Lift Up Young Artists’ Creative Vision!

You can empower youth to gain new skills and improve their community through art. You donation to The Art Effect’s 2019 MADLab program makes a difference!

A fundraising campaign for THE ART EFFECT

You can empower youth to gain new skills and improve their community through art. Donate to The Art Effect’s 2019 MADLab program today!


MADLab (Media, Art, and Design Lab) is an arts-based job skills training program for teens in Poughkeepsie. This year, MADLab youth will create public art and develop clean green spaces along the Fall Kill Creek, an overlooked waterway in downtown Poughkeepsie.


This is the only youth-led arts project that contributes to the city-wide goal of improving the Fall Kill Creek. Our students have a big job ahead of them, and they need your help!


Local youth can’t do this on their own: they need YOU. Help us raise $10,000 and you will make it possible for these youth to transform downtown Poughkeepsie through art and imagination.


With your help, they will:


  • Design and install public art sculptures

  • Organize litter clean-up days

  • Create anti-littering educational materials, such as video and radio public service announcements

  • Host community feedback and outreach sessions


In the process, they will gain useful job skills in areas such as photography, video, landscape design, sanitation, construction, graphic design, radio broadcasting, and community organizing. 


With your donation, you will make it possible for young artists to share their vision of a vibrant community and gain the skills necessary to transform their vision into reality. Your gift today is an investment in young artists and their creative vision.


Funding levels:


A donation of $25 provides Trevor with the supplies he needs to help kickstart the project. He’s going to need new work gloves, durable waders/work attire, and personal art tools, like paintbrushes and drawing pads. Once he’s got the supplies, Trevor can join in cleaning up the creek and turning it into the perfect spot for a public art installation.


A gift of $50 provides Harper with access to durable materials and workshop space. They want to set sparks flying with their unique metal sculpture, which requires metalworking tools and access to a welding workshop. Harper’s sculpture will be a lasting tribute to their vision, and your generosity.


A donation of $75 is just what Matthew, Kaliyah and Alice need to increase the job skills they’re learning through our program. Your gift helps us host a lecture by a local artist on urban architecture, provide access to graphic design software, or take a group trip to successful urban revitalization projects. Each new skill opens the door to a possible career in the arts.


A gift of $100 pays Emilia for one day of employment in the MADLab program. Providing Emilia with a wage ensures she doesn’t have to choose between helping support her family and engaging in this meaningful job training program. Your support means Emilia can focus on her future.


$500 - Contribute a generous $500, and you make it possible for us employ Emilia for an entire week at MADLab. That’s a week in which she will gain experience in photography, video, landscape design, community organizing, and so much more. Your gift opens up a future career in the arts for Emilia, and every student who attends our program.

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