Special needs children and adults find their purpose with help from The Shine Foundation
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Two times a month, The Shine Foundation, a nonprofit catering to adults and children with special needs and their families, holds art workshops.
Every brush stroke helps tell a story and allows these artists to express their creative side.
‘This showcases their abilities. I feel that a lot of times, parents are mostly told what they are not going to be able to do, and with SHINE we want to give them a world of things they can do, give them more opportunities, more friendships, more community involvement,” said Savannah Tucker, with The Bridge, an arm of The Shine Foundation.
Everyone is busy at the workshops; one group is up front making the craft, another is in the back of the shop doing prep work, and some of the special creations will be displayed at an upcoming art exhibition at The Caron Gallery.
‘Just as an artist from out of town comes in for an exhibit, our artists will be coming in to exhibit their artwork; you will get to meet some of the artists who have had their hands in this,” Tucker said.
Kelly Winter founded The Shine Foundation, and says the exhibition, called Shine Across Mississippi, will also help raise awareness about the work of the nonprofit.
‘We want to give them opportunities, we want them to feel seen, we want them to feel supported, part of our community, we want caregivers to feel support from us, and they’re not in this alone,” Winter said.
And a couple of the artists took a break from their workshop, to make a special request of the community.
‘Please come and see our art, it will be fun, ” said Krissy.
Shine Across Mississippi takes place August the 20.
That exhibit is next Thursday at 5 pm. The artwork will also be for sale and all proceeds go back to The Shine Foundation.
For more information, visit theshinefoundationtupelo.com.
