2016: Art with a Heart's Year in Review 
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A Year of Hope and Successes
All of us at Art with a Heart want to thank you for making 2016 a wonderfully successful year. Over the last year, the organization has enjoyed significant growth and progress, including the following:
- Art with a Heart increased the number of visual art classes offered by 16%.
- 73% of youth who completed Art with a Heart's Job Program obtained jobs.
- HeARTwares, Art with a Heart's social enterprise/retail store, celebrated its sixth year of growth and success.
- The inaugural cohort of the Art of Leadership program graduated and the second cohort has begun.
- Community service partnerships expanded and included collaborations with BGE and Under Armour.
- Art with a Heart continued to beautify Baltimore with over 100 public art installations.
- Art with a Heart's 15th anniversary benches were installed in parks throughout the City.
- Nine new members were elected to the Board of Directors.
- Art with a Heart assembled an invigorated and inspired "dream team" staff.
External feedback for Art with a Heart has been wonderful as well. Art with a Heart's Executive Director Randi Pupkin was recognized as an Inspiring Voice in Baltimore by
Community Law In Action
(see the video here), and as one of Baltimore's Jewish Community's Leading Lights in Jmore magazine.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake visited
Art with a Heart's Job Program and expressed her pride in the efforts to change the course of participants' lives.
In addition, Art with a Heart appeared in two Fox 45 spots, The Baltimore SUN, and several in-house corporate publications.
We are proud, humble and eager to continue our work in 2017.
We appreciate your ongoing support to provide continued momentum to our mission: to enhance the lives of people in need through visual art.
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A Look at Programming 2016
In the last year, Art with a Heart provided
over 210,000 visual art experiences to Baltimore's children, youth and adults. With a record
63 community partners, Art with a Heart's innovative, educational and inspiring curriculum was taught in schools, shelters, community and recreation centers, residential treatment facilities, hospital
s and senior
facilities.
Art with a Heart teachers and assistants enjoyed learning new techniques and classroom management skills in monthly professional development workshops and were excited to implement the new STEM curriculum in several sites. Students
of all ages were challenged to imagine and explore a world outside of themselves and to embrace new ideas, skills and concepts.
 
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In 2016, Art with a Heart engaged 90 college interns and service-learning students, 80 student volunteers (HeARThelpers) from 15 middle and high schools, and 4,300 volunteers of all ages from over
130 different service groups.
Art with a Heart is fortunate to have the help and support of these talented, enthusiastic and committed young people. Thank you to all our volunteers!
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A Look at Public Art 2016
Over the last year, Art with a Heart completed
111 mosaic murals
and
eight public art installations.
Art with a Heart is grateful for the
thousands of volunteers
who help to make these
creative, colorful and collaborative projects
come to life!
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A Look at the Job Program 2016
Art with a Heart's Job Program graduated 60 participants from workforce development partners: Youth Empowered Society, TurnAround, Inc., Woodbourne Heights at Faith Presbyterian Church, Bridges Mentoring, Thread, Maryland Promise, and YouthWorks. 73% of the Out-of-School-Time youth were employed after finishing the Program. Several of the youth have also continued at Art with a Heart through paid internships and apprenticeships. Art with a Heart continues to build its job pipeline network for student placements after their completion of the program. Current job placement partners include: Starbucks, Job Corps, Crown Foods, Celeebrate Us, and Crossmark.
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A Look at HeARTwares 2016
In November, HeARTwares celebrated its sixth anniversary. During the last year, over 1,100 student and volunteer made art pieces were sold. This equated to nearly $30,000 in sales proceeds that were shared between Art with a Heart and the artist or community partner. The HeARTwares space continues to allow for growing volunteer, service-learning, community-service, and public art initiatives. Events in HeARTwares during 2016 included Light City Neighborhood Workshops, Shop & Bop, First Friday Open House, HeARTwares' Holiday Open House, Art of Leadership's Graduation and Holiday Party, and numerous private parties and workshops.
  
 
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A Look at Art of Leadership 2016
This year, Art with a Heart enjoyed the success and completion of its inaugural cohort of Art of Leadership students. The first cohort consisted of
16 students from 13 different public and private schools. The capstone leadership experience was a public art project for the
Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (McVet). The leaders were involved in every aspect of the project from the themes (Baltimore, Courage, Patriotism, and Peace), to the design, coordination and creation of the mosaic with residents and staff of McVet. Watch and listen to the inaugural cohort members in their graduation video
here.
As the inaugural cohort ended, the
2017 cohort began and consists of
17 students from 11 public and private schools. Each four-hour session is designed as a learning experience and an opportunity for the youth to grow as a community.
Art with a Heart is now accepting applications for the 2017-18 cohort. The application is available
here
and is due Friday, March 3, 2017.
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Thank You!
Thank you for helping to make 2016 a tremendously successful year for Art with a Heart. We appreciate your ongoing support to provide continued momentum to our mission: to enhance the lives of people in need through visual art.
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