Des Moines, Iowa – ASAP, the After School Arts Program, has received a grant from Variety—the Children’s Charity to fund art supplies for ASAP’s studio programs during the 2021–22 school year.

ASAP is a nonprofit organization serving greater Des Moines with free arts enrichment programs for children who would otherwise not have access to high-quality programming outside of school. ASAP serves more than two thousand student enrollments annually, at no cost to children or their families. ASAP provides instruction from paid professional Teaching Artists, and all supplies needed for students to explore and learn through the arts.

The Variety grant will be used to purchase those supplies for ASAP’s arts classes, with topics ranging from printmaking, sculpture, comics, and collage, to storytelling, African dance, origami, and culinary arts. Variety’s support is crucially important to helping ASAP do its work: connecting children with life-affirming experiences in the arts.

ASAP Executive Director Michelle Bolton King reiterates the significance of Variety’s support:

Ample, quality art supplies are basic building blocks of ASAP programming. The Variety grant connects over a thousand young people with the arts and allows them to experiment and stretch their creativity, learn new ways to express themselves, make new friends with similar interests, build confidence and try new things — opportunities they may not have ever had without ASAP and Variety. Participating in the arts helps keep kids engaged in learning while practicing critical skills like patience, persistence, and collaboration, in addition to having fun learning through the arts.

About Variety – the Children’s Charity of Iowa

Variety – the Children’s Charity is dedicated to improving the lives of children who are underprivileged, at-risk, critically ill or living with special needs. Grant funding is provided to programs and initiatives that directly impact the well-being of children.

For more information on Variety grants and programs please visit varietyiowa.com.

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Contact:

Michelle Bolton King, ASAP Executive Director

515-770-3380, michelle@asap-dsm.org