(Original article posted by The Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue here).

Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue (BGCB) has partnered with a local arts foundation to provide our kids with technology that gives them a creative outlet and teaches mindfulness.

Our Downtown Clubhouse is working with The Catherine Mayer Foundation, a Seattle-based organization dedicated to using art to impact and change lives, to bring The L.A.U.G.H. App into the Clubs. L.A.U.G.H. stands for ‘Let Art Unleash Great Happiness.’

More than 250 members throughout our Clubs have been using the app to create art, but not only that, the app promotes focus, boosts mood and relaxes users.

The Foundation developed the app from research studies conducted by the University of Washington, Seattle Children’s and Madrona Elementary school in Seattle, as a way to use art to relax, focus, and build self-esteem.

Foundation founder, Catherine Mayer, says this wasn’t all about being another app that teaches drawing, but “a way to leverage technology to explore and expand how art is instrumental in healing and calming.”

BGCB’s Chief Program Officer Corrie Sands agrees, “The app allows our kids to explore in a different way, plus they are calmer, quieter, more focused and they love showing off what they have created.”

We are grateful for this partnership with the Catherine Mayer Foundation. Our goal is to expand to other Club locations, and we are excited to see what our kids will create this summer.