About Our Organization

How we function

 

Charitable Arts is comprised of high school student volunteers from different schools who share a common goal to improve the lives of children in need. We locate and work with local and international organizations that are dedicated to helping the children of impoverished communities. Charitable Arts hosts art days where the student volunteers work with the children to create some amazing paintings. Later we hold fundraising events to auction the paintings and sell other articles, such as cards, which are made using the art work of the children. The proceeds from the sales are donated to the sponsoring organization in a ceremony attended by the children artists. Our aim is to provide the children with a creative escape from the rigors of their daily lives, but more importantly, to give them a sense of empowerment by showing them how they have helped those, that help them. 

 

Our History

 

Charitable Arts was founded by Aylah Donayre, while she was a student at Gulliver Preparatory School. As a child growing up in Mexico, Aylah spent many years visiting the Hogar Dulce Hogar home with her family.  Over time Aylah learned that of all the activities she participated with the children, that painting not only entertained them, but also provided them with an outlet to express their feelings. As she focused on painting with the children with the help of the home's art director, Aylah received many favorable comments about the quality of the children's artwork. She realized that the artwork was not only therapeuic for the children, but that it could also be used to bring attention and financial support to the children and their benefactor organization. Upon returning to the United States, Aylah continued working with Hogar Dulce Hogar and decided to begin an organization to enlist her friends and fellow students to expand the art concept to other charitable organizations that work to help the plight of children in need. As a result, Charitable Arts was started as a Gulliver Preparatory School Club in 2008. Through the hard work and dedication of the Gulliver student volunteers word of their good deeds began to spread and students from other schools began to develop an interest in forming Charitable Arts chapters in their respective schools. In 2010 a chapter was formed at the Ransom Everglades School by Savannah Chiavacci. Currently, Charitable Arts is training and working with students from other local schools in the hope of forming a Charitable Arts chapter at their school and spreading the breadth of their charitable effort.

 

Our Legal Structure

 

Charitable Arts is a non-profit organization run by the student volunteers and overseen by a board of interested adults. We have applied with the Internal Revenue Service to become a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. As a non-profit organization.

 

Charitable arts has a Board of Directors that is comprised of adult volunteers that provide administration and financial oversight. However, it is the student volunteers that direct the organization and provide the manpower for the “Art Days” and operate the fund raising events. Charitable Arts is financially lean and does not pay salaries, everything is done through volunteers. Every aspect of the organization is done on a volunteer basis.  Its primary expense is art supplies.

 

Our Financial Philosophy

 

The financial aim of Charitable Arts is to minimize our expenses in order to maximize the support and benefits we provide to the children. We pay no saleries and all work is done through volunteers.