We caught up with the 2016 Harvardwood Heroes and are excited to bring you their program updates throughout April!

This week, we heard from Jang Lee AB '19, who co-directs a Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) program called HARTZ.

"My service project focused on starting a pilot program in collaboration with the Harvard Art Museums. Hartz, an arts therapy program I co-direct, has wanted to start this pilot program for over a year. We had been talking with the Harvard Art Museums about logistics and how best to carry out a program that would take the elderly from the nursing home we work at to the art museum. We wanted to create a program that would allow the residents to get out of the nursing home and enjoy great art. Additionally, we wanted to create dialogue with the residents about the art they were looking at and even use this conversation as a starting point to discuss emotions and feelings. For example, when looking at a Van Gogh painting that was particularly blue, we asked the residents how the color blue made them feel.

"The pilot program was able to successfully launch at the beginning of the semester thanks to the Harvardwood heroes grant. It helped to fund the transportation of the residents to the art museum and also helped to purchase the art supplies we used for art workshops. An unexpected challenge when carrying out the program was that a lot of the residents were unable to easily get on the van that we used for transportation because of their limited mobility. However, using the Harvardwood grant HARTZ hopes to buy a ramp to help residents get into the van. Overall, the program was a great success and we plan on continuing to have these visits since the pilot went so well. Residents have been already asking about when the next trip to the museum will be!"

Jang is currently a sophomore at Harvard College studying Visual and Environmental Studies. He enjoys painting and drawing and is interested in the intersection of public service and arts. Jang does volunteer work with the Philips Brooks House Association and has been involved with HARTZ, an arts therapy public service program, since the spring of his freshman year.

We are now accepting applications for 2017 Harvardwood Heroes grants! Apply by April 22nd.