Human nature is to congregate in groups. Spiva is reaching out to these groups, as they are already established, safe, and comfortable for the participants. Spiva is intentionally and strategically expanding outreach to:

 

Youth, Homeschool, Veterans, Seniors, and Adults with Disabilities

These are the school districts immediately surrounding Spiva Center for the Arts: Joplin, Webb City, Carl Junction, Seneca, Carthage, Diamond and Neosho. In every one of these districts, half or more of the K-12 enrollment qualify for free or reduced lunch. By extension, the families of these children struggle financially. They do not have expendable income for visual art instruction or experiences beyond their once a week fifty-minute art education in their school.

Spiva has served these kids through the annual Third Grade Field Trip, where 1600 come to visit the galleries and make projects with their classroom and art teachers. This is often the first time they have been to a gallery.

Spiva hosts or has hosted these groups:

Boys & Girls Club

Carthage home school group

Easy Living

Economic Security Corporation

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts

Impact Church youth program

Independent Living Center

INSPIRE Group at Ozark Center

Kansas Gear-Up foster care program

North Middle School through the Spiva Sketchbook Project

St. Paul’s kindergarten camp

Veterans

Webb City Schools immigrant families

                                                                                       

Memories in the Making

Spiva also works with adults with disabilities. Artist Jesse McCormick weekly teaches Memories in the Making, hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Missouri and sponsored by the Friends of St. Avips. The Independent Living Center comes once a month to view the galleries and make art.

According to an Arts in Healthcare State of the Field Report, some of the documented benefits of participating in visual arts include:

• Decreasing symptoms of distress and improving quality of life
• Improving depression and influencing fatigue levels
• Reducing acute stress symptoms
• Increasing support, psychological strength, and providing new insights about their illness
• Strengthening positive feelings, alleviating distress, and clarifying existential/spiritual for ill patients

 

Thank you to our first year patrons of outreach support, the Maridan Stanley Kassab Family and Lance and Sharon Beshore. If you are interested in supporting Spiva Outreach, please contact us.