By connecting compassionate, trained professional artists with participants from marginalized communities, BuildaBridge brings meaningful art education and therapeutic intervention to communities who have little access to the arts, art therapy and enrichment services.  Through the art-making process, each 10-15 week program accomplishes outcomes in four areas:

Artistic:  Participants increase their ability to express themselves and their emotions in positive ways while also increasing skills in art as related to state and national standards for all school children and youth.

Academic:  Participants reinforce and increase academic learning and skills in critical thinking, reading, writing, the sciences, math and humanities

Social:  Participants develop emotional strength for healthy relationships and increase interpersonal and social skills through cooperative learning, problem solving and non-violent conflict resolution.

Character Development:  Participants increase their capacity for and experience of a sense of belonging, self-worth, forgiveness, kindness and a vision for their future.

Are we making a difference?  Yes, for the children who participate in our programs:

1. More than 600 children learned new ways to express themselves artistically and how to analyze diverse exemplary works of art.
2. Eighty percent of children in regular programming improved academically by developing written and oral skills needed to communicate their artistic ideas.
3. Eighty percent of children were able to reflect on themselves in relation to their environment and developed social and interpersonal skills.
4. Seventy-five percent of children in all programming cultivated personal goals, and developed a personal code of morals and recognized the responsibility and accountability that all people possess.
5. All children recognized a sense of self-worth and personal uniqueness, demonstrating hope for their future and healing in their lives.

Painting a Brighter Future is BuildaBridge's fall campaign to provide foundational support to BuildaBridge’s work with children and families in Philadelphia and around the world. Our total goal is $50,000.  In 2008-2009 levels of grants that provide transformative art-making with children increased. Unfortunately the administrative support of those programs has suffered.  Why?  Nintey percent of our services are offered free of charge, administration of the services are essential in providing quality programs.  Seventy percent of our budget goes to direct programming.  Our administrative support includes:

1. Recruiting and training of teachers and volunteers in working with at-risk youth.  In 2008-2009 BuildaBridge recruited and trained 200 artists and community workers serving over 500 children through our Philadelphia program, Institute and Diaspora of Hope (international);
2. Determining and recording the impact of our programs in 10 Philadelphia shelters and global sites in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Egypt and Kenya.
3. Support for all programs, including the development of an arts-education and therapy space at our Philadelphia location that will serve our local community and provide training of artists;
4. Technology that provides online training, networking, assessment and communication to both artists and a general constituents; and,
5. Basic office expenses of phone, printing, postage, electricity, and rent.

  In 2008, BuildaBridge:

1. Trained 50 international and local professional artists, teachers, congregational leaders, and social workers in our unique method for engaging the arts in service to vulnerable populations through intense training.  The students and leaders are planning for or currently conducting arts-integrated programming in their home communities in the United States and abroad.
2. Trained and engaged 50 local artists in Philadelphia to work with over 300 children in transitional (homeless) contexts.
3. Conducted consultations for education, training and service in Malaysia, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Guatemala.
4. Sponsored interns in special arts-based community development projects.  Examples: developing jewelry making project with sex workers in the Dominican Republic, and mural painting with incarcerated women in Guatemala prison.Conducted special programs for kids in vulnerable places:  Arts for Hope Camps in Montana with American Indians,  Kenya, Haiti and Guatemala.  Arts for Peace camp in Philadelphia.
5. Expanded our summer Artology Program (art and biology creative academic camp) to five weeks with 35 kids.
6. Engaged over 80 volunteers in 8,236.85 hours of service to those in need.

1. BuildaBridge offers programs free of charge to children and families in emergency and transitional homes in Philadelphia and informal settlements (slums) around the world.
2. Requests for our services to at-risk kids have drammatically increased at home and abroad.  Homelessness is on the rise, violence is commonplace in many places, and children suffer. Art-making brings hope and healing.
3. The organization relies on individuals and foundations to support programming including general operating costs and salaries.
4. Few funders support BuildaBridge’s general operational costs which are crucial to the sustainability of the organization and in assuring the quality of our programs.
5. Our long term strategic goa is to provide effective programming to 2500 children in Philadlephia and 50,000 children globally through direct service, training and partnerships.
6. It is the responsibility of all people to help children grow into healthy, whole and responsible members of society.