About Memories to Heal
Mission Statement
Growing up, I only ever seemed to see my dad in two outfits: scrubs and a black suit. Scrubs were expected for any doctor, which he was—mainly tending to young kids in pediatrics. But every few Saturdays, I’d watch him prepare his suit to attend an event I never wanted to accompany: the funeral of one of his young patients.
I’d always looked up to my dad, hoping to one day follow in his medical footsteps. But I never envied him when he had to attend these services.
I love working with kids. My passion grew from family events, and volunteering at an afterschool care amongst other activities such as in a local pediatric department. I couldn’t help but grow excited by the energy, laughter, and cuteness overload of these kids. It was impossible to be in a bad mood. One smile easily melted me, so I’ve always envisioned myself one working kids in the future in some capacity.
But whenever I visited my dad’s work at the hospital, the silence was eerie. People talked in hushed voices, and I became hyper aware and self-conscious. I yearned for that carefree joy I felt when I played with those rambunctious kids elsewhere.
Even though colorful walls, toys, and pictures filled the hospital rooms, there was no masking the reality of that place—it was where kids went when they were sick. Specifically, my dad cared for terminally ill children.
I knew his work was critical—life-saving even—but I wanted to find a way to add levity and joy to the place.
But what could I do? I didn’t have any medical training. How could I possibly give these kids and their families hope?
Then it hit me. My love of art had brought me similar joy to being around excited, innocent kids. For years, I’d been learning to express myself through painting, sketching, watercolors, and more. Lately, I’ve transitioned into digital media. This love has also led me to volunteer at a non-profit organization/art exhibition, the Armory Center For the Arts.
I realized I could use my artistic creativity to create something for these families. Too often, I saw the heaviness with which they carried themselves. Tortuous chemo treatments, loss of appetite, and overall listlessness. Every moment these kids could spend with their friends and family was priceless, so I wanted parents to be able to take advantage of that time.
Pictures and memories are all that will be left, but compiling them together in a beautiful format takes significant time. Sorting through photos, organizing them, and arranging them aesthetically. Not everyone has the artistic ability, nor the inclination to do that when their time could be better spent being fully present with their loved ones.
That’s how Memories to Heal was born, a non-profit organization dedicated to donating completely free, custom, scrapbooks to promote art therapy in children. Our goal is to provide children with acute/chronic illness, mental health challenges, or general coping challenges to leverage their inner artist to engage their mind, body and spirit.
We rely on donations to promote and sustain our mission to supply these custom designed scrapbooks built through Procreate and other digital tools.
My goal is to give families something beautiful to memorialize their child and commemorate the light they’ve brought to the world. Each scrapbook take many hours of work each because they’re carefully planned and designed, but capturing the legacy of these wonderful children through art energizes me. It’s an indescribable feeling that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
If you’re interested in having me create a scrapbook for you, please get in contact at [email protected]