PRESS RELEASES

Art.com Sponsors After-School Arts Program for Oakland Youth

Leading online retailer of wall art & décor to fund The Museum of Children’s Arts’ after-school arts programming for the full school year

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (September 12, 2017)—Art.com, the world’s leading online destination for discovering and purchasing art, today announced it will sponsor the Museum of Children’s Arts (MOCHA) with a $20,000 donation for the upcoming school year. The donation will fund MOCHA’s Library Education and Art Program (LEAP)—which was previously canceled due to lack of funding—for the entire school year. This after-school arts program is drop-in and completely free for attendees.

"When we learned that this after-school art program in our own backyard was being canceled, we felt compelled to act," says Kira Wampler, Chief Executive Officer of Art.com, Inc. "Art is a tremendously powerful tool for fostering creativity, curiosity and educational success. We're delighted to help MOCHA do the great work they do to strengthen our community through art."

MOCHA serves approximately 30,000 Bay Area children and their families annually. The LEAP program’s weekly, two-hour workshops will rotate through various public libraries in Oakland from Sept 13, 2017 – June 28, 2018. All workshops will be led by trained teaching artists and focus on building creativity, socioemotional and academic skills through painting, drawing, sculpting, collage and numerous other art forms.

"Art.com’s donation will touch thousands of lives this school year, and will allow children in our community to express themselves through art," said Roxanne Padgett, Executive Director of MOCHA. "We are thrilled to be able to serve Oakland youth through LEAP."

California budget cuts have impacted education spending statewide, and Oakland is no exception—the district received $10 million less for the 2017-2018 school year than the year prior, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle. With cuts being implemented across programs, the work of organizations like MOCHA, along with donations from community partners like Art.com, keep arts programming alive. Studies have found that students who participate in visual arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achieve and three times more likely to have regular school attendance, making MOCHA’s programs essential to bettering the community.

As part of the LEAP program, MOCHA will also hold quarterly Art.com Days, free Community Days that will bring art exhibits to the Oakland community with the hopes of inspiring families to express themselves through art and make their own creations at the various art stations MOCHA offers. The first Art.com Day is scheduled for September 30, 2017, and will be open to the public from 10:00am – 1:00pm.

If you would like to join Art.com in supporting MOCHA and the LEAP program, visit www.mocha.org.

About The Museum of Children’s Arts
MOCHA was founded in 1989, and serves more than 30,000 young people and their families each year. Our mission is to strengthen our community by nurturing young people’s creativity, curiosity and educational success. MOCHA’s teaching artists engage thousands of children and their family members in creating art in schools, public libraries and after-school sites throughout the East Bay.

About Art.com
Art.com is the world's leading online destination for experiencing and buying high-quality wall art. Offering the largest selection of handpicked art images, as well as custom framing, specialty printing, and interactive visualization tools, Art.com helps everyone explore, experiment with and express themselves through artwork—and have fun doing it. Art.com is forever leading the way art is experienced and consumed—through service, technology and craftsmanship—to help people find art they love so they can love their spaces more. A division of Art.com Inc., Art.com is based in Emeryville, Calif.