The goal of ArtServe's Eco-Art Therapy Program is to provide at-promise children and young adults the opportunity to learn about the environment through the arts and to experience the arts in a way that leaves a lasting and therapeutic impression.  The funding provided will allow ArtServe to expand the Eco-Art Therapy program to include facilities that serve one of our largest segments of our population – children living with disabilities.  The program will highlight the value of the arts in positively shaping the lives of these individuals.  The Eco-Art Therapy Program, essentially an educational enhancement project will build on a schools/facility’s existing art program.  ArtServe will work closely with the school/facility and their therapists to choose materials appropriate to their participants needs. Creative sessions will be designed that will help participants increase insight and judgment, cope better with stress, increase cognitive abilities allowing participants to enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of the creative experience.  As a collaborative partner, each school/facility provides classroom and storage space and additional staffing from teachers, counselors, therapists and volunteers to support the program.  

As a result of their participation in the Eco-Art Therapy Program, participants will be exposed to new, positive experiences thus developing their own creativity and artistic expressions.  This experience will lead to increased self-esteem, improved team working abilities, increased knowledge about the environment and new attitudes towards Mother Nature.