Art Helps Heal

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Art Helps Heal

ArtHelpsHeal reaches hospitalized kids across the Chicagoland area by delivering Healing Kits to teens at 9 Chicagoland children’s hospitals.

These much-anticipated unique art deliveries bring great joy to patients, helping them to heal when needed most. An idea was germinated through a conversation with a fellow attendee of the National Art Education Association convention. As a result, three art educators formed a non-profit organization dedicated to providing projects, art materials and a website for hospitalized long-term inpatient

adolescents, ages 13-19. The activities offered are age-appropriate, visually stimulating, and challenging to the patient. Art Helps Heal provides art supplies, written lessons, examples, and an interactive on-line component. The loss of self-image, socialization, and freedom are common in a hospital setting. Sharing visual successes with family and friends is a positive interaction for teens that would add dimension to their lives and speed their recovery.

04/01/2026

Unboxing our Passport Book Kit with Rosie

In this Art Helps Heal tutorial, Rosie guides you through creating a passport-style art book designed to hold your thoughts, memories, and imagination. Inspired by the idea of travel and exploration, this project invites you to create your own world, one page at a time.

Whether you’re in a hospital room, at home, or simply looking for a moment to slow down, this kit is designed to meet you where you are. There is no right or wrong way to create. Just begin.

Each page becomes a place to explore: where you’ve been, where you are, or where you want to go.

03/02/2026

Last week, President Anne Hollenbeck, Secretary Treasurer Shirley Forpe, and Board Member Carol Black attended Art in Motion, the annual gala benefiting Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s art therapy program and quality of life initiatives.

For nearly a decade, Art Helps Heal has proudly provided Art Healing Kits to support their patients and families. As we approach our 10 year anniversary, we are especially grateful for partnerships rooted in the belief that art is essential to healing.

02/25/2026

TEN YEARS.

Ten years of loading cars, pulling wagons, stacking totes, and walking through hospital doors with arms full of hope.

These photos capture just a glimpse of what Art Helps Heal has been doing for the past decade. Delivering thoughtfully curated art therapy kits directly to hospitalized teens. One bag at a time. One hallway at a time. One young person at a time.

What began as a simple idea has grown into a community-powered movement rooted in creativity, compassion, and consistency.

As we approach our 10th Anniversary this spring, we are reflecting on every volunteer, every partner, every donor, and every teen who has been part of this journey.

And we are just getting started. 💛

Stay tuned for more as we celebrate a decade of healing through art.

02/23/2026

Flashback to an inspiring day with Beta Phi in DuPage County, where members packed 50 Halloween Kits and experienced the creativity behind our mission to support hospitalized teens. 🎃💛

02/19/2026

We were honored to share Art Helps Heal at the PEO meeting in Elgin, where members experienced our WING IT Healing Kit firsthand and learned how we support hospitalized teens through creative expression. 💛

02/17/2026

Today we’re sharing something special 💛

Meet Rosie, our incredible Patient Advisor for Art Helps Heal. Rosie helps us make sure every kit we create truly connects with the teens we serve. Her voice and lived experience help guide our projects in meaningful ways.

In this video, Rosie is unboxing one of our art therapy kits and walking through what’s inside. Each kit is thoughtfully curated with all materials included, along with simple instructions and creative prompts designed to encourage self-expression and emotional release.

Seeing a kit through Rosie’s eyes reminds us why this work matters. These aren’t just art supplies. They are moments of calm. A sense of agency. A creative outlet during a time that can feel overwhelming.

Thank you, Rosie, for helping us make Art Helps Heal better every day.

If you’d like to help us deliver more kits to hospitalized teens, send us a message or visit our website to learn how you can support. 💛

02/10/2026

This Valentine’s Day, we’re sending more than love. We’re sending creativity, comfort, and connection.

Each Art Helps Heal kit is filled with supplies that give children and teens in hospitals a way to express themselves when words fall short. Because sometimes the most powerful way to say “you are not alone” is through art.

If you’d like to share the love, consider donating a kit today. 💛

02/02/2026

10 years ago, Art Helps Heal was packing its very first art kits by hand.

Today, those kits reach children in hospitals across Chicago and beyond.

This April, we celebrate a decade of creativity, comfort, and care.
Help us keep going for the next 10 💜💚💙🩷

Donate here: https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif

11/19/2025

𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴!

Two months ago we gathered at 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 in 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 for Art Helps Heal’s annual fundraiser, and the turnout, generosity, and love were incredible. Together, we raised $𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 to support healing arts programming for teens and families throughout Chicago's children's hospitals!!!

The evening included a silent auction featuring beautiful jewelry, wine, surprise gifts from our amazing teen advisor 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗲, and a hands-on Healing Kit activity where guests worked on the same kits that go directly to patients.

To everyone who attended, donated, volunteered, or lifted us up in spirit: 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Your support helps us bring art, comfort, and connection to the people who need it most.

If you couldn’t attend but would like to support our mission, donations can always be made at:
𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹.𝗼𝗿𝗴

10/02/2025

💖 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹

On September 10, we brought creativity and calm to a new group: parents of children with cardiac conditions at Lurie Children's Hospital. For the first time, we hosted a jewelry-making workshop designed just for them; a space to pause, breathe, and create something beautiful during a challenging journey.

Each parent designed a handcrafted necklace with a heart pendant, using exquisite beads donated by the late jewelry designer Carol Erlbach, whose legacy of kindness continues to touch lives.

✨ Moments like these remind us that healing through art isn’t only for patients, it’s for the families who stand beside them.

📸 Swipe to see the joy, connection, and beautiful creations from the day.

👉 Help us bring more healing art to families who need it most:
ArtHelpsHeal.org/donate

💬 Have you found comfort in creativity during a hard time? Please share your story; we’d love to hear.

Address

662 W Irving Park Road
Chicago, IL
60613

Website

http://arthelpsheal.org/

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