Art for H*Arts

Art retreat fundraiser for Reaching for Rainbows

About 15 people took part in an art retreat at Truehouse—formerly a Girl Guide camp near Waupoos—for a day of art, play and meditation on Saturday in a fundraising event for Reaching for Rainbows. The event was organized by Delane Cooper, one of the founders of the Lotus Hero Project. The Lotus Hero Project began after Ms. Cooper did a speaking series called Breaking the Silence, and is an organization dedicated to helping survivors of childhood trauma, in particular childhood sexual abuse. “It was an opportunity for women to come together and acknowledge our childhood traumas, coming together to educate and to provide some programming through art and art therapy,” said Ms. Cooper. She moved to the County about 10 years ago, and said there were three women in particular who helped her to become established here. She was looking for a way to express her gratitude and to give back to the community that had welcomed her when she became aware of Reaching for Rainbows through a friend who was a volunteer at the after-school program for girls ages six to nine. “It seemed like a perfect match to work together,” she said. Last year, she held an event to cover the cost of bringing in an expressive art therapist to provide some program activities for the girls. Last Saturday’s fundraiser will allow that to happen again during this school year.

Reaching for Rainbows is a free after-school program for young girls that aims to build self-confidence and healthy relationships through play-based activities in a nurturing environment. It is licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Education as a childcare service, and the girls are referred by the schools or agencies in the community. The girls get about a half hour of outdoor play (weather permitting) when they arrive, and are given a healthy snack. There is some time for them to share something of their choosing with the other girls, and then they can choose any of a number of activities in the playroom. There’s a “grocery store” area, complete with cash registers and play money, a wide selection of games and toys, a music keyboard and the very popular karaoke machine. “We base everything around their imagination and allow them to be themselves,” said Beth Lafay, executive director of Reaching for Rainbows. The eight- and nine-year-old girls are given the opportunity to help to prepare the healthy snacks as part of the “Eat Great” program funded by a grant from The County Foundation. That will be expanded to the “Feel Good” program, which will include more physical health awareness. Ms. Lafay said that the art therapy component last year was very well received by the girls. Each of the girls was provided with a plain white pair of indoor sneakers and were asked to colour them.

“It helped to build the girls’ confidence by giving them a choice and allowing self-determination by giving them the opportunity to be creative,” she said.

The art therapy component was facilitated by Gwen Shandroski, who is also a Registered Psychotherapist and Speech- Language Pathologist. She moved to the County about three years ago, was delighted to take part in the Reaching for Rainbows program. She said that the expressive art therapy component is a way for the girls to express their feelings in a safe space without actually having to speak about them. “Kids don’t necessarily talk about things that are happening to them. The art can give them an outlet for negative feelings, without having to specifically give stories about what was happening to them,” she said. One activity last year for the eight- and nine-year-old girls was making a short video using a library of video clips and music. One particular video was quite revealing, with that girl subsequently getting some additional therapy to help her deal with her feelings. While Ms. Shandroski does not work with the girls individually, but only in a group setting, her experience as a psychotherapist allows her to spot some of the subtle signs that there are unresolved issues present. She shares these observations with the program coordinators for subsequent follow-up. “I’m so grateful to be able to do expressive art therapy with these girls,” she said.

Ms. Cooper was thrilled by the participation in last Saturday’s retreat, which she called Art for H*Arts, with the “H” standing for “Healthy”, and she was extremely grateful that Truehouse owner Gail Hill had donated the use of the space for the retreat. The activities included a painting exercise facilitated by artist Heather Kerr in which the participants were led on a guided meditation during which they were asked to visualize what they wanted to put on the canvas. There was also a “found object” walk on the former Girl Guide grounds led by Ms. Shandroski, and the day concluded with a meditative sound bath from Amie Loga. “I am so overwhelmed with gratitude and joy for the support of people who can see the importance of giving agency and self-confidence to little girls, and to see the difference it has made already to those girls,” said Ms. Cooper. Reaching for Rainbows is funded completely by donations and grants, and receives no funding from the provincial government. The money raised covers the cost of the program, charges for use of the space at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Picton, the salaries of the executive director, program director and assistant director, as well as additional costs such as a portion of the winter snow removal charges. They have set a fundraising goal of $60,000 for this year. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit reachingforrainbows.com.