My Goals This Year
-Winston Churchill
As Miss International 2012 I will continue to set new goals for myself as well as follow through with the goals I set for myself as Miss Minnesota International 2012. I will continue to help expand the Free Arts Mentoring program by speaking and educating everyone I encounter about the benefits of arts based mentoring. I will also speak out and spread awareness about the International Child Art Foundation and their efforts to help children express and overcome experiences with natural disasters through art. Awareness is good but action is better. I will take action by approaching and building relationships with corporate sponsors. I have already been working with the Wal-Mart Foundation to raise funds for Free Arts Minnesota. I promised Free Arts Minnesota I would bring them $10,000 by the end of my reign. I have also been asked to raise funds for the International Child Art Foundation. If I raise enough, it would allow me to host the Art Olympiad exhibit in Minnesota for the first time. The Art Olympiad Exhibit is compiled artwork made by children from around the world that depicts their favorite sport in the Olympics. I would love to partner with the American Heart Association for this event and encourage children and families to have “Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies!”
The International Child Art Foundation has also asked me to speak on the grounds of the nations capital during the next World Children’s Festival, the largest celebration of children and art! They have also extended an invitation for me to join them in Taipei, Taiwan to attend the International Conference on Creativity and to a Healing Arts workshop and Encouragement Art exhibition in Tohoku, Japan where children suffered from earthquakes and tsunamis. With all that said, I will be focused on recruiting many sponsors and donors. I will be reaching out to corporate supporters of the arts, LEGO, Hilton, and Yahoo as well as continuing to partner with The Wal-Mart Foundation. To raise money for my own personal travel expenses I am organizing an art auction of my own personal artwork and artwork made by children in art mentoring.
But its not just all about the fundraising, its about making a personal one on one connection and mentoring children. I am not just the type of queen who does the glamorous jobs. I enjoy kicking off my heels and getting hands on. My most enjoyable and significant moments were when I made a personal connection with a child playing on the floor, digging through a sand box, or getting covered in paint. I love those special little moments when a kid can see an adult as just a big kid, on their level. I hope to be able to continue mentoring through Free Arts, but with this new busy schedule I am just taking it one day at a time and only taking on tasks I know I can accomplish. As hard as it is, sometimes I have to say “No” to opportunities or events I would love to attend and be apart of. But, I have to stay focused because this year is going to fly past me. In the blink of an eye I will be standing back on that stage again, giving up my title.
I also help to continue volunteering for organizations like the American Heart Association, Special Olympics, Girl Scouts of America, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and arts organizations like Americans for the Arts, Art in Action, Art Therapy Alliance, and Art Therapy Without Boarders.
I want to reach as far and as wide as possible this year and make the most of every second. I am open to this journey and anywhere it takes me!
Continue to Dream,
XOXO
Krista Wanous
Miss International 2012
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