Happy Hands Art thrives thanks to volunteers who genuinely care. Each volunteer possesses a heartfelt dedication to young families, a desire for children to engage with real life rather than virtual spaces, and a commitment to encouraging parents to cherish time with them. Over the past decade, thousands of crafts dispatched across the country have been imbued with love, each one meticulously prepared during our volunteer packing days, awaiting the eager hands of children! Founded in 2011 as a not-for-profit organization, Happy Hands Art Time first opened its doors to the community in Nunawading, Victoria.
While homeschooling my children, now teenagers, their delight and happiness in creating art and the vibrant chaos it brought into my home was unmistakable. Their small hands clutching crayons to create images, smearing paint into smeary colors, or using an entire pot of glue for a single piece of paper – there was just pure joy on their faces! The beauty of this phase was their immersion in the creative process, reveling in the ‘happymess’ and pure joy without any pressure from me for specific outcomes. This approach also kept them keenly observant of the world around them, away from screens, and excited about endless possibilities. The hands-on, tactile nature of art, and the act of making various things, significantly enriched their learning and positive life experiences as they grew. To a child, a cardboard box holds infinite potential, doesn’t it?
Engaging in creation with my children has given me beautiful treasured memories and remains a passion I actively promote, encourage and share among young families, fostering it as a wonderful part of life.
You will love our fun, colourful and interactive teaching style in our programs! We aim to encourage children to create as they feel, as this is something that my own children have positively benefited from and continue to do so!
During sessions, both online and within locations, the environment is a space where children can smile and discover things for themselves at their own pace whilst enjoying the process.
The national award we received in 2016 for the ‘Best non-for-profit community program for preschoolers’ was a very humbling experience for us and so wonderfully encouraging for all of our volunteer teams, as they really do put all their heart into running sessions at the various locations each week. It recognized the efforts so whole-heartedly made. Our on-site locations would not have been possible without our willing volunteers.
COVID-19 has brought many changes within our space with many of the on-site locations closed during this time. We could not do nothing, we really wanted to do something!
Thanks to some very generous donations from the community, in the past year, we have been able to build a small purposeful filming studio to be able to bring Happy Hands Art into your homes as well. We really wanted to make our program accessible and affordable to many families currently navigating through tough times, and bring some joy and creativity into your weekly routines.
Come and share a little bit of Happymess with us!
Carolin Schmitz, (Happycaz)
Happy Hands Art Time Founder & Creative Director
