Sundresses for Haiti Keep Rolling In…

Thank Yous

I’d like to give a special thank you to all the amazing seamstresses who continue to send in homemade sun dresses for HOPE Art’s Dress Drive. Our original goal was 30 dresses, a new one for each girl, and our count is now at 68 and still climbing!! It’s been incredibly heartwarming to watch them continue to come in.

For those of you that may not have sewing skills, but would like to support this project, HOPE Art has a new Kickstarter campaign running that we would like to also serve as a dress delivery trip in January. Only 18 days are left to reach our goal and receive all the money that has been pledged so far. Please consider skipping a latte for a day and donating $5 to make this special trip happen. Every little bit helps, thank you everyone!

Thank You Cleanwell!

Melissa Schilling Thank Yous

500+ children played with and hand sanitized
30 pounds of rice and beans consumed
8,000+ photos snapped
30 sets of watercolor paints thoroughly used
250 bean seeds germinated
Countless CleanWell hand sanitizer spray bottles handed out to children in 3 cities in Haiti

and more smiles than we can count.

….
Cholera is an illness caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Infection with the bacterium causes acute intestinal distress with diarrhea and vomiting. Severity can range from mild to dehydration and death. While the industrialized world is virtually cholera-free, many parts of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia have cholera in epidemic proportions.

Use caution when traveling to cholera-infested areas. Wash with hot, soapy water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer frequently, especially before handling food and after going to the toilet.

Read more: How to Treat Cholera | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2048527_treat-cholera.html#ixzz1Zq5U0TKp

a few of our favorite drawings from the August trip to Haiti . . .

Melissa Schilling Art Projects

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We believe that there are not words as powerful as a single drawing, sock puppet play, mural, photograph or creative enterprise. Using art as a catalyst for healing and expression we intend to initiate whimsy and wonder while infusing creativity into disaster stricken communities. So often children are not part of the conversation within a hard hit, natural disaster area. We bring their ideas, thoughts and emotions to life in full color regardless of language, creed or custom. We do this using art as the Universal Langauge.

I draw, U draw is a step by step process of teaching students to draw objects, animals, people and landscapes. It builds confidence, self-esteem as well as trains the artists’ eye and fine motor skills. Students explore watercolors, oil pastels, colored pencils and other media as ways of finishing their drawings. This is also the basis for our literacy program where students drawings will be used in a book naming each of the drawings in english, kreyol and french.

Kickstarter Campaign

Fundraiser

We’ve launched our Kickstarter Campaign!

HOPE Art papered 18 portraits (roughly 4.5feet by 4feet) in various spots around PaP and Jacmel in August 2011. For the 2nd anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake in January 2012, we’d like to leave a trail of HOPE by papering the streets with portraits of girls ages 4-15 years old holding up signs explaining their hopes, ambitions and dreams.
Selfesteem_girls_-22Thank you for your support!