Arts for Health To Go Bags are sterile bags of awesome art supplies for individual use by patients at local assisted living facilities. Studies have shown that engaging in creative activities in the healthcare setting can help patients, from pediatric to the end of lifespan, cope with the stress of illness, deter against depression, and maintain and improve health conditions. Specifically for older adults, engaging in the arts has been shown to relieve stress, increase communication, and improve quality of life for patients and caregivers alike (Hanna, Rollins, & Lewis, 2017). With an Awesome Project Grant in Orlando, we will partner with local Brookdale Senior Living locations to distribute 100 Arts for Health To Go Bags.
Arts for Health Florida is a statewide not-for-profit organization that seeks to promote the use of the arts to enhance health and well-being. The goal of our Awesome Project is to expand access to arts engagement to patients at facilities that may not normally provide those services. We are applying for grants from the four Awesome chapters in Florida, to allow us to provide the art bags to as many facilities as possible across the state.
The Arts for Health To Go Bags will supply residents with the supplies needed to creatively engage during their stay. Included in each of the 100 bags will be a sketchbook/journal, prompts for journaling and sketching, water-soluble colored pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharper, graphite pencils, a pilot pen, origami paper and instructions, and mandala coloring pages.
We believe that our Awesome Project will provide the proven benefits of arts in health to residents in need in Orlando. This outreach will also help us build new relationships around the state of Florida, allowing us to better serve our goal of becoming a collaborative resource for individuals and organizations interested in arts and health integration programs.

Hanna, G,Rollins, J,Lewis, L(2017)Arts in Medicine Literature Review. GIAresearch.