Christmas Cards!

Check out the artwork and Christmas Cards the kids made during December. Thanks to Katie for giving us the pictures!

Do Something!

We just found out we got a $1000 grant from Do Something, an organization that aims to inspire, support, and celebrate teenagers to "do something" and become active volunteers. They support those who believe in a cause and have taken action to help their cause by giving them tools and resources--in this case, we got a grant!

We are all very excited about our Do Something grant. It is great to see something like this happen after all our hard work. We plan to use the money to fund more art projects, like picture frames, and continue the program. Have ideas on art projects? Let us know and email us @ paintinghope@gmail.com or post!

More Pictures

The kids with their new blankets, given by a local school, Kings College. Kings College helps donate food and other necessities to Raglan Road. We took a picture for Thembakazi so she could show the college that the kids got the blankets.

Playing around in the backyard.

A group of girls pose for the camera!

Holiday Cards!

Right now we are in the process of making holiday cards with the kids! We plan to send some of these back home to various members of our group and Katie S. plans to bring some back to Oregon when she gets back in December. We then plan to sell them to our friends and family, so get ready!

Learn More About Katie & Our Volunteers Currently Working at Raglan Road

Katie Siedel, our project manager in Grahamstown, has been studying abroad in Grahamstown since August and will continue to stay until December. She is originally from Kalispell, MT and goes to Williamette University in Salem, OR. She is a Psychology/Sociology double major and hopes to go into the foster care system as a child psychologist when all is said and done.

Katie has done a lot of work with kids over the years through summer camps and a day care program, which is a main reason why she chose Grahamstown as her study abraod location. She was incredibly ambitious from her first day in Grahamstown, as she contacted Painting Hope within her first few days in Grahamstown. She is a great new addition to our team!

New Members Join Our Team!

We would like to recognize and welcome Katie Seidel, a junior at Williamette University in Salem, OR, to our Painting Hope team! Katie is studying abroad at Rhodes University in Grahamstown from August to December and expressed interest in taking our project up while she was in Grahamstown.

Katie has now been a crucial member to our project, as she heads up the program in Grahamstown by buying the art supplies, going to Raglan Road, and organizing volunteers at Rhodes University. We contact her through email and hear about all the great projects the kids are doing through her!

Along with Katie, Rhodes University students have also joined our project by putting in their time and efforts into volunteering at Raglan Road. Thank you to all the volunteers that have continued to make our project a successful and sustainable one!

September 18 Art Class

Today we made place mats with the kids by weaving colored paper. The kids had so much fun doing it!