Giving From the Heart: Bellevue Arts Museum
August 19, 2020 - by Mona Ghorbani
Giving From the Heart: Bellevue Arts Museum
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses and companies set examples of the power and benefit of giving back to the community. Bellevue Arts Museum recently partnered with BloodWorks NW and created new youth programs, helping increase critical blood donations and support children in need. By doing both, they also showcased a great exhibition: the art of giving back and human kindness.
“When the difficult decision was made on March 13 to temporarily close the building to the public, the Museum was determined to adapt and find dynamic new ways to fulfill its mission,” Julia Sepulveda, Director of Special Events and Volunteers at BAM, said.
And that they did! BAM took creative and dynamic efforts to give back to the greater community. One of them was joining forces with BloodWorks NW in an effort to build our region’s blood supply to support cancer patients, trauma victims, premature babies - and of course, treat severely ill COVID-19 patients.
The museum became a pop-up blood donation center, complete with safety measures in place to protect donors during the pandemic. It was a success, with 236 donors giving blood that will go on to help 654 patients in the community.
Another example of BAM’s community service came in response to the closure of the Bellevue School District. The museum made it a priority to help children in need by delivering take-home art kits, helping ensure they had some tools for processing the trauma of the pandemic in a creative and constructive way. Since the first delivery in March, BAM donated more than 200 take-home art kits per week to kids in the Bellevue School District. In addition, towards the end of July, they also were able to give out 6,000 free take-home craft kits for kids.
“Since we could not host ARTSfair and KIDSfair due to COVID19, BAM wanted to give back to the community to help fill the void that children are experiencing right now, Sepulveda said.”
The feedback from these take-home craft kits have been tremendously positive. Teachers and childcare workers in the Bellevue School District said these kits are the highlight of the week for many of the children.
“BAM is more than just a building,” Sepulveda said. “It is an organization committed to the cultural and emotional wellbeing of the community.”
To find out more about the Bellevue Arts Museum or how you can support their efforts to give back to our community, visit their website.
This blog is part of the Heart of Bellevue: our campaign to showcase local businesses while connecting you with stories of activity, creativity and recovery. Find out about our campaign and explore more of what’s happening around Downtown.
