Past Press Releases
Silent Art Auction Features Original Works Representing United Way Partner Agencies
Denton, Texas (November 11, 2009): Two groups of University of North Texas students have teamed up in an effort to honor the nonprofit agencies that provide much-needed services to residents of Denton County with a Silent Art Auction on Sunday, November 22nd from 4:00 to 7:00pm in the Lightwell Gallery inside the UNT Art Building.
Members of American Humanics, the non-profit management student organization in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at UNT, have been collaborating with Drawing 2 art students in the College of Visual Arts and Design to produce 26 original works of art that represent each of the funded partner agencies of United Way of Denton County. A sampling of some of the pieces available can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/unitedwaydenton/AmericanHumanicsSilentArtAuction#
Advance tickets for the auction may be purchased at the University Union, 3rd Level Information Center, through November 2oth. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm, and Saturday 10:00am to 4:00pm. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for college students, as well as UNT faculty and staff. Light refreshments will be served.
Kristen Sale, American Humanics secretary and chairperson for the art auction, said the student organization decided to pursue a project that would benefit a local non-profit, but it was difficult to decide which one to choose.
“We knew we were going to be working with over 160 students in the Drawing 2 class. That’s 160 people with very different personalities. Then United Way of Denton County came up,” she said. “United Way is an umbrella agency that supports 26 very different nonprofits in the community, so we thought that was perfect.”
Students in the Drawing 2 class met with the executive director of many of the partner agencies in order to learn more about the programs and services the agencies provide and to be inspired by the work they do.
“We really hope that this project fosters a collaborative spirit with the university and the community and brings awareness to some of the social issues in Denton County and can give people ways they can help out with that,” Sale said. “Ideally, we’d love to raise tons of money for these agencies, but mainly, we just want people to see that it’s easy to get involved and it’s something they can feel good about, too.”
The net proceeds from this event will go directly to the 26 partner agencies of United Way of Denton County. The partner agencies are: Adult Day Stay; American Red Cross, Denton Chapter; Ann’s Haven VNA; Arc of Denton County, Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas; Boy Scouts of America Longhorn Council; Court Appointed Special Advocates; Child Study Center; Children’s Advocacy Center; Communities in Schools of North Texas; Denton Christian Preschool; Denton City County Day School; Denton County Friends of the Family; Family Resource Center of North Texas; Fred Moore Day Nursery School; Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas; Health Services of North Texas; HOPE, Inc.; Interfaith Ministries of Denton; People’s Clinic of Denton County; Pilot Point Goodfellows; Reading and Radio Resource; Retired & Senior Volunteer Program; Salvation Army; Special Programs for Aging Needs; and Southwestern Diabetic Foundation (Camp Sweeney).
United Way of Denton County is working to advance the common good by focusing on education, income and health – the building blocks for a good life. Through the work of our partner agencies, it is our goal to: help families have financial stability, build healthy communities and help children and youth achieve their potential.