On Sunday, volunteers from Kashi Atlanta visited Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston to color and make crafts with the children. The program, called Kashi KidsArt, is one of the urban ashram’s service project that is held three times a month at CHOA’s Egleston and Scottish Rite locations.
The art program has only has one mission in mind. “Arts and crafts is therapeutic, and for this time, the children and parents get to take a break from what is going on and just relax and make crafts, color, draw, and have fun,” said Kashi Atlanta volunteer Sodashi Christianson.
Children and parents spent the hour making fall-themed arts and crafts with the volunteers. Keishon Bostic, 10, and his mother Shimeka took part in their first KidsArt party. “This is a lot of fun, relaxing, and it has put a huge smile on [Keishon’s] face,” said Shimeka. “To see volunteers take time out of their day and come spend time with the kids, it really means a lot.”
Volunteers can take part in KidsArt by coming out to the hospitals on weekends or by donating arts and craft supplies to help Kids Art continue to make a difference.
“Kashi Atlanta’s mission is to help as many different people and communities as possible, and we really count on volunteers to make a difference in the community,” added Christianson.
The nonprofit’s service programs also include Street Meals, which packages and serves meals to the homeless community on Peachtree and Pine Street.
Meryl Franco, Special Events Coordinator-Volunteer Services at CHOA, added, “The children leave KidsArt with smiles on their faces because it was something different and broke up the routine. And, we get to see how happy that makes the parents too. By volunteering with a program like this, it just goes to show how easy to make a difference in someone’s life.”
To get involved with Kashi Atlanta, visit www.kashiatlanta.org
In Other News: Employees from Atlanta-based investment firm Invesco participated in three service activities around Atlanta to commemorate the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. The activities included collecting cellphones for military servicemen, landscaping and painting at Atlanta Memorial Park, and fed the homeless by making 2,000 sandwiches for Crossroads Community Ministries, which serves over 4,000 homeless men, women, and children.
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