Authors: Natalie Diedericks & Alexia Fotopoulos
Every school year, TU-AMA selects one non-profit or local organization in Philadelphia that positively impacts its surrounding community. We partner with them through year-long fundraising and volunteering, or wherever else our help is desired. We refer to this partnership as our Charity of Choice. Our past Charity of Choice selections have included Liberty Resources, West Kensington Ministry, and Grace Cafe.
This year, we have chosen the Young Artist Program, a free arts and social justice program. They provide a safe and nurturing youth-led space for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identifying youth, ages 14-25 in Philly. They help students learn and grow by facilitating community-building art workshops, providing access to art supplies, resources, and snacks. Students are also given opportunities to engage in activism through artmaking. Their studio is located in the Crane Arts Building and the program operates Wednesday through Friday from 3:30-6:00.
Community immersion is the center of the Young Artist Program’s mission. Alongside their weekly studio openings, they host seasonal large events that invite the community of Old Kensington and the rest of Northern Philadelphia to share in art, activity, and advocacy. These events include a Gay Field Day hosted one Saturday in the fall and The Holiday Art Market in the winter. TU-AMA looks forward to bringing our resources and students here, at Temple, to assist them in volunteering and marketing promotional activities for these events soon!
This October, we are collaborating with other student professional organizations (SPOs) in the Fox School of Business to collect food items for their program, along with donations for Cherry Pantry. The Young Artist Program is in need of individually wrapped items; think of specific snacks like chips, granola bars, and fruit snacks. For drinks, please consider water bottles or juice boxes. We also plan to collect art supplies in the Spring semester during our Social Impact week.
To learn more, you can follow them on Instagram, @theyoungartistprogram. Feel free to reach out to Social Impact Directors Alexia Fotopoulos at alexia.fotopoulos@temple.edu or Natalie Diedericks at natalie.diedericks@temple.edu to learn more!