Founded at the University of New Haven in 2012, Art from the Heart focuses on building rooms for the terminally ill, giving kids something to look forward to when return home from the hospital.

The club works with Circle of Care, an organization based out of the Yale New Haven Hospital that works with schools all over the country. Art from the Heart receives names of children who could use a room renovation, and then they spend a semester making the child’s dreams come true. Focusing on one child per semester, the club renovated about ten rooms since starting on campus.

“It’s important to me to be in this because it’s rare to do something special for someone else in a time when they need it the most. It’s rewarding to see the impact on someone else’s life,” said club treasurer, Kirsten Petry.

Circle of Care provides Art from the Heart with $1,000, which the club then matches through their own fundraising, giving them upwards of $2,000 to build the rooms. The majority of the clubs fundraising is raised through two delivery night fundraisers per semester.

The executive board meets with both the child and their parents to discuss what they had in mind for the future of the room, leaving the parents more excited than the kids at some points.

As a club, they work all semester planning a room for the child based on the theme given. However, sometimes children won’t give them a theme, forcing the club to be more creative in order to still provide the child with what they want. Previous themes have included Paris, SpongeBob, and basketball.

“It’s satisfying to help a child and make them more comfortable without putting the parents in a financial burden,” said Vice President, Emily Giordano.  

The actual room renovation occurs in one weekend after preparation is done. During fall semester, the planning is normally done by December and the actual building is done in shifts, so all those interested can take part.

“Being able to make a difference in a child’s life and working together to build a room that a child gets excited to come home to during a hard time is a moving and rewarding experience. It’s extremely exciting to see how happy we were able to make the kids,” said Liana Stampalia, Art from the Heart member.

The club welcomes students of all majors and meet Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in Gehring Hall, room 301.