Creative Art Therapy in D.R.

My name is Kate Foy and I am a creative art therapy graduate student at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. I am trying to raise money for a  volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic. The conditions in the DR are extremely  intense, due the level of poverty and underdevelopment in the region that we will be working in. The focus of the this trip will be to use art therapy as a tool to empower individuals living in an impoverished community through social action. The goal of social action community trips is to use volunteers to empower and educate a community towards community development, in order that they would receive a hand up and not just a hand out. This trip will give me the opportunity to learn and aid impoverished children and families through the expressive arts. 
This trip could be life changing for me and the community I would be working with. Art therapy provides people the chance to explore self-expression in a healthy and productive setting. These children are struggling for survival and dealing with adult situations, and art therapy will give them a chance to explore and play in a safe environment, as all children should be allowed to do.  I will be traveling to a school in La Romana.  This trip was designed and is led by  the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services. 

I would greatly appreciate any amount of support you could provide, as plane tickets are expensive and every little bit helps!  The trip would take place in March, and I am looking forward to it!

I am incredibly excited to meet these children and learn about their culture. I love working with kids and have done so for many years. This opportunity will allow me to use my skills as an art therapist to impact a new community. 

Thank you so much for your support!
-Kate

Here is a video from the trip that went to the DR in 2012 https://www.dropbox.com/sc/naoper919yz2qxm/AADLTemAY0qZZAnxLgJcu2ipa


www.hispanicfamilyservicesny.org