"I’ve always been drawn to trying to find ways to help impoverished people become self sufficient – earning and making money finding resources- connecting the dots for people," said Institute participant Daune Ring

During an exercise for one of Dr. Corbitt's morning Institute lectures, Ring wrote her personal mission statement: "I exist in the world to be a creative visionary to help people find their authentic selves and heal past trauma."

Before ever finding BuildaBridge, Daune Ring had been utilizing the skills that Dr. Corbitt and Dr. Nix-Early have espoused for the organization. In an effort to heal the traumatic moments of her past, Ring began seeking out artistic opportunities to alleviate her pain.

Her work with the arts is a relatively new passion. For the past 17 years, she has owned and operated a commercial landscaping company with her husband; however, she realized that she needed something more. Through “intense personal growth work,” Ring recognized that she needed a life of her own, separated from her life as a mother, wife and business proprietor.

She said that much of her interest in art developed from a lack of encouragement with visual arts early on in her life. “My father took my coloring book away from me because ‘I wasn’t doing it right,’” she said. Her father did not like that she put polka dots and stripes on the dresses of the people—an idea stemming from her association with her mother’s homemade clothing of similar prints. Then, as a teen, she wanted to take art lessons but was instead put into piano lessons because of her parents’ interests. She says that she failed at it due to her disinterest.

Fairly recently, after attending a workshop with Philadelphia mural artist Isaiah Zagar, she found a great deal of relief. Together they created mosaic art. Ring explained that she is drawn to “images of uncommon grace,” broken items that can be put back together. While she has no formal art training, she believes that “if you create art, you are an artist.” Having experienced the restorative process of art firsthand, she decided that she wanted to be a “facilitator of art healing.” In spite of this, she could not find the right path.

While googling arts and healing, she came across BuildaBridge indirectly. She found the proposal of two Bryn Mawr students, Lucy Edwards and Adaobi Kanu, who made a proposal and subsequently have received a grant to bring an art integration program into a Philadelphia homeless shelter. Because they had volunteered with BuildaBridge and it was noted online, Ring was introduced to the organization. To her surprise, both Edwards and Kanu are Institute participants.

She does not currently have plans to create an art healing program of her own. She sees herself more as a “visionary, feeding other people ideas.” Through her own self-awareness, she has determined that "art is not to decorate but to celebrate being human, to use art to recreate situations—to recreate and heal.”