Auction Ends: Jan 13, 2013 11:59 PM EST

Online Auction Open! Let the Bidding Begin!

The ARTS IN THE SCHOOLS AUCTION benefiting NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' "Materials For the Arts" program is now open. The auction will run from December 31, 2012 to January 13, 2013, with proceeds going to ART4GOOD Foundation, Inc. in order to support ARTS in the SCHOOLS! Auction items range from exotic vacation getaways to donated items guaranteed to delight and surprise. So, tell your friends, family, community. Let the bidding begin!

Do YOU Support ARTS in Schools?

ART4GOOD Foundation Believes

“Art is not a thing; it is a way”

"ART IS NOT A THING; IT IS A WAY"

Elbert Hubbard

Big Bird may have been the icon, during our recent election, to protest proposed funding cuts in the Arts, but as the National Endowment For The Arts (NEA) has confirmed, most visual artists in the United States live well below the poverty level. Why, then, would artists from all over the United States and throughout the world come together to support and help raise more funding for ARTS EDUCATION in our schools?

The answer is simple: We care!

Beginning Monday, December 31^st, ART4GOOD Foundation, Inc. will be hosting an unprecedented on-line auction featuring thousands works of art, collectibles, jewelry, and travel and unique experiences! Proceeds will benefit “Materials For the Arts/NYC Department of Cultural Affairs”.

ARE YOU IN?

Funding for arts education has been on the downslide for more than three decades. Many concerned parents and teachers have pulled together to help, but our work has only just begun! From an ever growing list of state mandates, every parent has seen classrooms jammed to the brim; overcrowded like never before. Why is there a prevailing public mindset that arts are a beautiful method of expression, but not essential to the mental and physical well being of our children?

Far too many schools are now without budget to support in school or after school art programs.

ART4GOOD Foundation, Inc. now leads the way for change!

In the words of Poet Laureate, Rose Marie Raccioppi, contributing artist and poet to ART4GOOD BOOKS “ARTS express... Aspiration ~ Revelation ~ Truth ~ Spirit ~ the very breath of purpose ... to cultivate the arts within each child is to cultivate an endearing light ... our children deserve no less.”

ART4GOOD FOUNDATION Inc, a California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation, has a mission: “To Inspire Change With Every Brush Stroke!”. “We are lending our support to amplify this issue as well as offer a method for everyone who cares about the budding artists of today and tomorrow to participate!"

“OUR CHILDREN SIMPLY MUST BE ENCOURAGED TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES CREATIVELY! We now live in an era of fear and restrictions. Children of all ages should be enabled to celebrate creativity: their own!” Wendie Busig-Kohn, Founding Chairperson

New York is where we will begin, but our commitment of support will continue. ART4GOOD BOOKS will to publish multiple collectible ART and Art and Poetry books, throughout 2013 donating proceeds to participating school boards and individual school communities.

ART4GOOD also proudly sponsors THE ARTIST IN YOU BLOG and we invite all parents and teachers to participate with the children in our new category “The Budding Artist In You”.

From the heARTs of ART4GOOD Advisory Board Members:

" Art allows Head Start children to express their inner self in ways they may be incapable of otherwise expressing."

Dean Stephen Kauffman, Retired Attorney: IRS/GAO,

recently honored by Headstart for his munificence and representation of this vital program.

“Since I've retired, I've seen wondrous interactions between art and children. On the walls of the elementary school where I volunteer are landscapes inspired by Pissarro and self-portraits in the style of Paul Klee done by kindergarteners.

Under the skilled direction of their art teacher, upper graders produced art based on Native American designs and learned to appreciate another culture. When I'm reading the essays of some of our nation's top scholars for the Carson Scholars program, many students write about the positive impact art teachers have made in their lives.

My sponsored children in Moldova, Bangladesh, Bolivia, and Rwanda send me delightful drawings; and so I hope all children in the United States will also have these opportunities to expand their horizons in art classrooms.”

Linda Lingner, Retired School Teacher, Baltimore City Public Schools

"Art is as essential to learning as reading, writing, and arithmetic because art is reading, writing and arithmetic. Our children need to invent their own forms of communication with art; which is a language of writing, calculation of space.

Moreover, the appreciation of art is essential to understanding our civilization and other civilizations in the globalized world."

Thomas R. Forstenzer, Former Chief of Staff
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization
Honored Member of the Royal Society for the Arts and Industry

To quote the Renowned Italian novelist, Levi:

"Where art begins, violence ends."

Applause from a parent: “A huge thank you for doing this!!! I am applauding you so much for this. I was able to see a microcosm in my kid's school of how much this is needed! Once again, from a parent, I thank you so much!!!” Nancy Booth

INSPIRING CHANGE BEGINS WITH YOU! Please enjoy this “sneak peek” Auction Preview video! We hope it will open your heARTS to support our mission. We sincerely hope you, too, will play a vital role in our mission, and help us inspire others too!

EVERYONE WINS WHEN THEY BID FOR GOOD WITH ART4GOOD!

AUCTION PREVIEW VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/user/THEARTISTINYOUTV/featured javascript:mctmp(0);

Make Your Bid to Support ARTS IN NYC SCHOOLS!

Founded in 1978, Materials for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, provides thousands of NYC’s arts and cultural organizations, public schools, and community arts programs with the supplies they need to run and expand their programs.

MFTA gathers materials from companies and individuals that no longer need them and makes them available, for free, to the artists and educators that do.

In the process, hundreds of tons are removed from the waste stream every year and kept out of landfills, which helps sustain our environment, promotes reuse, and reduces waste.

MFTA helps artists realize their visions, provides students with a richer educational experience and furnishes businesses and individuals with a simple and efficient way to enhance the cultural life of their city.

MFTA's recipients exemplify creativity. Recipients who use supplies from Materials for the Arts help to protect and sustain the environment by making use of hundreds of tons of materials that would otherwise end up in our landfills. Recipients use these materials to teach our children, invigorate our museums, and delight audiences throughout New York City.

From another perspective, recipients save millions of dollars by using our supplies. We offer a wide selection of items since we accept donations from both businesses and individuals - from a bag of jewely findings to a truckload of props from a movie set. Recipients often tell us that with a little initiative they actually expand their services, programs and events.

All New Yorkers benefit from a program like Materials for the Arts!

Check out this EXTENSIVE LIST of programs supported to date!

http://www.mfta.org/recipient/list