The United Art Project

Brief Description of the Project:

Our group’s goal was to shed light on the importance of inclusiveness in society through art. Inclusive societies help us be more accepting, empowered, and give us an understanding of different perspectives. Furthermore, art is powerful. It can have a profound impact on communication, self-confidence, and self-discipline. In an effort to underline that children who are struggling with illnesses are part of society and together we stand united, the “United Art Project” was created.

We partnered with the Children Smile Society of Bahrain with the aim of raising funds to sponsor children battling cancer to attend an art class. On November 27th, we welcomed 30 aspiring children from the society. The art session was held at Artly – an art studio that’s mission is to spark creativity, to help people of all ages create their own fun journeys of exploration, discovery, and development through art classes, exhibitions, and experiences. With skilled artists leading the sessions, the children had the chance to enjoy two activities, namely, fizzy rainbow experiments and painting wooden coasters. Additionally, an inspiring message of hope was shared with the attendees by a former cancer survivor. To ensure that the children make the most out of the day, we ensured to have healthy food available and simple giveaways that catered to the ages of the children (5-11 years).

In the days leading up to the event, we raised awareness through several marketing efforts. We created a specific logo for our project that we used to brand our social media posts, banner, giveaway bags, and organizer t-shirts. Similarly, we exhausted most of the commonly used social media outlets (Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter, & Linkedin). In the span of six days, we raised an amount of BHD 1,000 ( $2,652) and were mentioned in three news outlets (Albilad Newspaper, BizBahrain Magazine, and the Daily Tribune Newspaper).

       

Brief Description of the Charity:

Smile of Bahrain Society is a non-profit organization that supports initiatives that provide psychological and social support to children suffering from cancer and their families. The society is focused on four main initiatives:

  1. A wish – organizing birthdays for cancer warriors
  2. Psychological support – a program provided with a specialized team to tackle psychological and social challenges by the children and their families
  3. Education – program that provides education to those who could not attend classes due to treatment
  4. Improving the home environment – families who have a cancer warrior and do not have the ability to adequately equip his/her room

Factual Analysis of Success in Terms of Project Objectives:

Measure

Target Actual

Overall

Number of Attendees

30 children

33 children

Achieved

Money Raised

BHD 345

($915)

BHD 1000

($2,652)

Achieved
Impact 100% positive post event surveys 100% positive post event surveys

Achieved

Awareness

1 press release in a leading newspaper

3 press releases

Achieved

26.6K views on Tiktok

1065 views on LinkedIn

 

Two or Three Lessons Learned About Managing Projects:

  • Leverage on the strengths and skills of team members, this helps everyone contribute effectively
  • Always have 1-2 contingency plans
  • Keep things simple, especially when asking for donations. Although we raised more funds that expected, we still received some comments on how our registration form was a bit confusing

 Advice for Future Teams Doing Similar Projects:

  • Make sure to establish a strong team dynamic at the beginning of the project
  • Choose a communication method that suits all team members
  • Organization and alignment are key. Make sure to have an accessible forum such as google docs or Microsoft Teams where information can be visible, shared and edited by everyone
  • Be flexible  and keep an open mind as things may not always turn out as originally planned
  • Don’t forget to have fun!

Photos Related to the Project: