A Sense Of Community:

It is wonderful to see the positive impact Kids & Art makes each time we head to the 6th floor outpatient waiting areas with our art supplies. Our weekly workshops at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital continue to prove the healing power of art. It is my favorite part of the week!

Something that has struck me in my role as Program Manager is the sense of strong community within Kids & Art, the hospital, participants and volunteers.

It always seems like we build mini communities at every workshop. Strangers chat and families bond while they tap into a creative space together. Art has the power to bring people together and I give a big ‘shout out’ to our volunteers who create a welcoming and nurturing space for participants. The hospital can be a scary place and this is a time of uncertainty for families so it is wonderful to think we make the experience better for them at our community art table.

I am thrilled we have become part of the hospital community. The staff are always so welcoming and I lose count of how many smiles are exchanged as we walk along the familiar hospital hallways or while we’re making art in the waiting areas.

I love to witness our volunteers building friendships and a community among themselves, talking about challenges and triumphs as artists, sharing experiences or simply enjoying a lunch together.

The Kids & Art community is blossoming and in full bloom just like the spring flowers after all the recent rain.