Bruce Tyler was well-known in the Seattle area print, and business world as well as the nonprofit world. His commitment to children developed from his own experience with serious health issues. As a young diabetic, he understood first-hand the fear that hospitalization can bring. As an adult, he had a kidney pancreas transplant to cure his diabetes. It was at this point that he decided to dedicate his life to helping kids in crisis.

After serving as Art with Heart’s first Board President, he continued his pledge of helping Art with Heart help children in need. He was the first recipient of our 2006 Big Heart Community Service Award, which was designed to honor individuals dedicated to providing leadership and advocacy on behalf of at-risk and underprivileged youth in Washington.

Please donate today to help honor his name!

We had a blast at our first ever Kid Pop Family Dance Party, held at the Crocodile Cafe. Kids danced the Hokey Pokey, the Funky Chicken, and made all sorts of other fun dance moves. The little ones came decked out with feather boas, fancy ballerina skirts and sneakers. Everyone large and small enjoyed doing the limbo, all to benefit kids in crisis! Thanks to everyone who attended and got to enjoy the festivities!

Seventeen-year old Lauren is a senior in high school that founded her very own non-profit organization with the hope of lifting the spirits of children and their families fighting pediatric cancer.

Her organization provides care packages to kids ages 0-18 and also includes gifts for their parents and siblings. Lauren understands that when a child is diagnosed with cancer, the child is not the only one fighting the disease; everybody can use a little support and smiles.

Lauren was inspired to help at a young age when a friend was diagnosed with childhood cancer. It wasn’t until later that she realized she could make an even bigger impact. At first, Lauren sent small gifts to kids at local hospitals. Her vision grew and she began sending larger care packages to the families.

A care package may include books, blankets, beanie hats, play dough, stuffed animals, coloring books and supplies, movies and card games. Lauren is generous enough to provide all this out of her own pocket, unless others mirror her generosity and donate to her cause.

This is where we can help — Lauren contacted Art with Heart in hope of receiving a few of our books for her kids. We were touched by her kind words for Art with Heart but also amazed by her own determination and devotion to her cause. That is why we are extending her story to our friends.

The mutual admiration we have for each other can help further the reach of both our missions. If we raise $75 we can send Lauren and the kids she serves five Oodles of Doodles books. Together we can cheer up even more kids and families dealing with childhood cancer while encouraging creativity through Art with Heart’s therapeutic publications!

Donate online today to help send Lauren’s kids Oodles of Doodles! (Please specify your donation is for Lauren). Thank you so much!

The Color of Hope Benefit Breakfast on September 7th was absolutely WONDERFUL!

What a great line up of speakers…especially 15 year old Kendra, whose story is captured on video at Art with Heart’s Facebook Page. Take a look if you missed the event.

Together we raised over $82,000 to support kids in crisis! This money will go to help Art with Heart continue its good work with children not just here in Seattle, but all around the world. Thank you to everyone who participated. Your generosity made this possible.

If you missed it, you can still be a part of the event’s success! Additional donations continue to roll in, helping us lay a firm foundation as we continue to move forward. Your additional donations will help us not only continue our important work, but also support the development of new programs so that we can make an even deeper impact on children who need us the most.

Donate today either online or by mail (checks can be made out to Art with Heart, and sent to P.O. Box 94402, Seattle, WA 98124-6702).

Art with Heart is greatly saddened by the untimely and tragic death of Christina Taylor Green in the shootings in Tucson, Arizona recently. We are putting together a care package for Christina’s 3rd grade classmates to help them begin the healing process.

If you are inspired to make a positive gesture, consider a small gift. For every $25 donation, we can help two students. Our goal is to send every 3rd grader at Mesa Verde Elementary School a special, therapeutic workbook, based on grief-related and age-appropriate activities put together from Oodles of Doodles and Magnificent Marvelous Me.

Please make an online donation today and be sure to put “Christina’s Classmates” in the memo.

Join us this Thursday for a very special group exhibition and artist’s reception, featuring imaginative pieces created by foster care youth and inspired by Art with Heart’s Chill & Spill Program.

When: Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 from 4:30 – 8:00 pm
Where: YMCA’s Triangle Gallery, 909 Fourth Ave, downtown Seattle

This event is FREE and open to the public. The art will be for sale and the show serves as a fund-raiser, with proceeds of the art split equally between the young artists and Art with Heart, a nonprofit organization that improves the lives of high-risk youth through therapeutic tools and trainings that promote mental health and well-being. Food and beverages will be available. We hope to see you there!

The happy and generous couple

Art with Heart is fortunate to have amazing supporters who think up unique and wonderful ways to help us meet our mission to help children in crisis. New bride Christine W. and her husband Joseph were thrilled to donate to a cause that was so close to their hearts.

“Art With Heart teaches patience, encouragement and hope through creative mediums. Sometimes when you can’t find the words to express how you feel, a piece of paper, a paint brush or a journal can be very powerful tools. The organization has always resonated with me because it’s how I best express myself as well,” Christine told us.

Some couples would rather give than receive, and Christine and Joseph decided that a charitable donation to Art with Heart was a wedding gift that would last one that would show compassion to a child in need.

We are so grateful that they chose this wonderful way to start off their life together.

Under the guidance of a local Digital Design Program, a group of students created a special exhibit entitled “Frame of Mind,” which featured social justice-themed student work and showcases the diverse possibilities of digital design. Visual displays consisting of informative design posters and T-shirts, creative product designs, campaign designs and comic strips were set up on walls and tables throughout the room while a slide show depicted animated works.

In 2009, another group of Naomi’s students created tee-shirts and held a raffle as a fundraiser for Art with Heart. This year, they went with a more environmental theme by making and selling reusable shopping bags and water bottles.

Last year, after their first fundraiser, we sent a letter to Naomi and the President of University, thanking them for their thoughtfulness and for making such a big difference for youth in crisis. The president shared, “I wake up in the morning and think about stressful work everyday, but this kind of letter that comes from the community makes me feel the motivation to go to my office and work even harder because I have a faculty member who truly believes in our mission and demonstrates the way she believes in her actions.”

Naomi describes her delight in helping to fund-raise for Art with Heart in this way, “When I imagining the kids’ smile, and recall the words from my University’s President, it makes me realize that there is a reason why I am a professor at Seattle University.”

Thanks to Naomi for her generosity and her support of our mission, and to students Isis, Brian, Joyce, Jordan, Colleen, Abdul, Jodie, Megan, Kari, Maylene, William, Reinard, Madisen, Erin, and Christine for making this a wonderful fundraiser that brought in around $1,000 for children in crisis!

Special thanks to Scott Serna for rallying the troops to bring joy and healing to 150 campers at a specialty camp for children suffering from Crohn’s Disease. We think the picture says it all…