Doing Good: Program impacts at-risk kids with art curriculum
To volunteer with drawchange, go to www.drawchange.org
Jennie Lobato had a successful career in advertising, but her passion was always on art and helping children. She started drawchange in 2009 as a way to combine the two causes that were already close to her heart. When the economy took its toll on Lobato’s advertising career, she found it as a blessing in disguise to pursue expanding drawchange’s mission full time.
Lobato’s brainchild uses art to contribute to the education of the community’s vulnerable children. “Art is known to add to math, reading, critical thinking skills,” said Lobato. “We wanted to supplement art to the education curriculum to help advance at-risk kids.”
The program met at Nicholas House on Boulevard on Oct. 26 to have the children make Halloween masks and engage in creativity and working together. The Nicholas House has been serving Atlanta’s homeless families for over 30 years and uses programs such as Lobato’s drawchange to impact the family as a whole.
While it provides adult education and training which includes job readiness programs, budget management and more, Nicholas House also provides youth service programs which include after-school programs, a nine-week summer camp, evening activities and mentoring. “Our goal as an organization is to get the whole family back on their feet — which includes the children,” Executive Director Dennis Bowman said.
Last year, the transitional home helped 100 families comprised of 300 people — 230 of which were children. Numbers such as these inspire Lobato to continue her work and move forward with her mission.
She has also launched the program internationally. For one week, she and volunteers have gone to countries such as Costa Rica and Ethiopia and implemented the art program. Afterwards, she sends month-long curriculums to maintain the supplemented art lessons.
Lobato’s mission to impact children with art is fostered and grown by volunteers and the community. “Come volunteer with us at shelters or we always need art supplies to continue making an impact with kids,” she said. “Volunteers make all the difference to drawchange and its success.”
The program has helped over 6,000 children through art education locally and internationally.
In other news: Atlanta Falcons' defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux donated laptops and tablets on Oct. 29 to the computer room at the Turning Point Group Home, a place for teens. The "Jonathan Babineaux Computer Lab" will serve as a room where the kids can do homework or vocational training.
