Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Pham.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elise. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The summer before my sophomore year of high school, my family traveled to the Dominican Republic. While touring the outskirts of Punta Cana, we visited an elementary school where I first became aware of the economic disparity existing between my home country and others such as the Dominican Republic. I asked the teacher if the students had art supplies; as expected, she told me that funding for art courses was among the first to be cut as budgets tightened.
When I returned from this trip, I began to think about how emotionally difficult and mentally hindering it is for these young children not to have a creative outlet. Thus, I began to wonder: How can I help distribute art supplies to underfunded communities like the one I visited to inspire self-creativity and foster individual growth? That is when I began the journey of establishing Inspire With Colors.
Founded in January of 2020, this 501(c)(3) non-profit organization donates new and recycled art supplies to underfunded communities and individuals in need in order to provide a widespread opportunity to engage in art.
The process of initiating my vision of a brighter, more colorful world was difficult, but after learning how to properly lead a team, raise sufficient funds, and communicate with other organizations, we began donating to local art therapy programs and eventually to children’s educational facilities. By the summer of 2020, crayons that were destined for the dump were renovated and able to make their way to Uganda – where they helped provide 440 students with quarantine art kits. To this day, we are still continuing to donate to local programs, as well as, international organizations in countries such as Vietnam and Costa Rica. In fact, we just finished executing a big international project in which we established an art program at underfunded facilities, such as an orphanage and a Center for Child Autism Services, in the village outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
As the founder of Inspire With Colors, I plan donation projects, manage our supplies, and lead my amazing team. I ensure the effective facilitation of our donations and plan fundraisers to meet our needs. Moreover, I coordinate with our board members to make sure that we continue to carry out our mission – one crayon at a time. As with every other journey, I encountered many challenges along the way, such as filing the wrong government forms, struggling to meet our budget, or having to replan when certain projects got cancelled because of COVID-19. But learning from these difficulties has caused me to learn to be resilient when expectations go wrong and continually motivate others to use their skills to help others.
Even though Inspire With Colors is still relatively young, I believe we have painted a smile on the communities we have touched. As we expand our impact, our goal is to aid those who are economically or opportunistically disadvantaged to have an equal chance to let their imaginations run wild.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As a 16-year-old student balancing school and other extracurriculars, I had no idea where and how to start a non-profit organization. The only thing that I was certain of was my desire to empower individuals through art. Without anyone around me with any knowledge or experience with tackling the non-profit sector, I spent weeks researching the certification process, learning how to build a website, and familiarizing myself with the paper filing process. Moreover, I started with zero funds and I was criticized for “thinking too big”. At one point, I felt as though I had no support and that this dream would never become a reality; fortunately, I continued to persevere, and now, Inspire With Colors has been able to paint a rainbow on the face of many communities.
Please tell us about Inspire With Colors.
Inspire With Colors is a Texas 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with a mission deeply rooted in an appreciation of the artist in all of us. For many, funding for art courses is among the first to be cut as budgets tighten. This is especially difficult for the most vulnerable among us – young children and those with communication impairments. Our mission is to provide art supplies to underfunded facilities and individuals in need in order to inspire self-creativity and provide widespread opportunities to engage in art. We are a small team of experienced individuals dedicated to making a big impact on the world. Throughout history, art has been used as a means of creative expression and emotional development. We believe it is imperative that art is a part of everyone’s life in order to provide that inner support. Our goal is to make sure that those who may not be as privileged to afford the basic supplies for stimulating imaginative expression to get the opportunity to satisfy their inner artist.
From crayons to colored pencils to paints, our donations serve the purpose of establishing the presence of art in communities that lack enough funding for such an enterprise. Moreover, we aim to recycle art supplies destined for the dump in order to be used by individuals who may lack a creative outlet. With art being an overlooked aspect of communities, we hope to re-establish the primacy of colors and paint the world a little brighter – one crayon at a time.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
John Ross is our Chief Information Officer and helped guide me through the process of building our website. Without his knowledge and guidance, I would have never been able to publish https://inspirewithcolors.org. Because he also has some experience with the IRS, he was able to answer my questions regarding filing paperwork and helped me make key decisions regarding governmental processes.
Moreover, my dad, Kevin Pham, helped me organize some financial aspects of our organization – including setting up a bank account. In addition to helping me drop-off supplies at local organizations, he also helped organize the logistics for our international project in Vietnam.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://inspirewithcolors.org
- Phone: 6825831152
- Email: hello@inspirewithcolors.org, elise.pham@inspirewithcolors.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspirewithcolors/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inspirewithcolors
Image Credit:
Sarah Nininger – Photo of Ugandan girl
Marie Howell – Photo of nurses holding up art supplies
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
