Ed Steckley - NYC based humorous illustrator

Ink Well Foundation children's hospital visit

posted 6.9.10 at 12:01 am
Last Tuesday, June 8th, I had the opportunity once again to draw hospitalized kids at NY Methodist Children's Hospital in Brooklyn, for an organization called the Ink Well Foundation.

I've posted about this before, but a refresher is always good.

The goal of the Ink Well Foundation is to bring creativity and smiles to kids in the hospital. To quote their website:

We are a group of New York animators and cartoon artists who believe that a child’s creativity may provide a unique defense against hardship.
In our visits to health care centers we reveal the magic behind our films, TV shows, and illustrations while encouraging children to cultivate their own ideas. We hope to share the power of art as self-expression and as a good way to just take a break from trying times and have some fun.

What this amazing organization does is bring a group of volunteer professional artists to various children's hospitals, put them in a common area and basically have the artists spend time and draw with the kids. Some artists drew super heroes, some did cartoon characters, a few of us drew caricatures; whatever the kids asked for.

I don't have any photos of this event, but earlier in the year, myself and fellow artists and cartoonists, begining second from left, Sergey Aniskov, Adrian Sinnot, Elizabeth Winter (organization founder), Joe Vissichelli, Howard Beckerman, Ray Alma, me and Timothy Savage visited St. Mary's Children's Hospital in Queens. I wrote a blog post about it then, here's some of that post:

Some of the kids we work with are dealing with serious illnesses. However, I'm reminded that, even with communication challenges, as many had, every kid loves to watch an artist draw, and to receive a piece of artwork made especially for them can be a shining moment in an sometimes lonely and long-term hospitalization.

Joe V., drawin' caricatures

Me and Adrian Sinnot

The Ink Well Foundation is a 501C3 non-profit organization. If you're interested in donating to this great cause, click here and hit the Donate button.

It's a pleasure to contribute to this cause, and I look forward to my next visit. Thanks to everyone involved!