Free Arts NYC is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing under-served children and families with a unique combination of educational arts and mentoring programs that help them to foster the self-confidence and resiliency needed to realize their fullest potential. With the help of dedicated and caring volunteer mentors, Free Arts NYC delivers creative arts programs directly to low income, homeless, abused and neglected children.

We partner with group homes, shelters, schools and community centers to give children the opportunity to express themselves in a supportive environment in order to develop communication and trust. Our programs and the relationships they foster help children and families experience new levels of hope and creativity.

Description and/or History:
Since its inception in 1997, Free Arts has targeted its activities to children who have suffered from abuse, neglect and other serious problems such as homelessness, HIV/AIDS, and the debilitating impact of poverty. In nine years Founding Director Liz Hopfan has taken the organization from an annual budget of $100,000 to over $1,000,000. With thousands of volunteers, Free Arts has served 20,000 children and families through the implementation of hundreds of creative arts programs.

Free Arts NYC is modeled after the successful Free Arts for Abused Children in Los Angeles, California, an organization that has been providing the healing effects of the arts to thousands of children and families for over twenty-five years. Other affiliates operate in Phoenix, Arizona and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Contact person: Vicki Raines, Volunteer Coordinator, (212) 974-9092, (email)

Address:

1431 Broadway - 7th Floor New York, NY 10018 (See a map)