drawchange Testimonials: What Our Volunteers Saw This Year

As the year begins to wind down, we keep returning to one simple message: thank you. Thank you to the donors who keep our programs running, and to the volunteers who show up week after week with paper, markers, and patience.

Every art session starts a little differently. Some children dive right in. Others need time to watch, warm up, and decide whether this room is a safe place to try something new. After each session, our volunteers share short reflections on what they noticed, and those notes have become some of our favorite reminders of why our work matters. The drawchange testimonials below come straight from those reflections. To protect the privacy of the children we serve, we have omitted names.

What Our Volunteers See When Children Create

Supporting young artists every step of the way.

Every child arrives with a different story, and every session unfolds in its own way. Still, a few patterns show up again and again in our volunteers' notes.

Shyness Turning Into Confidence

Our Program Lead, Sania Hassan, watched one young artist move through this shift in a single session. She shared that "there was a shyness about the project in the beginning," but as he kept going, "he seemed to be having fun and feeling confident."

For children who have experienced hardship, a blank page can feel like a lot. It asks them to make choices, take risks, and put something of themselves out into the world. With a little encouragement and a judgment-free zone, that hesitation gradually gives way to something braver. We explore this more in our post on the power of self expression in children.

Restless Energy Finding a Creative Outlet

Children often arrive carrying big emotions. Volunteer Miranda Baumann remembered a young participant who was initially struggling to get along with those around her. Rather than letting that tension take over, "she was able to redirect her energy into her art and even got into developing a story around what she was drawing."

That redirection sits at the heart of art therapy. Art gives big feelings somewhere to go, and storytelling gives children a way to shape those feelings into something they can understand and share.

Calm Taking Shape on the Page

A drawchange volunteer working with a participant to process their emotions through art.

Some of the most powerful moments are the quietest ones. Volunteer Claire Galvin watched one girl as she "relaxed while tracing the wrinkles on the page and intentionally choosing colors to reflect her vision." By the end, Claire said, "she was very proud of her piece, which I think bolstered her self esteem."

Focused, repetitive activities like tracing can help a child's body and mind settle. It's the same idea behind one of our favorite exercises, which you can read about in how mandalas help anxious children find calm.

Room to Step Outside Comfort Zones

Volunteer Olivia Landers saw how much a supportive setting can change what a child is willing to try: "I think the program provided [a] positive environment for her, allowed her to express herself, and break out of her comfort zone!"

Comfort zones exist for good reason, especially for children who have had to protect themselves. When a child chooses to step outside one, it's because something in the room told them it was safe to do so.

Joy Shared Through Storytelling

Sometimes the change shows up in how children connect with the people around them. Volunteer Leisha Ortiz shared that one girl "was definitely more engaging after," smiling and laughing as she drew her part of a funny story she was telling.

Connection is one of the quietest outcomes of our work, and one of the most meaningful. A shared laugh over a drawing can be the first step toward trust.

drawchange Testimonials: Why These Small Moments Matter

Collaborative art exercises build creativity and self-esteem.

These moments may seem small, but for a child carrying more than any child should, they mean everything. The children in our programs have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as housing instability, displacement, or loss. Art offers them a way to express what they may not have words for yet, and to make something that is entirely their own.

Confidence, calm, connection, and pride are not extras. They are building blocks of resilience, and they grow one session at a time in our programs across Georgia, Florida, and Texas, as well as in Costa Rica and Ethiopia.

Thank You for Making These Moments Possible

And they happen because of you. Your support keeps our programming going, giving children a place to express themselves, build confidence, and simply be a child making art with people who care.

To our volunteers: thank you for showing up, paying attention, and writing down what you saw. Your reflections help us tell these stories, and your presence helps create them.

From all of us at drawchange, thank you for believing in the healing power of art and for being part of these children's stories.

Want to keep these moments going into the new year? Make a gift today to support art therapy programming for children who need it most. 🧡