Instructor aids children with art

May 1, 2006

In 2001, Pam Schader established ART4KIDS, a non-profit corporation that provides art supplies to children in need following a traumatic experience. The organization was born in the weeks after the 9/11 tragedy when Schader saw in children a need to express their fear and anger about what they saw on television. As a long-time art instructor at the college, Schader knew that personal expression through art can be therapeutic, and she resolved to find a way to help kids cope. Now, five years later, ART4KIDS has provided art materials to thousands of children in southern California and in several foreign countries.

Schader, her students, and other volunteers create ARTPACKS, zip-lock bags containing crayons, water colors, paper, and other materials that children use to create art. Each bag also contains a hand-made card for each child. ARTPACKS have been in hospitals and clinics in California and in countries where the need is especially acute. Schader and her volunteers have distributed ARTPACKS to orphans in Bangkok, Thailand; impoverished children in the Marshall Islands; and to children living in Jalisco, Mexico, where they boost their remote village economy by creating beaded jewelry.

Schader has also distributed materials in South Africa, Kenya, and recently to tsunami victims in Sri Lanka.

In California, ARTPACKS are distributed each year to clinics, hospitals and human services organizations for children who are chronically ill or have been victims of domestic abuse or accident.

In June, Schader will begin preparing for an annual donation to Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach, ART4KIDS’ primary recipient in southern California. Schader is seeking artists, volunteers and other donors to help acquire and package materials for the summer.

For information or to volunteer, contact Pam Schader at (949)646-1100, or go to www.art4kidsinc.org.