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On Monday, February 5, APU's Office of Ministry and Service presented the opening celebration of Through Their Eyes: Global Art by Azusa's Youth. This third annual art show featured the creative works of participants in Peach Factory, Cerritos Kidz, and Students for Environmental Education and Discovery (S.E.E.D.).
The artists and their families, as well as volunteers, attended the opening reception, which included a picture slide show of the three programs and dinner. The downstairs atrium of Wilden Hall was reserved for the event, and the pieces of art lined the walls of the second floor. Along with the art, brief descriptions of each of the three organizations were displayed.
Founded nearly 40 years ago, Peach Factory is the longest-running program of the three. Students meet after school in Slauson Park three days each week and volunteers come to tutor and mentor the children. Local kids get help with their homework and create art projects, and volunteers have the opportunity to build relationships with the families in the Azusa community.
Cerritos Kidz was started in 2003 when an APU social work class conducted a needs assessment on Cerritos Apartment Complex and found that the residents needed a program that would help their kids with homework. APU volunteers developed an after school program that meets within the complex. "Since then, the program has grown, connecting more than 30 students each semester to the complex four days per week," said Matt Visser, interim director of the Office of Ministry and Service. Cerritos Kidz now has an on-site library, a music program, and a reciprocal language program in which individuals can study either English or Spanish. In order to provide a constant presence for the children and their families, each year the student coordinator for the program lives in the complex.
S.E.E.D., established in 2004, is a program in which second to fifth grade students help with trail clean-ups, go on field trips, and take educational classes to learn about God's creation, and about how to be good stewards of the earth. About 20 volunteers from APU helped in the S.E.E.D. program this year, serving over 120 local children. These kids contributed drawings of endangered species for the art show.
"It has been a great thing for the kids in the community," said Visser, who recognizes that the APU community has also benefited from the partnership. "There is so much we can learn from the children in the ministries." The art, which includes yarn drawings, shape art, Chinese lanterns, Mexican foil art, flags of the world, and painted flowerpots, will be on display in Wilden Hall February 5-20.
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