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Programs

Create Now! has five main program areas:

Take heART! - therapeutic art program

Write Now! - creative writing and lliteracy program

Sound Off! - interactive music program

Artistic Journeys! - cultural excursions to theaters, art exhibits and musical events

One-on-one Mentoring - gives youth an opportunity to be paired with an adult mentor

Our programs vary from one-day events to longer-term workshops of eight to twelve weeks.  Each of our programs are customized to meet the needs of the youth, as well as our volunteers.  Create Now! staff helps each volunteer mentor to develop the curriculum for their particular art, which focuses on an overview of the workshop and includes interactive projects.    

We also offer ready-made structured programs that comply with the standards adopted by the California State Board of Education, with detailed lesson plans for the English-language arts and visual arts.  For those mentors without a specific skill in the arts, they can also volunteer as one-on-on mentors, become general mentors for groups of at-risk youth, or help with tutoring.  In addition, we have instructions and materials available for a variety of arts-and-crafts projects that are simple to teach.

Create Now! mentors receive training on how to work with high-risk and at-risk youth, as well as supplies for their arts-based workshops.  Most of the kids that take Create Now! workshops leave with samples of their original creations, and the knowledge and confidence to continue creating on their own.

In all Create Now! programs, youth are encouraged to work towards a common purpose with their mentors.  They develop trust in an adult, which for many of these children is something unheard of in their troubled lives.  Just the fact that someone from outside "the system" comes to visit them on a regular basis is astonishing to them.  They're touched deeply when they realize that the mentor isn't paid a salary, but volunteers his or her time.

Through our Artistic Journeys! program, Create Now! also offers excursions for groups of youth to visit places such as the theater, concerts, film studios and museums.  Many kids are transformed by these experiences.  Attending a show like "Cirque du Soleil" or experiencing a live concert can live in their memories for a lifetime.