Our work is where art meets purpose.
A simple pre-packaged kit contains everything you need to create fifteen stars, including a set of brushes and paints. However, here are a few extras you might find in a Box of Hope:
Someone else's emotional recovery.
At Stars of HOPE, we believe that only an act of love can heal the wounds of hate. We believe this because many of us here are trauma survivors who received stars ourselves and can attest to how much they meant. By creating a star, you’re helping somebody else overcome what most people will only ever read about in the news or imagine in their worst nightmares. There’s no limit to how much hope and love a trauma survivor can receive and every star that’s created helps a survivor emotionally heal.
Connection with humanity.
Social isolation and distancing were the main features in our lives even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Kids were on their phones all the time, never talking to their parents. Emails took our attention away from our loved ones and invaded our lives at any hour of the day. Since the time of cave paintings, art has been a defining trait of humanity. Creating art for others helps us see meaning in the deeper parts of ourselves and reminds us that we’re all connected to something bigger.
Joy.
Much has been written on the therapeutic benefits of using art to communicate, self-actualize, and process emotional trauma. Let’s not forget that one of the most powerful benefits of art therapy is in the act of creation itself. True art is joyful—not necessarily in the sense that it needs to be happy all the time, but that it moved somebody and made them feel better. Having the power to give others joy enriches the creator’s sense of self. Receiving joy lifts the spirits, but giving joy nourishes the soul.
A reminder that your love matters.
Who couldn’t do with a little reminder that their love matters? Especially in an age where social media has a way of magnifying our flaws. So many trauma survivors are in daily battles for their emotional and psychological survival. How much quicker could they heal if each time one person sent a message of hate, a hundred others sent messages of love? Sharing love starts with the knowledge that your love matters and that it will make someone else’s world a better place.
A positive memory.
While trauma survivors have experienced the worst kind of chaos, their recovery can be helped by someone bringing something peaceful, reassuring, and joyful into their lives. Art is fun! Whether you create by yourself or with others, setting aside time for productive, healing activity is a way to share that inner joy with others (when kids and paint are involved, call it a better kind of chaos).
Whether you decide to make all fifteen stars all at once or spread them out to give yourself and others a year of hope, every star sent out helps make the world a better place. Become a part of the movement today.
