The one-year project targets 200 children and teenagers in the areas of Far Rockaway, Gerritsen Beach, Coney Island and Red Hook.

 

One outcome of the year long project includes four public exhibits of the children's art. SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE A FEW OF THESE IMAGES....

 

 

What We Need & What You Get

Our total budget of a full year of weekend programs in these neighborhoods is $73,925.00. These costs cover Caravan staff, art supplies, transportation, meals for participants, and any unforeseen costs related to workshop spaces.

Depending on the number of children and teenagers at our workshops there will be four to eight educators, artists, and art therapists leading the program. Depending on the location and the amount of art supplies we need to rent one to two cars for the day. We plan on serving either one full meal or a snack to all participants depending on the time of day and length of workshop.

Want more details about our program? Here are our project phases:

Phase 1:  (Re)building children and youths’ emotional well-being and enhancing resiliency:
Guided self-reflection on the experience of Hurricane Sandy using creative modalities to convey feelings, explore fears, and express hopes and desires; Guided group discussion of experiences and observations; Personal narrative projects that children and youth pursue over the course of a year through video diaries, paintings, comic books, journals, and photography

 

Phase 2: Developing skills to deal with stress and conflict:
Workshops for children and youth and their caregivers in conflict resolution and stress-reduction employing creative activities such as improvisation and role-play; Workshops in creating environments conducive to open, supportive communication about Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath.

 

Phase 3: Encouraging inter-personal communication and establishing the group as a place to learn and practice coping skills:
Regular talk-back sessions for children and youth to share progress of individual narrative projects; Workshops on the global environment and critical analysis of the circumstances leading to the super storm; Joint artistic collaborations to build empowerment; sharing and presentations of art work to families and the public; Forums for inter-generational and inter-cultural communication and dialogue within the surrounding neighborhood leading to the installation of permanent artwork in the participating communities.

 

Phase 4: Mentor Training & Program Assessment:
Train teenagers and older children as peer mentors to younger participants; Apply assessment rubric to program including interviews and psychological consultations; Organize think tanks with participants on how the program can be improved.

 

Project Outcome

At the end of the first year of the Art Relief Caravan Project, we expect to see a marked increase in participants’ sense of well-being and hopefulness, feelings of personal achievement and worth, capacity to deal with new stresses and loss as they occur, improved conflict and stress management skills, greater sense of connection to others and use of a group setting for support, better relationships with caregivers, fewer “risky” behaviors, and a deeper understanding of the circumstances and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.


We would like to thank HooplaHa for our wonderful video! And Tammy Han, for her extraordinary support!

Can't contribute financially? That's Okay!

• Please share this campaign with your friends, families, colleagues, perfect strangers. Every bit of word-of-mouth will help us!
• Use the Indiegogo share tools to share on Facebook and Twitter
• SEE SOME CHILDREN'S ART BELOW....

 

Hurricane Sandy

One child's painting of a boat being pushed by the waves during the storm.

One child's picture of his basement that was flooded. "An unsafe place," he shared.

 

One teen's drawing of a staircase to what will become his new home after the storm