Artists with Heart Give to Homeless Children
Berkeley artists open their hearts and donate their art to help homeless children. Guided by the concept of "pay it forward," the artists are inviting the community to discover the joy of giving.
by Janny Castillo
Barbara Atwell and Tansy Mattingly created an art show to help homeless children. Janny Castillo photo
What happens when you combine local artists, homeless children and a good helping of plain old generosity? You get the Annual Artists With Heart Fundraiser. This year's proceeds will support the Children's Learning Center at Ursula Sherman Village, a part of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS).
Tansy Mattingly and Barbara Atwell created this unique event three years ago. It grew out of Tansy's desire to donate the income she received from selling her art pieces. "I had done a couple of open studios out of Barbara's garage," she explained. "I thought, we've gotten by without this income up until now, so why couldn't we just donate it?"
That's how it began, and then the idea caught on quickly with other artists. Tansy said, "I mentioned it to someone in art class and she said she wanted to donate, and her friend was a photographer and she would want to donate also."
Several months later, Tansy had 55 artists and an art sale that could no longer fit into Barbara's garage. Barbara Atwell signed on as project manager. She has been working with the homeless community, specifically the men's shelter, since 1990. Both her parents are community activists and they taught her the concept of "paying it forward."
Barbara explained, "Pay it forward means if I have a dollar and I give it to you, and because you were given a dollar, you may give a dollar to someone who then may give a dollar to someone and the giving moves forward."
When asked how BOSS got to be the chosen agency, Tansy responded with frank honesty. "I had always given my charitable donations to environmental things. I was cynical about people. I thought, people are the ones that are messing up the world -- I'll give to the grass, the flowers. And then I had this intuition that I should do something different."
Her intuition led her to look for boona cheema, who Tansy heard was doing work with the homeless, which then led her to BOSS. "Through Artists with Heart, I learned the importance of helping people," Tansy said.
Barbara described the first two fundraisers: "The first two years it was more like an art gallery. People would come in and shop; it was a mixed bag of an assortment of wonderful art. The second year, it was bigger. Berkeley Repertory donated space. Both events earned $7,000. This year it's a one-night event."
"We want to raise a lot more this time," Tansy said. "We want to help pay for the art teacher and the academics teacher, maybe get tutors for the kids. It's a challenge but we are trying to raise $45,000."
Tansy was able to secure KQED's comedian, Josh Kornbluth, as MC, and local restaurants including Chez Panisse, Jimmy Bean's, Garibaldi's, Ristorante Raphael, and more are on board to donate food. Some of the artists that donated pieces include Susan Jenkins, Lois L. Cantor, Lisa Kokin, Annette Goldberg, boona cheema and, of course, Tansy.
"We still need volunteers, more donated art pieces, more donated food, and especially more people to purchase tickets," said Tansy. The center's children will also have their art work on display. "I am calling everybody I know," Barbara said. "I tell them it's not about the food, it's about the kids."
When asked how this work has impacted their lives, Tansy responded, "My path is learning to have compassion for humanity. I am an environmentalist; both are about being of service to the world. It's been wonderful to do this event. The people of BOSS, the children, the artists, they've been wonderful. As I ask people for help, almost everybody says yes; that makes me feel happy."
Tansy says that the homeless service program at Ursula Sherman Village is working. "It is not a shelter where people stay overnight. It's a place where they get enough support to change. It's a real investment, not just a band-aid; donors can be confident that they are really making a difference."
Barbara added, "I've been doing volunteer work since I was a kid. It's a matter of giving back, but also to let folks know that there is hope. I don't want to see my name anywhere unless it encourages people to give. I want to be a role model."
Both Tansy and Barbara are examples of what "community" means. They are very dedicated and have developed a vehicle in which many artists, local businesses and individuals can participate in sustaining life-changing services for homeless parents and children.
Barbara's "pay it forward" philosophy reminded Tansy of what Artists with Heart means to her. "Artists with Heart is a complete gift cycle," she said. "The artists are born with the gift of art, and then they give their gift of art to people who purchase it and whose funds will go as a gift to needy children, which will then create ways for the children to grow and be able to give in their own special way. And then the gift just keeps right on giving."
Tansy closed with these words: "That's where my heart is. It's not just for the children, but for everyone who participates to enjoy the feeling of well-being that comes from giving more than what they think they can, have a positive impact on children's lives, and come and have fun, to delight in the joy of giving."
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