Bring ArtWell to our schools

High school. Two words that hold an infinite amount of awkward, painful, and life-defining experiences. If you had the chance, how would you re-define your high school experience?

 

My name is Michelle and I am a recent fellow of the FINNOVATION Fellowship Program , where I immersed myself in personal leadership development and startup business training to further develop ArtWell, my social startup. ArtWell's origin began with stories-shared experiences of our school system failing young people-myself included.

1 in 5 youth will be diagnosed with a mental health condition each year.

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in youth.

In a recent 2020 survey, only 4% of high school graduates said they learned critical skills for their wellness in high school while every respondent reported wanting to learn these skills had they had the means.

 

The stats are clear, there is a mental health crisis in our schools. With more than 15.4 million students in the United States our students deserve better, and we need to do better. ArtWell is driven to lead this call to action by creating an app that will be offered to teachers and students in the classroom. Our mission is to offer skills-based learning (through an app) for high schools in order to increase school outcomes, youth resiliency, and quality of life. We are founded on the idea that healing doesn't always have to be prescriptive, in many ways art can be a momentous opportunity for healing, self-empowerment, and growth. Because of this, we are creating an app that pairs art making to our wellness. Watch the video above for a quick app prototype demo (will be premiered beginning of June)!

 

To make this all possible, we are launching our company in four phases and we need your help to propel us forward.

 

Phase 1: Curriculum Incubator (Goal launch date: FALL 2021)

• Our fundraising goal of $40,000 will go towards stipends for six members and any additional administrative costs associated with the 3 month program

 

Phase 2: App Development

• ArtWell is currently networking with potential local software development companies to create the first iterations of our app using curriculum created for the incubator in Phase 1

 

Phase 3: Brand Development

• $20,000 for brand development

 

Phase 4: Pilot Program

• We are creating a proof of concept by offering the beta app to a select number of teachers and or schools for a minimum of one academic term
• Feedback from this pilot program will be used in reiterations of the app design to ensure it is user friendly and effective

 

When it comes to answering the question I posed above, you may not get to change your high school experience, but with your donation towards ArtWell's mission I promise we will help improve another young person's experience in the classroom. Let's build resilient thinkers so we can support audacious dreams!

 

**We are concurrently searching for grants to help fund the app development and pilot program**