About the Nonprofit
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Organization’s unique purpose:
Ziggy’s Art Bus is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area. Our mission is to provide free, accessible, joyful art experiences to the underserved community of children with life-threatening conditions and their families.
Since Ziggy’s inception in 2019, we have served over 2000 children. Ziggy’s Art Bus is one of only two organizations in the entire U.S. that brings art experiences directly to children with life-threatening conditions at their own homes. We are the only organization in the nation that has created a fully accessible mobile art studio (our Art Bus!) that’s designed to be a bright, kid-friendly gathering space.
Who we serve:
Tragically, the number of children facing severe illness or in hospice remains constant and approximately 1000 children die from illness in Minnesota each year. These children are vulnerable, immunocompromised and often have limited mobility and limited verbal communication abilities.
As the majority of services available to this community are strictly in regards to medical care and physical health, Ziggy’s offers a needed, missing, NON-medical service. Ziggy’s has a profound impact on this population that is thankfully narrow but in tremendous need, by serving children with life-threatening conditions as well as their families to foster and enhance connection and community, and as illness in the home affects family members by also causing stress, fear and reducing opportunities for them to access art activities.
How we serve:
Ziggy’s Art Bus accomplishes its mission by providing in-person Guided Art Experiences and delivering curated Art Kits to children at their private homes and at our partnering organizations including Crescent Cove Hospice for Kids, the Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Minnesota Hospitals, and HopeKids. Ziggy’s has two main goals it works to achieve through our art programming:
1) Make art accessible
Families that have a severely ill child have extreme difficulty leaving their house or care home. The challenges these families face are barriers for them to access arts activities. As a mobile art studio, we eliminate this barrier by meeting them where they are.
“It’s a challenge to find art activities our child can do, and even harder to get there. We love Ziggy’s for making art accessible to all!” - Parent
2) Provide moments of joy & respite and opportunities for creativity & connection
Research confirms that creativity increases happiness, decreases stress, and allows for emotional expression. Our programs provide fun and relief from daily challenges, and offer opportunities for self-expression and connection with others.
“These families truly need help to lighten their load and have some joy during the hardest times of their lives, and Ziggy’s totally embodies that.” -Program Partner