Art is the Answer
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JoFactor Entertainment is on a mission to save children. In the wake of the Highland Park shooting only ten minutes from our office in Northfield, we decided it was time to take action to prevent further atrocities. We plan to address the underlying mental health issues our children are dealing with. To this end, our team has built a children’s mental well-being program, and we need your support to realize it, implement it, and help the children.
Who is JoFactor Entertainment?
Joanne Boufis founded JoFactor Entertainment in 2018 after becoming widowed and witnessing the trauma her stepson endured. From this trauma, she wrote a book based on her husband and stepson’s story. Deciding to self-publish, the options for high quality self-publishing were slim. This is what led her to create JoFactor Entertainment. She now supports authors of all ages to self-publish high-quality stories that empower children.
Why children’s mental health?
Joanne’s mission to find stories that empower children is rooted in her deep compassion and empathy for children’s suffering. That is why when the Highland shooting happened, she immediately saw the shooter as a child needing help with mental and emotional issues. She decided it was her responsibility to create something that begins to address the underlying issue of mental health that many children in our country are struggling with. From this Art Is The Answer was born.
What is Art Is The Answer?
Art Is The Answer is an after-school program for children ages 7-12 designed to help them express their emotions and process trauma through art, music, and emotional intelligence exercises. Joanne believes that each child has a story to tell and that through the process of using various tools to tell their story, emotional healing can begin. The key is to give children the opportunity to express trauma and emotions that are bottled inside and not to leave them to deal with difficult emotions on their own. The hope is that learning these tools at a young age will keep children from taking drastic actions to end their own lives or the lives of others as they get older and are dealing with difficult emotions.
Weekly meetings will begin with meditation, art, music, writing, and emotional literacy activities accompanied by worksheets the kids can bring home and share with their families.
Our program will begin locally with Northfield, Deerfield, Highwood, Highland Park, and Glenview residents to provide help for families who have been directly impacted by the Highland Park shooting. The Art and Music wellness program will be led by members of our team who specialize in art therapy, guided meditation, sound therapy, and emotional literacy.
How can I help?
To undertake this pilot project, we need funding from our community. We have identified schools willing to have us come in and offer this program in addition to the Highland Park area. However, we need to be able to pay highly qualified professional staff to make it happen. Donations contribute to:
- Staff salaries
- Materials for the program
- Travel costs to speak at schools
- Product development costs
Donations also contribute to a greater goal of extending our program's access to schools throughout Illinois.
Why does this matter?
Our children’s mental well-being is our responsibility. This Go Fund Me is a call to action for our community to participate in creating something helpful and meaningful with direct impact at the root of the problem.
It is also an opportunity to give the survivors of the Highland Park shooting help to process their trauma in a safe place with support.
We can prevent further tragedies by addressing underlying mental health issues and helping children express them safely. But, first, we must give them the tools to do so.
About Our Team:
Dr. Marisa Christoffel EdD. (JoFactor professor)
- Dr. Marisa and the team had wrapped up our author school program when the tragedy hit. We spent all of July speaking with parents, therapists, counselors, school admin and more on the effects of the July 4th trauma.
AnneMarie Mal (JoFactor co-founder)
- While studying at Harvard, AnneMarie was one of the leading members in creating and writing the Emotional Intelligence program for MIT due to the high amount of suicides.
Joanne Boufis (JoFactor Co-founder and Creative Director)
- Joanne left Real Estate in 2018 after the loss of her husband and started this company to save children in hopes of saving her stepson. "I saw a need for kids to process their trauma and grief and started a company to save kids, and I did not know how that would look, but here we are four years later, and we have the answer for the kids right now."
Paige DeBoer (Creative Assistant Director)
Kim DeMeo (Head of Communications)
These are just a handful of empowering women who have driven this project to fruition.
Fundraising team (2)
JoFactor Entertainment
Organizer
Winnetka, IL
Joanne Boufis
Team member
