About
ABOUT US
ELM Foundation was launched on February 20th, 2019 in honor of Emma Lauren McCoy.
As a young artist herself, Emma’s intense childhood story inspired the creation of this nonprofit organization. Children are often left without a true voice in adult situations, if not dealt with properly this can lead to deeper psychological issues. The use of arts and arts therapy gives kids a way to explore their feelings and express themselves in more productive ways in which they can relate. This, in turn, can promote personal development, increase coping skills, and enhance cognitive function but more so HEAL through a creative process.
MENDING HEARTS THROUGH ART
The mission of ELM Foundation is to promote the healing power of the arts. Our methods include advocating the benefits of arts therapy, providing multidisciplinary arts education, and building sustaining mentorships—all working together to cultivate a lifelong love of self-expression and awareness through a creative process.
ADVOCATING
The Goal - to advocate and prove the benefits of arts therapy, especially in children, and push for expanding access to professional art therapists for the kids in our focus group.
Our focus group is children who have experienced parental loss or family structure adjustment, from basic divorce to losing a parent to death. Providing and guiding them through a therapeutic process. Then continuing to provide opportunities for further development of self-awareness and expression through arts education
By advocating how arts therapy can reach children in a more meaningful way, helping to facilitate communication and promote healing, we hope to bring awareness that using the arts as therapy can be tremendously successful. Although we believe everyone can benefit from arts therapy, our focus group has significant ties to our public advocacy and the core of why ELM Foundation was created.
PROVIDING
The Goal - to provide multi discipline arts education not only to our art therapy focus group but to any child who has the desire to explore the creative process.
The Focus - continuously working with our youth after their arts therapy program, giving them additional opportunities to explore various forms of arts instruction. It is here where we also open our general education programing to any youth who has a passion for creating, expanding on our message that art can be used as a healing process for anyone.
The continuing education program is another way ELM Foundation will help to grow the children’s love of the arts and further solidify self-expression as a means of self-healing.
BUILDING
The Goal - to connect our youth directly to the professional arts community, facilitating and building longstanding mentorships.
The Focus - showing our youth that the arts can be of lifelong benefit but also a viable career. We do this not only with words but action. ELM is constantly adding to our roster of working artists who have a desire to give back. Our artists interact with the community and kids in various ways, from workshops to talks and more. This gives the kids opportunities to meet recognized professional artists who are respected in the contemporary art world. Our artists are connections that our kids can reach out to for guidance as they continue down their creative path, building lifelong respect and mentorships.
ELM Foundation strives to achieve our mission by advocating arts therapy, providing arts education, and building lifelong mentorships, all working harmoniously to bring awareness to The Healing Power of the Arts.