Tracy Ellyn, Executive Director
www.miamiartanddesign.net
info.zentovproject@gmail.com
305.582.1435

The Zen Tov Project is a division of Miami Art and Design, Inc. Founded by Tracy Ellyn, the Zen Tov Project has been engaged for over 16 years in a variety of acts of tikkun olam via growth and awareness through the arts.

The art experience has a dynamic effect on a child's development and an adult's continued growth. Through art, children learn to form consciousness, communicate, make judgments, think for themselves, perceive subtle relationships, be visually persuasive, express and articulate effectively, build confidence and competence, progress to higher standards, sense joy, grasp and use ideas, problem-solve, increase multicultural understanding, and finally, perceive and develop a special relationship with the world (Eisner). In short, art humanizes us.

The therapeutic gains from the arts include the use of the creative process to help heal people of all ages to improve their wellbeing and overcome their circumstances, whether physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, financial, bereavement, or any other life-related circumstances. We believe that the creative process is healing and life-enhancing, whether due to an inner state or an outer catastrophic event.

To that end, it is the mission of the Zen Tov Project to provide a variety of services to those who are in need of cathartic expression, as well as to those who might be given talent-related opportunities that could provide them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move out of their circumstances.

Some of the services we have provided in the past have included:

• art supplies / school supplies to Haitian orphanages after earthquake
• art classes and art education advice for special needs children and teens
• art scholarships for Miami's Magnet art students of talent who could not afford their class museum trips
• scholarships to students of financial need for audition training
• tickets to special performing art events to physically/mentally/familially/financially challenged children/teens who made-a-wish to experience stellar cultural events, such as those at Arsht Center
• cathartic art projects for adolescent teens in substance abuse rehabilitation centers
• cathartic art projects for other teen support groups
• therapeutic arts for 12-step program support groups
• bereavement support groups
• anti-bullying support groups
• special needs/autism/pdd support for children of special needs who would benefit from the arts, art supplies, large/fine motor skill support, and mastery art experiences
• donations of gallery art pieces as fundraising for children with special needs and children with cancer
• art supplies to children in developing countries, including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Africa, for the express purpose of exposure to the arts and the cathartic effect of arts on children
• art supplies to a variety of non-profit cultural, religious and educational organizations for the express purpose of teaching and disseminating visual information to young students in a hands-on manner that is far more approachable and embraceable than a verbal-mathematical approach
• art exhibitions from which a portion of the proceeds would benefit a variety of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, businesses, and educational institutions
• benefit art exhibitions for special needs children and children with cancer
• donations of rare and less rare art and design-related materials to deserving institutions and individuals
• fundraising art events for medical missions to developing countries
• donations for a variety of cultural arts programs that need to be kept alive for the greater good of the public, so that the arts can continue to inspire, heal, be shared and made public for all peoples. This includes classical music stations, museum exhibitions, European and domestic art trips, and the like.

Your contributions are fully or partially tax deductible as provided by law. Please contact us and we will supply you with the forms and payment information to our main 501(c)3 foundation. You will receive a receipt for your taxes within a week of your contribution.

We are grateful to continue the important work that we strongly believe the arts supply to our community, both individually and collectively. Most of all, we aim to touch the lives of each and every individual that we assist through these efforts.

For further information, please contact Tracy Ellyn, Executive Director, at
www.miamiartanddesign.net, or at info.zentovproject@gmail.com.