Children + Art = Better World
From my years overseas, I learned that no matter the color of our skin, how we pray, whom we love nor where we were born, we are all fellow travelers on this little blue marble.
I volunteer with Memory Project. They collect photographs of children living in impoverished conditions around the world. The photographs are distributed to US middle and high school art programs where the student artists draw portraits of the children. Memory Project makes a video of the finished portraits being presented to the overseas children and shares the video with the artists. To date, Memory Project has worked in 43 countries. Over 1,100 US schools have produced 130,000 portraits. I do portraits when the original photographs need special attention.
The overseas children learn that people care about their situation and are given a piece of personal history. The US children learn global awareness, appreciation for diversity and kindness.
As a non-profit, Memory Project requests a donation from participating US schools to cover expenses. This is a challenge for some inner city schools. In response, I created Jeanie’s Fund, in memory of my late wife, to allow Title 1 schools to participate without cost. You can learn more about Memory Project and Jeanie’s Fund at the Memory Project.
