Art from the Heart

As part of the MAANZ mandate to “share your creativity with the world”, the MAANZ committee and subcommittee has reviewed a number of national charity funds and developed the necessary internal processes required to put together a unique and creative 'Art From The Heart' program. And to kick start our 'Art From The Heart’ program, MAANZ will be donating a percentage of monies raised from fundraising activities (not joining fee funds) to our chosen charity - The Starlight Children's Foundation.

What is The Starlight Children's Foundation?

Starlight's mission is to brighten the lives of all seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families throughout Australia. Over the next 12 months, around 600,000* children are expected to be hospitalised across Australia.  Currently, Starlight's programs reach around 200,000 of these seriously ill children and their families.  There is so much more for us to do. Starlight provides positive distraction and entertainment for seriously, chronically or terminally ill children, to take their mind off the pain, stress & isolation caused by their illness and treatment.  Starlight provides an opportunity for them to simply be kids, have fun and connect with other children - to do the things their illness has taken away.For more information, contact the Startlight Foundation.

What has MAANZ done so far, and what can YOU do?

Since the inception of the Art From The Heart program, which was only just recently, MAANZ has successfully raised enough money to help one child, Zachary, who is 14 years old, and who suffered a brain injury after he was hit by a car at the age of 2. The injury left Zachary with a significant weakness on his left side, as well as cognitive difficulties. Since the accident, he has been seeing a range of specialists in Sydney on a regular basis with his parents. Coming from southern NSW, each visit means a 9 hour round trip and a day off work for his parents. So neither Zachary nor his family have had a holiday in years. Zachary’s ‘ultimate’ wish is to go on a holiday to the Gold Coast to see all the theme parks such as Movie World, Seaworld and Dreamworld. Thanks to the generous donations of MAANZ members, and also non-members, MAANZ was able to help make Zachary's dream come true!It takes a minimum of $4,000 to help one needy child, and it is MAANZ's goal is to help as many needy children as possible. If you would like to donate money, mosaics to be raffled, or organize your own raffle or community event to raise money for The Starlight Foundation, please contact the president of MAANZ. Thanks for showing your heart through your art!

Kirk - MAANZ's Starlight Child

18 year old Kirk was diagnosed with several medical conditions at birth and has recently endured surgery for spinal fusion. He needs daily injections for his condition and needs to visit hospital every four months. Kirk’s passion in life is carpentry, so when given the opportunity to have his ultimate dream come true, Kirk’s wish was for his very own carpentry equipment and work bench! Kirk can’t wait for his new tools to arrive. He is thrilled that he will be able to learn more about carpentry and use his imagination with all of his new equipment to create works of art.  Kirk’s wish has given him something really special to look forward at a time when he needs it most.With your support we need to raise $5,000 to make Kirk’s dream come true. Every little bit counts, so if you have anything you can contribute to helping Kirk, please contact the president of MAANZ.Thanks to the generosity of MAANZ members and of people throwing their money in the dunny (a mosaic'd basin created by MAANZ members to help raise funds), we are close to reaching our goal for Kirk. Please do what you can to help raise that last little bit to fulfill Kirk's dreams. Thank you.BREAKING NEWS: We have achieved our goal of raising $5,000 to make Kirk's wish come true! An official presentation will occur in August. We will announce MAANZ's next Starlight Child shortly.

Message from our National Making A Difference Officer,

Rhonda Parry :

"Well, I just don’t know what to say … Yes I do ! We have the most amazing members in any association. They are just fantastic when it comes to fund raising.First person is our Vice President : Sandy Robertson : the Queensland dynamo ! At the Brisbane Stitches & Craft Show was Sandy and with her was a small band of wonderful willing volunteers. Over the days at the Show they encouraged people to buy Starlight merchandise, toss a coin in the dunny, demonstrated mosaics and generally had a good time and most importantly to have a laugh. Was all this effort worthwhile … YES they raised over $1,200 for the Starlight Foundation. A big Hooray for you all , and many thanks for all your time, we really do appreciate all that was done. Another wonderful member comes from South Australia. This is a very brave and determined woman – Helen Burgemeister. On Star Day she took her dunny and put it in front of the local Woolworths and raised all on her own $116.50. Just how proud we are of this effort by one mosaic fanatic, well done and another big Hooray to Helen. With all of those efforts we are now so close to the $5,000 we need to grant Kirk his wish . With Nola’s open day at her Studio on Saturday May 27th we should reach our target : we will have committee members there selling Starlight merchandise. So anyone who lives in the Sydney area please come by Nola’s studio – Mosaic Madness - in Rozelle and help us reach our target for Kirk and the Starlight Foundation.If there is any unused dunnies out there that need to be mosaiced and used for fund raising please let me know. I am just about finished putting together a “ Welcome Kit” : it will contain a box for donations, posters, balloons, star stickers and newsletters from the Starlight Foundation. All that you will need to fund raise and help grant a wish to a seriously ill child,we will also donate a small contribution of tiles to get you started. My contact details are : rhondaparry@ozemail.com.au or phone : 02 9602 9950 during office hours.I am sure my phone and emails will be running hot with offers to participate in this worthy cause. Gotta run the phone’s ringing now …. Someone wants to join the “ toss a coin the dunny “ brigade."

As often as possible, MAANZ will be bringing you a new Art from the Heart Story, where we highlight a member's Art From the Heart experience. On this page, we will also keep you informed of events you can join or be inspired by. Please click here to read our current Art From the Heart S