There is a very good idea about community service and charitable ministry: apply online free open resources of graphic design to assist people, especially those with developmental disability, in promoting their arts and print-on-demand derived products to help them earn some money. Since high schoolers need and strive for this good opportunities of community service for their diploma requirements and college applications; college students and graduates also want to get the internship opportunity from this charitable ministry; it will attract many youth to participate in as volunteers. At the same time, the youth with developmental disability can get social interaction with the normal peer.
Hopefully, this would be a promising ministry for church members including adults and youth to develop community services and gospel outreach programs.
The following is about the resources of graphic design: Several print-on-demand printing suppliers such as Printful.com provide free online applications. People can edit digital art images on their websites to generate many virtual layouts on diverse products for free. They provide easy connections with ecommerce platforms of marketplaces such as Etsy.com. That can fulfill custom printing and dropshipping for customer's order. Therefore, artists don't need to order a lot of printing for each layout ahead and no need to rent a big space for product inventory. Moreover, there are lots of learning instructions in words or videos on search engines such as Google and YouTube. The young generation learn quickly and can easily use these free open resources to help the disadvantaged people. In all, it will save a lot of money for them and increase their chances of success.
Secondly, let's see what ArtGrace has established according to God's leading: 1. ArtGrace Foundation has been registered as a non-profit organization to serve. 2. Its website, ArtGrace.org, has already developed a platform with clear instructions about the beginning actions and future plans for the ministries. 3. ArtGrace also registered a subsidiary "AnTGrace Company" and set up its website AnTGrace.com, which will have Online Showcase and future online charity shops. 4. A sub-site "Print-on-Demand.AnTGrace.com", is established as a specific place to promote the "print-on-demand" products in the future. The above three websites: ArtGrace.org, AnTGrace.com, and Print-on-Demand.AntGrace.com, are all connected and under construction.
Now, we can accomplish the following visions through the platforms of ArtGrace.org and AnTGrace.com:
1. Call adult volunteers, high schoolers, and college students & graduates in church. Provide community services & internship programs for them to learn practical and professional work knowledge in the ministries. The work will involve: publicity on print & digital media, digital images editing & re-design for derived products, copy-writing & text editing for web pages and digital e-Magazine, web-page layout design & development, logo design, and WordPress website development & maintenance. 2. Publicize the arts & talents by the disadvantaged artists, especially those with special needs, on AnTGrace's Online Showcase & ArtGrace's digital eMagazine; give a like and forwarding on the social media. Hopefully, these can help increase their income, self-confidence and gratitude. 3.Gather all grateful testimonies of God's grace onto the platforms. Give glories to God and bring people to Him. The thankful contents include the arts & talents God give, family support, and our assistance in the display and publicity. 4. Create job opportunities for the disadvantaged artists and the people who want to contribute themselves to God in this field.
It's hard for many artists to strive for success unless people give plenty support to them. This service program will bring great benefits to the artists who just getting started and reduce the stress of their individual marketing. At the same time, ArtGrace with AnTGrace will be a friendly extra and supportive platform for those artists who already have their own display channel.
It is a great opportunity and platform for all the talented. They can showcase and contribute their efforts and talented gifts to the community; also share the gospel and glorify God.
To help advocate and manifest God' grace, God reveals that there are many ways we can make efforts to engage in such as through arts, literatures, and talented performance. Also, the value and importance of this mission need to be passed down to the next generation.
Goals
* Spread God's love and help people, especially those with special needs, to gain their financial independence through promoting their talents and endeavor.
* Manifest God's grace from the creation of universe, salvation of Jesus, to the talents that He has given to us. We can bring people to give thanks to God and glorify Him through the arts, literature, and testimony sharing.
* Promote the art of Bible stories and God's words; praise God for His grace to all of our artists and the talented who has extraordinary performance.
To be a beneficial & supportive resource for church, school, and community.
Positioning:
To be a devoted Christian non-profit organization & a promoting ambassador: * Provides online platforms that assists in publicizing the arts or talents by the disadvantaged people and those who want to glorify God. *Help showcase their efforts and contributions, increase their confidence, sense of accomplishment, and some income. * Let them have the honor to share the Jesus Christ Gospel.
Preface
Many Special Needs kids & young adults with autism spend lots of their time drawing, making crafts, baking, playing music instruments, etc. Their parents normally are exhausted from daily life and experience many difficulties to help them achieve their multi-faceted independence. We, ArtGrace Foundation, want to provide them platforms with diverse functions and ministries to showcase their talents, increase their product sales, and strengthen their self-confidence, self-actualization, and independence. Thereby, these parents and kids can get help and benefits from ArtGrace. When you see their works, you will feel amazed at how detailed and fantastic their talents and passions are!
First, let's take a look at the status of the population and employment of the disabled youth.
Youth Disability (according to Youth.gov.)
"Of the 62 million children in the United States who are under age 15, almost 10 percent have a disability. Among children aged 6 to 14, more than 1 in 10 children have a disability, and more than 1 in 20 children in this age group have a severe disability."
Data & Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder (according to CDC)
"About 1 in 36 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
About 1 in 6 (17%) children aged 3–17 years were diagnosed with a developmental disability, as reported by parents, during a study period of 2009-2017. These included autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, blindness, and cerebral palsy, among others. "
Disability and Poverty (according to U.S. Census of Bureau brief)
"In 2019, children living in poverty were more likely to have a disability (6.5%) than children living above the poverty threshold (3.8%).
