The organization, which offers classes and other services to people with disabilities in south central Indiana, will begin offering the class in early September.
“We’ve done art classes before, but nothing like this,” said Stephanie Shelton, the organization’s chief development officer. “We’ve tried to be as creative as we can, but we’ve never had someone with actual art education or art skills to teach the class, so that’s going to be the big difference.”
Shelton said that anyone interested in art or special education should feel welcome to apply. Each instructor would ideally be able to commit to teaching for one hour on two or three Fridays.
“We want to give volunteers the opportunity to leave their mark on the class by planning the projects for the day,” Shelton said. “We’ll have a list of general topics we will be covering, but the volunteers will get to create the actual activities and choose what medium they want to work with among the supplies that we have.”
Shelton noted that LIFEDesign staff will help the volunteers create classes that are fun and appropriate for the nonprofit’s students.
Though class participants enjoyed the previous kinds of art activities offered by the organization, Shelton said this new format will give them more practical skills.
“This will open up a window of opportunity for them to explore possible employment possibilities in the art field and make connections with local artists,” Shelton said.
Art is not the only class taught by volunteers.
“Folklore and urban legends,” “Cooking like a pro” and “Fashion and trends” are among the other LIFEDesign courses in need of instructors.
Shelton said volunteers will also benefit from teaching the course.
“Being involved with this class would help strengthen those creative problem solving skills and help people think outside the box,” she said.
Those interested in the program may visit lifedesignsinc.org to find the application.
