Starting with blank canvases – albeit a flowerpot, button or notebook – area youth got a better understanding of advocacy, finding their voice and civic engagement on a recent trip to the Art in the Heart, a nonprofit organization which combines creativity and community.

The trip was organized by Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) Civic Engagement Team. Students from six Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment (CASE) for Kids Texas ACE Cycle 11 grant campuses sites traveled to the house located on Houston’s northeast side on July 1.

Participants rotated through multiple activities. They included decorating flowerpots, creating buttons advocating for issues students wanted to tackle, designing journals on being a good community steward, and creating bags that reflected personal values.

Art in the House offers camps, art classes and workshops and mobile programs. Founder Veronica Cabrera converted her childhood home to an art complex that now features multiple classrooms and spaces for creativity.

“I finished the field trip with a lot of hope,” Civic Engagement Coordinator Austen Ross-Yorko said. “It’s difficult to encourage anyone to speak up about their values and worldviews, let alone young people who commonly feel like their voices don’t carry as much influence in the world. Art In the Heart did a great job creating a space where students could safely express themselves, using art to ease them into weighty discussions.”