of Art Buddies: Seeking Student Alumni

Are you or someone you know a past Art Buddies student?

If so, please take a minute to complete our Art Buddies Alumni Form through SurveyMonkey.

In 1994, former Art Director Sue Crolick founded Creatives for Causes, a non-profit organization aimed at engaging the creative community to support local causes. From that effort, Art Buddies was born.

Twenty years later, Art Buddies is still going strong, and has inspired the lives of thousands of children and volunteers alike, through the power of one-on-one creative mentoring. And in 2015, we're aiming to continue the growth of Art Buddies by expanding to our first school in St. Paul.

To help us celebrate our 20th year, we're on a mission to reconnect with past Art Buddies students who have graduated or are approaching graduation. Many past students likely have careers and families of their own now, with inspiring stories to share about how Art Buddies inspired their lives.

Contact us to learn more and help celebrate 20 years of creativity!

Art Buddy Spotlight: Dayna Goebel, Mentor

Our creative mentors are the heart of Art Buddies. And today, our hearts are heavy from the loss of one amazing mentor, Dayna Goebel (Brown).

Dayna joined Art Buddies in 2012 and mentored for four seasons. What some didn't know was that Dayna was also fighting pancreatic cancer and came to Art Buddies as a 2.5 hour escape from what she called her "Cancer Circus." She wanted to focus her energy in a positive way, to inspire a child's creative spirit, and Art Buddies was the perfect fit.

What Dayna didn't know was how many others she would inspire with her creativity and amazing outlook on life -- grateful for every moment, and living each day to the fullest.

For anyone who followed her journey and often humorous commentary on CaringBridge, they know her mantra -- SMILE TODAY -- and that she would close every entry with three things she loved about that day.

So in honor and memory of the amazing Dayna, here are three things Art Buddies loved about you:

• Your positive energy that saw the silver lining in the darkest cloud, and helped others do the same.

• Your idea to give Art Buddies kids a "challenge item" to further spark their imagination.

• The gift of hope and happiness you gave to everyone who knew you.

In loving memory of Dayna, smile today!

 

Art Buddies accepts mentor applications ever fall and spring. Learn how you can volunteer with Art Buddies at http://www.artbuddies.org/volunteer/.

From 'The Importance of The Creative Arts for Children and Teens'

This inspiring article from Parenting Today from Child Development Institute reinforces the important work of Art Buddies, and the real impact our creative mentors have on the kids we serve.

The article states, in a ten-year national study by Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University, it was discovered that young people who are involved in highly effective non-school arts-based community programs in under-resourced communities, in comparison with a national sample of students were:

• 4x more likely to win an academic award, such as being on the honor roll.

• 8x times more likely to receive a community service award.

• 3x more likely to win a school attendance award.

• 4x more likely to participate in a math or science fair.

• Likely to score higher on their SAT college admission test scores if they have been involved for more than four years of after-school arts study.

Read more: http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/multiple_intelligences/the-importance-of-the-creative-arts-for-children-and-teens/#ixzz39SGawmQn

Art Buddies accepts mentor applications ever fall and spring. Learn how you can volunteer with Art Buddies at http://www.artbuddies.org/volunteer/.