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9-year-old girl holds art therapy class for kids in Logan
Kalie Mapp Hayes, a nine-year-old bilingual artist and author of 'Kalie's Magical Crown,' holds weekly art therapy classes in Philadelphia's Logan area to help the youth deal with trauma and other obstacles.
PHILADELPHIA - The art therapy class takes place every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm.
The youth who attend are also provided with dinner.
The program also accepts donations to help offset the cost of supplies and food.
What they're saying:
"This is where kids come to express their feelings," said Kalie Mapp Hayes.
Young people are painting through their pain, drawing out their feelings and journaling their day.
"Today I had a fun day so far," said one little boy.
"My day was good because today I went with my mom to go to the store," said a little girl named Sage.
It is an art therapy class put on by the Kreate Your Kourage Foundation started by Kalie, who is 9 years old.
"I started this when I was 7 years old," she said.
The weekly class is one of many activities the foundation operates out of ‘BET’ which stands for bringing everybody together.
It is a community center and hub for various programs in the Logan area.
"I started this because I want kids to know that they are bold, they are creative and whatever seems impossible, I want them to know that they can do it," said Kalie.
The youth here also get to discuss problems and solutions. Kalie's mom leads the discussion.
"This is a safe space. We want them to be able to have the opportunity to be able to be expressive and get it out," said her mother Diane Mapp who is the co-founder of the foundation along with Kalie’s dad. Diane offers children aged two to twenty-one support and encouragement.
"Some parents have some issues at home, some of them lost their family members or parents to gun violence and they're looking for an outlet. Maybe they are expressing themselves in some not so good ways in school and they come here, and we talk about it," said Mapp.
Kalie says her overall foundation is about so much more than art. She is bilingual, an artist, and an author!
"I drew at events for gun violence, I paint and I'm a really good painter. I have my own book. My book is called Kalie's Magical Crown," she said. Kalie wants to be an example for kids to overcome obstacles and recognize their greatness.
"I didn't want kids to feel like I felt in kindergarten when kids would talk about my hair, they would talk about my moles on my face, and they would say I was ugly. So, I want kids to know that they are pretty, gorgeous, and handsome," she said.