Constellation Energy was generous enough to give us a community grant and we have a great story to share! Did we mention that Phoenix and Dragon Bookstore matched Constellations grant?! The grant is being used for four Destination Creativity field trip days where we bus children from our homeless shelter programs to Phoenix and Dragon for a fun day filled with Compassion and Creativity! Our first theme was Compassion. Following themes will be: Non-Violent Communication, Environmental Awareness, and Mindfulness.

We went straight to our gallery wall to admire and share our artwork!

In conjunction with Compassionate Atlanta, our main art project was to create a Compassion Garden! We talked about what Compassion means, how we can show it and how to spread it. They filled their flowers with these words. Most children chose to create a Compassion flower for their moms and siblings. What a beautiful gift!

We decorated our banner which will stay up for the entire year above our artwork. The children were so happy to do this! They used as much color as they could think of!

We got a little hungry and needed some fresh air so off we went with our snacks to play in the fairy garden and to learn how to whistle with acorns! The emphasize of Compassion remained as we played outside. We talked about using our manners with adults and our peers and about how to help each other out on the playground!

The psychological benefits of our first Destination Creativity day is almost to much to mention here but well take a stab at it:

1. Positivity2. Learning about Compassion

2A. What it means2B. How to practice it2. C. How to share it with others

3. A day of simply being a child3A. We werent on our shelter beds doing nothing3B. We werent stressing our moms out3C. We werent being too loud

4. The children were honored for their work on the wall

We have three more Destination Creativity Days coming up this year. Stay tuned!

We couldnt thank our partners enough! Constellation Energy, Phoenix and Dragon Bookstore and Compassionate Atlanta,

Thank You!