Drawing Outside the Box: Artwork for Education Showcases Local Student Talents While Raising Funds for Schools
When Oak Hills Elementary School planned this year’s spring fundraiser, they decided to try something new. Enter Artwork for Education™, an innovative program that features student artwork on custom greeting cards.
Oak Park, CA (PRWEB) August 3, 2006 -- When Oak Hills Elementary School planned this year’s spring fundraiser, they decided to try something new. Enter Artwork for Education™, an innovative program that features student artwork on custom greeting cards. The cards, which retail for $20 per box, credit each student artist by first name, age and school. They were an instant hit, netting over $4,000 for the school during its three-week selling period.
In nearby Calabasas, Lupin Hill Elementary added the program to offset other fundraising shortfalls, raising $6,500 from card sales. “Our Art Specialist worked directly with the children to create the artwork,” said Parent Faculty Club President Christy Littleford. “Parents, teachers and students were thrilled with the cards.”
Charles Paul, CEO of Worldwise Education (WE), the company that has brought the Artwork for Education concept to fruition over the past two years, is delighted that the program is being met with such enthusiasm. “With consumers purchasing more than seven billion greeting cards each year, schools can use Artwork for Education to tap into a viable source of funds to sustain their critical programs,” he said.
Artwork for Education has another equally important goal: to foster the development of self esteem and artistic expression in children. Oak Hills Principal Leslie Heilbron confirms that sentiment. “This did not feel like a fundraiser because it allowed our children to be creative and expressive with art. We look forward to doing it again,” she said.
But fundraising does not end with a school’s initial card order. “We wanted to create a sustainable fundraiser that would continue to generate revenues,” Paul said. So the company designed an Internet component that catalogs each school’s artwork and enables online purchases for up to one year. In addition, a retail partner program was recently introduced in which local merchants agree to sell individual cards and share the proceeds with schools. “The Internet and retail programs are particularly effective because they enable schools to continue to make money with no additional work. They don’t handle anything except the commission checks,” he said.
The retail program is now in place at Beanscene Espresso, a community coffee shop and gathering place that co-owners Jim and Kathy Derington opened in the Oak Park Shopping Center in 1994. The store is selling individual greeting cards created by the students at nearby Oak Hills and Red Oak schools. A portion of the sales price of each card is returned to the student artist’s school. “I think it’s a fantastic program,” said Kathy Derington. “It just seems natural to have the artwork of local children in the store, and the cards have been extremely well received by our customers.” With both Oak Hills and Red Oak repeating the Artwork for Education program in the fall, Derington sees a host of new creative possibilities. “We’re very excited about expanding our card line,” she said.
Artwork for Education is also winning praise elsewhere in the country. Schools in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and Georgia joined the 26 California schools who participated this year, and most are planning to repeat the fundraiser next year. Additional schools across Southern California are joining the list every day -- so many, in fact, that Worldwise Education will complete the move of its national headquarters to Long Beach by early August.
“Artwork for Education is a win-win-win undertaking for students, schools and consumers,” said Paul. “We are tremendously pleased that in our first few months of production we helped schools raise over $100,000 for their programs,” he said. But Paul is quick to attribute the real success of Artwork for Education to the kids themselves. “I’m constantly amazed by the artistic talents of children. Wherever they are in the world, Worldwise Education wants to help them succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
About Worldwise Education
Worldwise Education, Inc. (WE) is a privately held for-profit corporation whose mission is to provide schoolchildren everywhere with equal access to learning opportunities by supplying schools, teachers and students with educational materials and resources that are in critical need. For more information, contact Worldwise Education, Inc., (562) 595-9600, or visit the website at www.WorldwiseEducation.com.
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