ARTS: A Reason to Survive and Barrio Logan College Institute Visit Art Farm

A wonderful group of San Diego 5th-graders from ARTS: A Reason to Survive and Barrio Logan College Institute visited Art Farm yesterday for an afternoon of painting animals with Art Farm instructor Kris Finch; making nature journals; hugging alpacas; feeding chickens, and enjoying a BBQ in the woods. Both non-profit organizations support at-risk kids by providing free art instruction and educational mentoring.

Here's a little history on both organizations:

ARTS: A Reason to Survive was founded in 2001 by artist Matt D'Arrigo based on his philosophy that the artistic process can change and heal lives. From this modest beginning, ARTS has grown into a much larger organization with eight full-time staff members and a $950,000 annual budget. Talk about one dreamer making a difference!

ARTS provides free arts-based education programs to thousands of children "facing many types of life challenges" throughout San Diego County and at the Pat D'Arrigo ARTS Center in San Diego. As the ARTS website notes, many of the children and families served are facing some of life's toughest challenges: terminal or chronic illness; abuse and neglect; parents in the military serving overseas; physical, mental, behavioral, or emotional disabilities; self-image or self-esteem issues; parental divorce; substance abuse and recovery; gay and lesbian issues; socio-economic challenges, homelessness, and others.

Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), located in Barrio Logan, San Diego, is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children by helping those "with the will, passion, and talent" go to college. BLCI provides free after-school mentoring and academic enrichment programs. Qualifying students must be a first-generation college-bound student. The program starts in 3rd-grade and continues through high-school. The program's goals are to:

• develop the sense of pride, worth, and self-esteem students need to be successful.
• support parent involvement in their children's educations.
• motivate students to excel academically and give back to their communities.
• educate families on how to gain access to college.
• and to achieve 100 percent college enrollment among it's students.

BLCI was founded in 1996 by Harvard graduate student (and Princeton alumnus) Kenny Rogers, who discovered that most college-track programs begin in middle or high school, by which time "to many students of color lack the fundamental skills to benefit from such programs." BLCI now has an annual $400,000 budget, a full-time staff of four and a part-time staff of seven. Graduating BLCI students have attended many well regarded colleges and universities, including Yale. Again, it's nice to be reminded that one individual who acts on an idea can move mountains.