Young offenders help other kids with art
CYOC offenders raise more than $1500 for Kids Help Phone
By David MacLean

For charity organizations like Kids Help Phone in Calgary, vital donations can come from the most unlikely sources. That was the case earlier this year when they were approached by staff from Calgary Young Offenders Centre about the possibility of auctioning artwork created by offenders with the proceeds going to Kids Help Phone.

Kids Help Phone is a national not-for-profit counseling and referral service for children.

Student artists at CYOC recently raised more than $1500 for Kids Help Phone. Here are some examples of their work:

Realizing they were creating some impressive artwork in their art classes, the kids at the Centre came up with the concept for the auction and selected the Kids Help Phone as the charity they wanted to support. From there, staff at the center made the necessary arrangements — booked the gallery, invited guests and put the paintings in frames.

To everyone's surprise, the auctioned paintings took in more than $1500. Every painting exhibited at the auction was sold to some of the 250 attendees of the auction.

"The purpose of the project was to encourage these young people to volunteer their time," says Erich Mende, Community Transition Program coordinator at the Centre. "This auction was a good opportunity for them to give something back to the community."

"This initiative wasn't driven by the staff — it was led by the kids."