February 19, 2010, 6:24 pm

What a wonderful evening and a great way of benefiting the children that Art with Heart serves. 300 people attended the Exotic Wines Festival on February 2nd, which featured some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest boutique wineries. Guests also got to get a sneak peek of Teatro ZinZanni’s newest show. Many thanks to the Exotic Wines Festival event producer Seattle Uncorked, the 25 participating wineries, silent auction donors, event attendees and volunteers for making the fun-filled evening such a great success.

Participating Wineries:
Andrake Cellars, Airfield Estates, Animale*, Bunnell Family Cellar, Fallobst, Gamache Vintners*, Gilbert Cellars*, Ginkgo Forest Winery, Kalamar Winery
Kana Winery*, Kestrel Vintners, McCrea Cellars, NHV — Naches Heights Vintners*, Northwest Cellars*, NW Totem Cellars, Pacific Rim Winemakers*, Palouse Winery*, Reininger Winery*, Smasne Cellars, Sorensen Cellars, Sparkman Cellars, Syncline, Walter Dacon*, Willis Hall, Wilridge Winery*, and Zerba Cellars

Silent Auction Donors:
Vashon Air, Great Harvest Bread Company, Sheraton Seattle Hotel, Swirl Wine Bar, Teatro ZinZanni, and The Westin Seattle

Art with Heart’s work is made possible with generous donations from companies, organizations, and people, like you. Go to artwithheart.org/help to see ways that you can help further the work of Art with Heart.

*Also donated wine for the silent auction

February 17, 2010, 9:06 pm

Chill & Spill Report to the Community Luncheon

The year-long evaluation study conducted by MEM Consultants reveals the strength of the Chill & Spill program in establishing meaningful connections with troubled adolescents and youth. Learn about the effectiveness of the Chill & Spill Program with evaluation study partners such as Casey Family Programs, Friends of Youth, and YMCA of Greater Seattle Youth Adult Services. This is a must-attend session for anyone working with hard-to-reach children, ages 11 and above.

When: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Cost: $15 per person, includes lunch and a copy of the Chill & Spill Evaluation Report

Who Needs to Attend: Youth-serving nonprofit organizations, school counselors, social workers, therapists, and others working with youth in crisis

For more information and to register, click HERE.

, 9:00 pm

The Starlight Children’s Foundation has been using Art with Heart books for over 5 years, recently ordering nearly 2,000 Chill & Spill journals to send to teenagers throughout Canada. Though it is a challenge for the foundation to find individual donors to subsidize the books, feedback is so positive that they supply their network of over 100 hospitals by purchasing the books with money from the foundation’s budget.

I spoke to Cathy Diamond, Hospital Program Manager, about how Art with Heart books and programs have helped the Starlight Children’s Foundation work towards its mission. She told me a story about a cancer clinic in Ottawa that came to her looking for a distractive tool for the children receiving ongoing treatment. The Starlight Children’s Foundation provided 100 kits filled with Oodles of Doodles and various art supplies. The children loved having something that belonged to them and could be picked up and worked on during their visits to the clinic.

“There is such a positive benefit for the kids who use the books,” says Cathy. “A strong part of our mandate is to provide distractive entertainment and distractive therapy. The books provide a great icebreaker for Child Life Specialists to start a conversation with a child who is shy or frightened.”

For more than 25 years, Starlight Children’s Foundation has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries by providing entertainment, education and family activities that help them cope with the pain, fear and isolation of prolonged illness. To learn more about the foundation, visit them online here.

February 1, 2010, 1:45 pm

Art with Heart has been invited to host an art activities table at a Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday February 6th, and we are in need of volunteers to represent Art with Heart.

For the art activity we will have Color of Hope Hearts (paper hearts that kids color on the front, and then describe why their image represents “hope” on the back), as well as some loose pages from Oodles of Doodles. You would be there to greet people as they come to the table, help them with their hope hearts, and tell them about Art with Heart.

This is a great opportunity for any parents who have been thinking about volunteering, or who have kids that need volunteer hours for school, because your kids can come with you! There will be food, games, crafts, art, displays, music, and dance, so it should be really fun. They are expecting about 2,000 people.

The Details:
Event: Lunar New Year Celebration
Date: Saturday 2.6.10
Time: 5-8:30pm (plus set-up and take-down of supplies)
Location: Westminster Chapel (Bellevue)
http://www.westminster.org/2010/01/28/lunar-new-year-celebration/

Please email Zandi Salstrom (zandi@artwithheart.org) for details!