PUMA Shoe Donations!

October 2013
PUMA donated almost 50 pairs of shoes to the youth of City of Refuge this October. The shoes, carefully selected according to gender and age group, were delivered to the youth before their weekly art sessions. During the event, Jasmine--age 12, gave a short spoken word performance. Jasmine aspires to be the youngest poet with a published book. 

Thank you, PUMA!

ChopArt in The AJC

March 2013
Every Monday, for the past six weeks, Malika Whitley hosts an art workshop for the youth living at The Drake House, a residential center for homeless women and children in Roswell...



Thank you, AJC, for featuring our program!

chopArt's Founder in Atlanta tribune

May 2013
What a pleasure to be included amongst Atlanta's premiere business men and women. ChopArt's platform of community engagement and mobility featured in the issue below was an honor. 

Thank you, Atlanta Tribune!



Homelessness Amongst Teens

September 2013



OU Alumni Make a Difference in the Lives of Homeless Youth

June 2013
Several Oglethorpe alumni have put their passion into action in an effort to positively influence the lives of middle and high school youth in metro Atlanta.

ChopArt, a nonprofit organization founded by Malika Whitley ’11, provides homeless youth with a means of expression via art exploration. The organization strives to encourage positive values and enhance participants’ abilities by discovering therapy and release in poetry, photography and painting.

Five other Oglethorpe alumni also support ChopArt. Serving on the Board of Directors areJewel Thompson ’10 (Chair), Kyle Parker ’09 (Secretary), Christopher Harvin ’08 (Treasurer) and Ashlee Brown ’10. Many of these alumni were actively involved in campus service projects, including alternative breaks planned by the Center for Civic Engagement.

Malika believes that “Oglethorpe breeds a certain type of person” and finding other students that share a passion for service are not hard to find on campus. Her Oglethorpe experience, she says, provided her with the tools and opportunities to absorb other cultures and learn from those interactions.

Malika’s passion for art and helping others was evident while she was attending OU. She interned with the National Black Arts Festival during her senior year summer and traveled to Cape Town, South Africa where she completed an internship with the city’s Special Events Department. While in Cape Town, Malika observed the theory and practice of art exploration—and the impact it was having on the children in South Africa.

After realizing its effectiveness, she used this technique in India where she served as an IDEX Fellow for Social Enterprise ’11-’12. There, Malika introduced art as a confidant for children who were afraid to speak about their daily struggles, providing them with coping and life skills for better handling those struggles. She encountered young girls who were taught to be afraid to speak out, and empathizing with their insecurity, provided them a voice through art.

Malika learned something else on that trip—she wanted to dedicate her life to serving others. “I cannot do anything else with my life but serve other people, because otherwise, I would be doing a disservice to my parents and to the people who believe in me.” said Malika. As a result, the idea for ChopArt was born, and then became reality in 2012.

Current students and alumni are encouraged to volunteer with ChopArt! Opportunities include mentoring and helping to prepare students for an upcoming “professional” art show, “Dual Concepts,” on August 1, 2013. Even if you lack those creative juices, your time and support would be appreciated. For more information about ChopArt and ways to get involved, visit the ChopArt website.



Charge Magazine

An overview of ChopArt in January 2013.
I have always had a passion for community outreach and youth empowerment. Like many youth, my peers and I faced overwhelming challenges in life that were not widely discussed and were mishandled. I was fortunate enough to find my way through obstacles through art therapy and wanted to extend that option to homeless youth. ChopArt was started in 2010 in South Africa and tested in Hyderabad, India from 2011-2012. It is now going into its full program model in the United States. This includes services in the classroom as we offer art curriculum covering poetry, painting and photography/filmography for six-weeks at homeless shelters. It has been amazing to see the youth move from one phase of expression to another through participation in our program!
 
We are extremely grateful for this experience and all that we’ve learned from working with the students. ChopArt will continue to empower self expression for homeless youth and say to everyone around “Listen Up!”



Home is...Where Your Art Takes You?

August 2013
Lynette Davis met ChopArt's founder, Malika Whitley, through a Twitter forum focused on developing businesses and networks. Lynette is the President and Chief Content Producer of A & D Media where she Creates, Manages, and Expands the online presence of service-based Self-Employed Professionals as well as Smalbiz Owners. - See more here.
So, as I mentioned in the last post, (yeah, had a hiccup with the site so I’ll be working to get those lost blog posts back guys) I would be starting a blog series called “Be The Change” This is my way of spreading the love, as well as (hopefully) inspiring my fellow entrepreneurs to up their game in the spirit of giving to the greater good, to work with deeper meaning, to not be shy about proudly announcing on #FundraisingFriday how super excited you are that you donated *insert money/time* to *insert awesome nonprofit or cause*

You get the picture?

So, over the past couple of weekends Art has really been a part of my life. From going to my very first Vision Board workshop and really seeing my vision come to life on paper, to attending my gal pal’s very first Art show, to using Art as a bridge of communication so a little girl would feel more comfortable about telling her story to me, so that we could work on getting her mentally healthy and happy.

I felt so entranced by the power and influence of the Arts to the human soul that I’ve decided to highlight the work of a young woman who goes by the name of Malika Whitley, who founded a nonprofit called ChopArt.

At ChopArt, they “work on-site with homeless shelters, primarily, offering a three module art course, mentor-ship and impact assessment. [they] also take the students on field trips and host an art show celebrating their finished art work. To accommodate youth who do not live in long-term housing shelters, [they] offer one day workshops in art media including dance, theater and music.”

Their mission is “To provide empowerment to youth in homeless situations to express themselves creatively and to develop sustainable values through art exploration.”

But that’s only a piece of it all!  So, you’ll want to get all the details from their site.

And just in case you’re wondering about the power of social media for social good… I met Malika via a Twitter chat some time ago and we clicked in 140 characters.  We then agreed to have a chat on the phone and decided to stay in touch. In order for me to keep up with her journey, I occasionally see her Facebook updates when browsing my newsfeed which reminds me to check out her e-zine for their latest news . Don’t you just love social media?

If you’re interested in learning more about supporting ChopArt check out their info by clicking that link, (last I checked they were headed over to visit India)! How cool is that?

Until Next Time…

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- See more at: http://asummermoon.com/2013/08/home-is-where-your-art-takes-you/#sthash.Xsty2Exi.dpuf