OUTREACH
Classes and Outreach programs 
benefit thousands of participants each year,
including more than 1000 children, and reach audiences over a 100 mile radius from
Columbia. Our scholarship program awards some 400 scholarships, valued at more
than $13,000, to children and adults with financial disadvantage. More than 300
volunteers contribute more than 1000 hours of valuable time at School of Service.
Access Arts collaborates with other organizations and schools serving special needs populations to provide diverse learning opportunities in the arts for the underserved and at-risk in our community. Our two longest-standing community collaborations provide artistic learning experiences for hundreds of at-risk and low-income children.
Partners in Art: 
Our partnership with Benton Elementary School
is a collaborative project bringing approx. 260 Benton school children (grades K-5) to Access
Arts for pottery lessons. This collaboration has been going on since 1994. In 2010
we received a Longevity award from Columbia Public Schools for the program. According to
recent census information, Benton's student body is approximately 60% low-income.
Fun City Youth Academy Art Classes
Fun City serves a diverse population of at-risk youth. Our collaboration with them benefits
approximately 60 children each year and has been doing so since 1984. We provide two
six-week art class sessions at Access Arts and at Douglass High School for low-income, minority
children from the city’s lower-first ward. The project culminates with an art sale fundraiser
during which the children sell selected artwork made in their classes to raise money for the Fun City
program. This program allows at-risk youth to create art, experience the value of their efforts
and develop self-worth by seeing people appreciate their artwork, all while they are giving back to
the Fun City program.
Workshops and demonstrations for area schools such as 
Boonville High School, St. Elizabeth's
High School, and Immaculate Conception in Washington, Mo., add quality to artistic education
in these schools.
Islamic School of Columbia Missouri serves an ethnically diverse audience and is one of our newest collaborative partners in art. Since 2006, all students (approx. 35 children K-5) have come to Access Arts studios for pottery lessons each spring. Their school is not equipped with studios for pottery, so our organization is able to enhance their arts curriculum and ensure these children have the same access to the arts as other school children.
Arts activities for groups such as the VA, Services for Independent Living, Adult Day
Connection, Woodhaven, ACT and area senior centers, and studio art classes for Hickman High
School's special education program, Columbia Montessori and Waldorf Schools, Heritage and Christian
Chapel Academies, and home-school groups broaden our community outreach and
improve the quality of artistic education for these schools.
Community events like VAC-MU Volunteer Fair, Art in the Park, Cherry Hill Summer Fest, Fall into the Arts, and Creative Kids Fun Festival, create opportunities for thousands to learn about Access Arts programs at our hands-on activity areas and interactive demonstrations.
Exhibits throught the year at MU Ellis Library, Peckham & Wright Architects, and other locations display student and instructor abilities, foster student self-confidence and highlight the artistic quality and community benefits of our programs.
Presentations and program support have been provided for three international groups: MU Emerging Leaders - Non-Profit Community Involvement and the Arts (Thailand), El Octal Weaving Project (Nicaragua), and Stephens College/TRAMA Textiles project (Guatamala), including material and equipment support.