The difference in the prevalence of disability between children below and above the poverty threshold is noteworthy. Families in poverty tend to have fewer financial resources to care for a child with a disability.
Children with disabilities may have additional needs that prevent one or more family members from participating in the workforce. This can create a financial strain for families, and in some cases may contribute to a family’s entry into poverty.
Disability rates were significantly higher in 2019 than in 2008 for both children in poverty and those not in poverty. However, the percentage point increase was greater for children above the poverty threshold.
This increase in disability prevalence among children in families above the poverty threshold does not necessarily mean that children in this group had a higher risk of disability in 2019 than in 2008. It may stem from changes in access to health care and diagnosis among members of this group.
Changes in public awareness and diagnosis of disability in the United States also may have contributed to the overall increase in the childhood disability rate between 2008 and 2019.
These trends, as well as differences in resources available to families to care for children with a disability, pose unique challenges to interpreting U.S. disability pattern."
Disablity Employment
In 2022, 21.3% of persons with a disability were employed, up from 19.1% in 2021, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
More than 66% of young adults on the Autism spectrum are unemployed and are not engaged in higher education 2 years after exiting high school. (according to autismsociety.org)
Employment Rate: at least 20% of autistic adults are employed. Researchers also discovered that a combined 24% of study participants had either part-time or full-time jobs with no outside support. ( according to mydisabilityjobs.com)
Autismspeaks.org 2019 reported, "Global data indicates that the vast majority of adults with autism are either unemployed or underemployed, with estimates ranging to as high as 85%. This should not be the case, and it won’t be for long… we know that these poor outcomes are not due to an inability of people with autism to perform job tasks. We know many adults with ASDs who are demonstrating their competence in a wide variety of industries and at all ranks within businesses around the world. But for the vast majority, these job opportunities are not being made available to them. Together, we can make an impact…"
"More than half of young adults with autism remain unemployed and un-enrolled in higher education in the two years after high school. Of the nearly 18,000 people with autism who used state-funded vocational rehabilitation programs in 2014, only 60 percent left the program with a job. Of these, 80 percent worked part-time at a median weekly rate of $160, putting them well below the poverty level. Nearly half of the 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job. "
2021 the updated report said "A government-funded project meant to help low-income adolescents with disabilities become financially stable adults doubled employment rates in autistic people 18 months after starting the program.
Nearly half of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job, and global estimates range as high as 85 percent unemployment or underemployment.
Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income or PROMISE works to connect adolescents with disabilities to services supporting their transition to adulthood and finding paying job."
Secondly, let's turn to look at the status of the artists.
"Artists in the U.S. Workforce 2006-2020" - according to National Arts Administration And Policy Publication Database (NAAPPD) posted by AmericansForTheArts.org
"The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there were 2.57 million artists in the U.S. workforce in 2020—representing 1.6% of all workers ages 16 and older.
In 2020, the unemployment rate for artists was 10.3%, up from 3.7% in 2019. The 2020 unemployment rate for artists remains higher than “Professionals” (4.9%), a category of workers that includes artists and other occupations that generally require college training. The 2020 unemployment rate for the total workforce was 7.8%.
It is important to note that this analysis of the artist labor force is comprised of just 11 occupational categories: architects; art directors, fine artists, and animators; designers; actors; producers, and directors; dancers and choreographers; musicians; announcers; writers and authors; photographers; and other artists and entertainers. While these categories only capture a portion of all artists in the workforce, this methodology has been used by the federal government for over 50 years, which makes it a valuable artist employment trend.
Also noteworthy is that this is an analysis solely of artist employment. It does not include many arts-related jobs such as arts administrators, curators, technical staff, and fundraisers.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Office of Research & Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021."
Therefore, the conclusion is : many disabled people, especially those who engage in art, need job opportunities (either self-employed or to be hired); and many normal artists have less job opportunities than "Professionals". Moreover, both of them need more good offers including better income and helpful work environment for social interaction.
We, ArtGrace Foundation, want to make some efforts to help the above situation. We will create job opportunities for them through diverse programs and ministries; assist them to apply the free product mockup virtual service from printing suppliers like Printful.com for their artwork images to print on T-shirt, mug, bag, etc.; help them set up their free to low-cost online stores at the welknown craft & art marketplace such as Etsy.com and connect with their Printful virtual products so they don't need to invest & produce ahead and can sell without burden for their print-on-demand art products.
We will publicize their arts and talents through the online showcase, the ArtGrace (digital) eMagazine, and the social media. Hopefully, that can help the promotion of sales for their products. In the future, we hope we can establish gallery centers nationwide at donated properties to create job opportunities for them. The gallery center will exhibit and showcase their talents, and that will includes operating bakery-cafes and gift shops. They will work for the gallery center and interact with visitors, fans, and customers to enhance their social skills, self-confidence, positive self-image, and independence. Some special education assistants or ABA behavior technicians will assist them at the scene.
We desire to not only present wonderful arts & talents and introduce the talented persons, but also wish for people to see God's grace manifestly displayed in the arts, talents, and persons as well. Moreover, we want people come to know and experience the trinity God through His words, Bible; repent and get God's salvation and eternal life. That's the ultimate will of God besides His love we pass on. The Bible verses as below encourage us to start ArtGrace with participation in the ministry of God's kingdom. Hope you are also encouraged to join and bring people to Him!
"....Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25: 40
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said:' It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35
"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. " John 17: 3
" I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." Jeremiah 24: 7
"Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3
