Brian Freeman has never thought of himself as artistic. But after just two art classes at New Destiny Treatment Center, he has discovered a creative streak he didn’t know he had.
Freeman is a patient at New Destiny, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Chippewa Township. He is also a budding sketcher, thanks to the encouragement of his instructor, Cris Prillaman.
And he’s proud of that.
When people are abusing alcohol and drugs, “a lot of other things disappear. That takes priority,” Freeman explained. Now he’s working on rebuilding all sort of skills and interests, thanks to a treatment program he said “has honestly saved my life.”
(New Destiny guards the identities of its clients, but a few participants in Prillaman’s class volunteered to share their thoughts and names for this story.)
The design and visual organization class aims to give participants a positive activity they can pursue anytime and anywhere, said Prillaman, who is also the center’s public relations representative. Artwork produced and donated by the clients might also be auctioned to raise money for a facility that would house a much-needed gym and mental health offices.
It’s not intended to be therapeutic, but that’s how Michael Knott looks at it. He proudly showed a colored sketch he’d done of an apple, complete with shadowing, and said he likes having an outlet to pursue on his own time.
The lessons require only simple art supplies such as Sharpie permanent markers, paper and colored pencils, but Prillaman said even that expense can tax the tight budget of a small organization.
That’s why charitable organizations such as New Destiny rely on the generosity of donors and volunteers to provide money, staffing and supplies the charities might not otherwise be able to afford.
The giving spirit isn’t hard to find during the holidays, when people are looking for opportunities to help others. The Beacon Journal tries to facilitate that by publicizing charities’ needs in its People Helping People listing, which starts shortly before Thanksgiving and runs until New Year’s Day.
But once the Christmas cookies are eaten and the decorations are packed away, the glow of generosity can get crowded out by the demands of everyday life. So even though People Helping People has ended for another year, charities want their supporters to know that the organizations’ needs continue year-round.
Many, like the tiny Zane’s Foundation, say they couldn’t survive without donations and volunteer help.
The all-volunteer foundation supports the families of children with disabilities by providing funding, information and sometimes just an understanding ear, said Stacy Youssef, a Stow resident and former teacher who started the organization with her husband, Sam. The foundation is named for their 19-year-old son, who has severe autism and also suffered a brain injury during a serious illness.
In its 7½ years, Zane’s Foundation has given away more than $105,000 in a stringent award process that involves the input of two special-education teachers and a registered nurse, Youssef said. The organization helps families with expenses for therapies, camps and more needs that aren’t covered by other funding sources, she said, but it limits awards to a maximum of $2,000 per family per year.
“We raise money, give it away, raise money, give it away,” Youssef said — all without the staffing, big donations and publicity that big charities enjoy.
The foundation is always looking for monetary gifts and people to serve on its board, she said. Board members meet monthly and help with the foundation’s two yearly fundraisers, a Casino Night in April and a Special Needs Awareness Walk and Fun Day in September.
Volunteering for a charitable organization is a commitment, but it’s one Springfield Township’s Bob Haren finds rewarding.
Haren volunteers regularly for Guardians Advocating Child Safety and Protection, more commonly known as GASP. The Akron organization works to protect children from sex offenders, abuse, abduction and other dangerous situations.
Haren got involved “because I have a whole flock of grandkids” who live in a world he sees as less safe than when he was growing up. He originally started Take Me Home, a database of information on special-needs kids that’s accessible to safety forces in Summit County, and then got involved with GASP when he learned of the similarities in that organization’s work.
One of GASP’s signature programs is its fingerprinting events, where children’s fingerprints and other identifying information are gathered and then given to their parents on CDs. The hope is the parents will never need it, but they’ll have it just in case.
The organization’s volunteers also manage to staff an array of other programs and services, including court observation, search and rescue missions, fundraising events and school presentations. Haren likes that the organization requires no minimum number of volunteer hours each year, so volunteers can do whatever they can.
Making volunteerism accessible is also important to Chuck Bell, who chairs the New Franklin organization Children and Books. It provides new books to children in Greater Akron who are living in poverty, and is always in need of monetary donations and volunteers to help get the books to the children who need them.
Bell believes it’s OK for prospective volunteers to start small — perhaps by working with a child at an elementary school for just a half-hour or so each week. Volunteer tutors don’t have to be educators, he pointed out in an email, and most principals and counselors will welcome the offer.
“We cannot solve any systemic problem on our own,” he said, “but little things can make large differences.”
Even things as little as a marker and some paper.
That’s all New Destiny client David Martin needed to begin rediscovering the artistic ability he’d lost when he spent several weeks in a medically induced coma in 2009. If Martin’s name sounds familiar, it’s because his childhood experience as a heart patient at Akron Children’s Hospital prompted the start of the annual Caravan Teddy Bear Motorcycle Run.
Martin was experiencing his first art class at New Destiny, but already some of his drawing skills were coming back.
“That’s awesome,” he said, “because I’m going to be able to remember that part of my life.”
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ opr follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ.