For Parents
Parents/Guardians
Thanks for your interest in our club!
Art 4 Animals Club is a place where kids can use their art to make a difference for the conservation of wildlife and wildlands. It is also a place where adults who are in the lives of children can contribute to empowering the next generation. Many of us adults discovered the current rapid loss of wildlife, and even many whole species, and felt there was not much we could do. Here at our club, we want that to change. When kids begin to comprehend the situation, instead of feeling helpless, they can promptly understand that they have a way to contribute.
If you support your child's involvement, they will become a Member Artist. Membership is free and all possible protections are taken to ensure your child's safety online. We foster a respectful, safe, enriching experience.
Online Safety
Membership requires parental permission, filling out a short form, choosing a member name (not a given name but rather a nickname or username that will serve as their "artist name") and having your child sign our club pledge, which simply requests respectful behavior.
Additionally, we follow all COPPA laws (Child Online Privacy Protection Act) and even go beyond those laws at times. While the COPPA laws are designed for kids under 13, we are applying them on our site to all participants under the age of 18. As a result, we do require that parents sign a permission form for their child under 18 to participate. Young people ages 18 to 21 who become member artists do not need parental permission.
For kids 12 and under, use of only a parent/guardian email address is required. We do not communicate by email with kids 12 and under except through the parent email address. We do not accept a child’s email address at this age. If you would like to include two parent/guardian emails, you may do so. If your child turns 13 and you want to add or switch to their email address, please write to us.
For children 13 through 17, you may choose to offer your email address, your child’s email address, or both. To be clear, your email address is not required, but is an option. If either you or your child writes to us, we will reply to the address from which the email comes to us. However, if you offer two email addresses, we will send communications generated by us to both emails provided.
Any activities on our site that involve kids writing in using their own words to comment and contribute are curated by the facilitators of the site to ensure that content is kind and family friendly according to our club policies.
The Club Experience
When your child becomes a member artist, they will first sign up and create art that they will then photograph and upload to their own gallery on our club site. Please see our Member Artist page for more details.
Once your child has at least one picture in the gallery, visitors to the site can buy products such as fine art prints, customized postcards, mugs, t-shirts, etc., made with that image of their art. The original artwork is never sold and is always yours and your child’s to keep.
We also host group art activities that encourage the kids in the club to make art, fosters a sense of community, and helps them to learn about different aspects of our recipient organizations and the animals they serve. We also facilitate rotating group chats about specific topics in animal welfare. These chats are curated by us to make sure that all content is respectful and appropriate. We also host contests, with online badge prizes won for earning donation money. Please see Contests and Activities to find out more.
Spreading the Word
To help your child share his/her art and raise more funds for the animals, you can send out a Facebook or Instagram post with a link to our site that includes your child’s member artist name and/or the title of their work. We have premade Social Media Post Templates if you prefer. We also have brochures that you can print, fill out with your child's artist name, and mail or distribute.
If you want to go further in Spreading the Word, you can choose to set up a table. Tabling goes a long way in growing our club and sharing it with more interested member artists, parents and buyers. Please see Spread the Word for more information on setting up a table in your community.
***During these times of social distancing, we are only doing online community building efforts. Tabling supplies will become available when it is widely safe to interact up close.***
My Role as a Parent
As a parent, in this club, like in many aspects of your child's life, you are a partner to them in supporting their efforts. You can provide support with the process of using the website, provide art supplies and art-making opportunities, and help your child reach out into the community for buyers. You can do this as little or as much as truly suits your own family. Remember that your child can make beautiful art with the simplest of supplies.
Our club can bring great topics for dinner conversation, be they about the art your kids are making, the animals themselves, or anything else about participating that peaks your family's interest.
You can of course also become an Art Buyer on our site yourself, participating by buying your own children's work, either for yourself or for friends and family, as well as perhaps buying the work of other young artists in our community.
A Note of Caution for Parents/Guardians of our Youngest Participants
If you are a parent/guardian of a very young member artist, keep in mind that it’s important for your child to get a chance to enjoy nature and animals in a state that is worry-free. If you are parenting a young child, we suggest a focus more on the love we have for the animals and how wonderful they are in sharing our world than on the plight they face.
There are varying theories about what age is best for children to learn more details and spend more focused time on awareness of the challenges being faced in our natural systems. We bring this concept forth here simply to highlight a few considerations, so you can make informed choices for your family.
What's In It For My Child
Art 4 Animals Club can connect your child with a digital community of kids who care about animals, as well as help them reach out into their local communities. This kind of community connection can support kids emotionally, regardless of outcomes with the animals. We of course also want the kids to have real empowerment and success in using their own creative skills and vision to save animals and animal species.
If you have ideas as you progress about how our club could improve, or comments about how it has positively affected your child and family, we would love to know about it!
Getting Started!
Thank you for taking the time to explore our club for your family. We are here if you have any questions. We hope you will join us!
Click here to sign up a member artist.
Or here to explore our galleries.
You can also see our terms of use here and our privacy policy here.