New Portrait on Etsy- Begendy

This sweet little boy is Begendy. His sister has also been in the RC, both with severe malnutrition. Their father brought them in and their mother has been very sick and unable to work. They have one other child and they have lost two children already to kwashiorkor (one died in the RC a few years ago.) Thankfully, Begendy was healthy enough to go home to his family.

Children like Begendy are brought into the RC every day. Sometimes they gain weight and start to do very well. Sometimes the malnutrition is too advanced and they die. The wonderful people at the Rescue Center in Haiti do everything they can to provide for these children, and our hope is that we can help with their efforts through art and creativity.

Please check out our Etsy site for this amazing portrait by Alexis!

Artist Bio- Alexis

The main reason we started Artists For Hope was obviously to help people. We wanted to give hope to children and help to provide them with the basic things they need to survive.

We realized that art is universal and appeals to people all over the world. People create art and people buy art. We want people to come here to learn about new artists and purchase artwork that will help provide food and medical care to children that need it SO much.

We want this blog to be a place where we can tell people about the artists that have so generously donated to Artists For Hope. I know many of you have already seen the portraits of Rosena and Deny that Alexis has created...and now it's time for you to learn a little more about this amazing artist.

Alexis studied art at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and has continued studying art at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. She started doing portraits for family and friends in college and word spread quickly of her talent. She began doing portraits for clients while living in Chicago and has been doing custom portraits ever since. She often works from photos (sometimes directly off her computer screen) and uses Prismacolor pencils to create her work. She is excited to be able to use her gift to make a positive mark on the lives of the children in Haiti and she hopes her drawings will bring hope to the children and joy to the people who purchase them.

Thank you Alexis! Please check out her amazing portrait of Deny, who is still living at the Rescue Center in Haiti and check our Etsy Site soon for more of Alexis's portraits that she has so generously donated. If you would like more information from Alexis about doing a custom portrait, please contact her at

♫

alexis_laguardia@yahoo.com

Waiting and Thank you

If you haven't already, take the time to read about little Nerlande. Her story is incredible and I was SO happy to see how great she looked when I checked the RHRC website today.

Here she is now...
2 pounds bigger and looking so healthy!

Here she is when she came into the Rescue Center.
She has already been through so much in her little life.
I can't even imagine!
The money we are raising is going to give HOPE to children like Nerlande.

One of the things Artists For Hope was able to do with money from the artwork donated so far was have new dresses made for the children at the RC. Scrub material was donated to them and they were able to employ some women to sew uniforms/dresses for the children that live at the center. The children now have a clean, new outfit to wear and someone was able to earn some money for their family by sewing....thanks to your donations.

We have also donated just for the general needs of the center, but it's nice to see something specific that has come from your purchases. The people who work at the Rescue Center work hard day after day to help these children and adults and I know they are very thankful for the artists and people who have purchased artwork to help them. Thank you!

If anyone has gone through the process of starting a Non Profit, will you let me know. We want to get going on this ASAP, but honestly it kind of makes my head hurt. I'm hoping there is someone who has gone through the process and can give us some tips. I know it's a bit of a long process and I don't really want to wait to get things going...but I know it's the next step we need to take. Thanks!

For Sale: Portrait of Deny

For sale on our Etsy Site

I'm so excited to list another amazing portrait by Alexis. I'm thankful to have such a talented friend with a heart for the children in Haiti.

This drawing is incredible! This closeup of Deny will make an amazing addition to any art collection and will be a reminder of the hope and strength of the beautiful children in Haiti.

Deny was admitted into the Rescue Center on May 6, 2006. He was left outside of their gate and has been living there ever since. He had hydrocephalus and he had surgery in Haiti in Oct 2007. They put a shunt in to drain the water from his head and he is doing well now. Because of the care he received at the Rescue Center, he can walk, talk, and play like all the other children. Their guess is that he is about 4 years old. I think he has one of the sweetest little faces I have ever seen!

The picture is custom matted and will fit into a 22x28 frame.

Thank you for helping to bring hope to the children in Haiti!

$199.00 (shipping included)
* ALL proceeds go to help the Rescue Center in Haiti

SOLD: Necklace

SOLD!
Thank you! :)

We are going to try listing things directly from the site for now to avoid ebay fees. Hopefully this will allow for us to start listing donated artwork in the very near future.
This is our first attempt, so I'm putting a scrabble tile necklace I made with a flag of Haiti, and whoever buys this can hold Haiti close to their heart.

$10.00
*Remember all proceeds go to the RHRC to help the children!

Rosena

SOLD!!!
If you've been trying to find this beautiful picture on our Etsy Site...it's already sold!
We will have more of Alexis's beautiful work for sale very soon.

Thank you SO much for helping
the children at the Rescue Center!

Check out this AMAZING portrait by Alexis Studenberg. This is Rosena and she is a very special girl who has been living at the Real Hope For Haiti Rescue Center.
Despite the challenges that this beautiful girl has faced, her smile shows the joy and hope that children hold on to. You can't help but feel happy when you look at this face!

This original portrait is listed on the artistsforhope Etsy site.
ALL proceeds from this portrait go directly to help the children in Haiti.
Not only will you have this amazing portrait to remind you of the beauty of Haiti, you know that you made a difference in the lives of the children at the Rescue Center.
Could it get any better than that?

Thanks for giving children HOPE!!!

Is Ebay the Answer?

12-16-08 UPDATE~ We're trying to find a solution so we can start posting donations. We may have to do an ebay site for a short time while coming up with a better idea...but we've had some great ideas come in and we're hoping it won't be long!

My friend Alexis and I have started an Etsy site in the meantime to sell her amazing portraits she has done of some of the children at the Rescue Center in Haiti. You MUST check it out!

Please let us know if you have any more great ideas!

We're busy trying to figure out where the best place to sell donations would be. We were hoping to use Etsy, because it's just a cool/happy/art- filled place to be....but their rules don't allow donated artwork to be sold from there. Bummer. So we're thinking ebay. Ebay isn't the best place for this because of the fees, but it also allows for lots of people who are searching for items to come across the things that are being sold. Kinda good~Kinda bad.

Our goal is to start ASAP getting our Non-Profit Status (which is a HECK of lot of work we're learning) and then we will be able to sell off of ebay without any fees being taken out. We obviously want ALL the money to go to the Rescue Center. Not to ebay! As great as ebay is and all, we're trying to help kids here! ;)

If anyone has a great idea about a better way to sell donations, please let us know. We're so excited and thankful for all the people who are interested in donating and the Rescue Center is SO excited to have artists who care about the kids there and want to help!

Please email me (Roberta) at artistsforhope@gmail.com or leave a comment with any questions or ideas you might have, or if you want to donate or help in some way. Thank you!!!