ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.– PSCU said it partnered with Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona (Free Arts), a nonprofit organization, to host an art installation and employee painting event at its Phoenix Operations Center. The event was to benefit children ages 3 to 21 who have endured abuse, neglect and homelessness.
“Free Arts uses the healing powers of the arts to help abused and homeless children build resiliency and learn to trust and heal,” PSCU said. All of the children in Free Arts programs have experienced combinations of family trauma, homelessness, and violence.
“The credit union family extends far and wide and its members actively contribute their time and resources to advance the health of the communities they serve. We’re excited about this opportunity to team up with our friends at Free Arts to help them help the children who need it the most,” said Lynn Heckler, PSCU EVP and Chief Talent Officer.
In 2015, Free Arts was awarded the 2015 Arts Advocacy Group Award by the Greater Arizona Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters. This award recognizes a non-profit organization which has demonstrated outstanding achievements in the arts community. In 2016 Free Arts was named as the Innovative Organization by the Mayors Arts Awards.
According to Heckler, partnering with Free Arts provides the means to bring awareness to the organization’s investment in the wellbeing of every community’s most valuable, yet most vulnerable asset, children. Initially, PSCU will host several children’s art exhibits specifically selected for display on the walls throughout PSCU’s facility in Phoenix. Each painting will be accompanied by the artist’s story of what the painting means to them.
On the day of the art installation, Free Arts joined PSCU in a meet-and-greet celebration, where employees were encouraged to help create their own art exhibit. The theme of the artwork will be “Helping Make Dreams Come True.”