Thank you so much for your continued support for the Virtual Creative Camp for Positive Mental Health. We are in the process of organizing a hybrid creative arts camp for young people in Williamsport, PA. The Youth Creative Arts Camp for Positive Mental Health consists of five modules:
The modules will be offered via both in-person and online facilitation by a certified art educator. By the end of the program, artworks submitted by the participants will be compiled into a book. Every participant will receive a certificate and a copy of the book by September 2021.
The Youth Creative Arts Camp for Positive Mental Health aims primarily to create a safe and inclusive space for youth to utilize creative arts to express and reflect on their mental health challenges. Youth will connect with each other and collaborate to take collective action towards developing positive mental health. The hybrid model breaks the geographical limitation and allows any youth across the world to participate - yielding a greater opportunity to sensitize youth, families, and communities on collective healing and positive mental health.
We will keep you updated on the outcome of the program. TYCL International is also in the process of developing a hybrid creative arts curriculum to promote restorative justice and healing among young people.
Thank you once again for your support.
Best Regards,
Siva Mathiyazhagan
Links:
“My camp experience was amazing,” said a 15-year-old participant from New York City. “With so much going on growing up as a teenager, in addition to COVID-19 and the racial justice movements, this camp really helped my mental health.”
TYCL’s 2020 Virtual Creative Arts Camp for Positive Mental Health received positive feedback from all participating stakeholders – youth, artists, and community partners.
In addition to the positive mental health impact, TYCL was able to distribute direct cash scholarships to the youth and their families to address the digital divide and access to the internet to attend the creative workshops.
The project was also featured in an article by the United Nations global campaign to end violence against children about TYCL's positive mental health initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US and India. Click the below link to learn more about our programs and impact.
With this encouragement and your generous contributions, we are excited to launch the 2021 youth summer camp for positive mental health. Stay tuned for updates and opportunities to be a part of this project!
We thank you so much for your continued support!
Links:
TYCL International’s Virtual Creativity Camp for Positive Mental Health: Program Report
About the Program:
From August 10-14, 2020, TYCL International partnered with the Circle of Dreams Family Enrichment Center in Highbridge, the Bronx, New York, to provide online positive arts programming and meditation sessions to BIPOC youth.
In two sessions per day, youth explored their identities, life experiences, and creativity through drawing, graphic design, theater, poetry, and collage making.
Teaching artists centered the sessions around positive mental health, with special attention to youth experiences of COVID-19 and the racial justice crisis and Black Lives Matter movement.
A Model in Equitable Partnership:
We prioritized inclusive, participative, and equitable relationships with our community partner and teaching artists. This entailed pre- and post-camp group discussions and iterative cycles of co-planning, listening to and centering the needs of each partner.
Project coordinators documented this collaborative process and learnings in two Medium articles:
Program Expenses:
Component Cost
Teaching artist compensation $1150
Youth scholarships and awards $685
Collaborator honoraria $340
Social media promotion and technology $95
Total $2270
Challenges and Opportunities:
Our GlobalGiving campaign aimed to raise $5,000 to support the program for 100 youth in three communities. With just over $1,500 raised, we tapped into our general operational budget and piloted the program model with 30 youth in one community.
With this successful proof of concept, we look forward to expanding our network of partners and supporters to launch virtual and in-person creativity camps for positive mental health twice a year in communities where youth are most in need.
Feedback:
The feedback we received from youth, our community partner, teaching artists, and collaborators, was overwhelmingly positive, and also collaboratively constructive. We look forward to incorporating lessons learned into future camp programs and equitable partnerships.
“My camp experience was amazing. I really enjoyed all the workshops and every part of it. With so much going on growing up as a teenager, in addition to COVID-19 and the racial justice movements, camp contributed a lot to my mental health. Particularly, meditation before every workshop helped me a lot in bringing focus on my goals.”
--15-year-old youth participant
“This camp was mind-blowing. I witnessed all the arts activities which will help the youth a lot in life by seeding new ideas, dreams, and opportunities. I convey special gratitude to the TYCL team for making this time and space to the next generation to grow as conscious and responsible leaders.”
-- Community partner, Bronx NYC
Links:
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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