ART WITH A HEART FOR UKRAINE Illustrated by Children of Ukraine: 100% of the book's proceeds go directly to rebuilding & supporting Ukrainian schools & communities

ART WITH A HEART FOR UKRAINE: UKRAINIAN CHILDREN’S ART PROJECT a collection of powerful artwork from the hearts and minds of Ukrainian children

NASHVILLE, TN – Complete strangers collaborate to create a powerful retrospective of art amidst war from the children of Ukraine.  Available October 15, 2022, as a softcover book, eBook, and digital retrospective, Art with a Heart for Ukraine features beautiful and heart-wrenching artwork from Ukrainian children, many of whom lost their schools completely.  This expression comes from the hearts of children depicting not only their despair and cruel reality but also their enduring belief in love and hope.

With the lives of millions of Ukrainians uprooted and hundreds of communities, including schools destroyed, Linda Ragsdale, a terror attack survivor herself and founder of The Peace Dragon, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching children about personal and world Peace connected on Facebook with perfect stranger Ukrainian-American, Inna Golovakha of Project SELO, a non-profit language-based organization who recognized their aligned missions.   The two organizations joined forces by reaching out to a network of Ukrainian teachers and parents, and within three weeks, over 150 pieces of emotionally driven works of art flooded in.  Today these two countries are forever connected through this honest expression from children living in a war zone combining the passion and purpose of two women dedicated to spreading world peace. 

Ragsdale enlisted the help of FlowerPot Press, publisher of her award-winning, The Peace Dragon Tales Series, who quickly donated their creative services to publish a soft cover and eBook called Art with a Heart for Ukraine, available October 15, 2022.

100% of the book's proceeds will go directly to rebuilding and supporting Ukrainian schools and communities destroyed by the war. Ragsdale and Golovakha are available for press interviews and can display the artwork digitally and tell this heart-wrenching yet uplifting story.

According to AP News Wire, over 260 schools simply do not exist any longer, and nearly 2400 have been severely damaged.  Another 3500 will operate remotely, but these children's resilience, honesty, and hope live on in their art. 

Purchase the book, please visit https://the-peace-dragon-shoppe.myshopify.com/collections/art-with-a-heart-for-ukraine

"Art With a Heart for Ukraine" Illustrated by Children of Ukraine - US $25.00  | Softcover  | 32 pgs. | All Ages

BACKGROUND: The Peace Dragon: Linda Ragsdale founded The Peace Dragon after surviving the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack and used art as an integral part of her recovery from her machine gun bullet wound.  It became an integral part of her life’s calling.  Today she travels the world to help students of all ages find, keep and inspire peace through stories, art, and activities. She created The Peace Dragon and, together with the world’s children, has drawn over 100,000 dragons, giving the children the opportunity to connect with the gift they’d like their dragons to bring to the world. With the war starting, Linda contacted schools to send cards to the displaced families to let them know they were seen, heard, and supported. She truly believes art, in all its forms, heals.

Linda is an author, illustrator, international speaker, and peace teacher.  She developed her Peace Dragon Tales picture book series to help children harness their fiery and emotional energies and redirect them into peaceful and productive outcomes. She developed a heart-centered curriculum that she takes worldwide, encouraging kids to set peace as the default response to any life challenge. Find her personal story of choosing peace, along with activities and downloads, at www.ThePeaceDragon.com.

Project: Inna Golovakha is the founder of Project SELO, which helps Ukrainian teachers practice their English with American volunteers. These interactions naturally foster an exchange between the countries. When the war started, it became a gathering place for survivors to be heard and seen. It was through Project SELO that a pen pals program, class connections, and art as a support mechanism were seeded. Through these joined connections, support has already been provided to schools, teachers, and students in war-torn Ukraine.

Inna is a Ukrainian-American whose life was always spent between two countries. In 2017 she started her non-profit Ukrainian Cultural Initiatives and published a quarterly magazine, The Ukrainian: Life and Culture, helping Americans become familiar with Ukrainian contemporary culture. This led her to Project Radowell, founded by local philanthropist Mykhailo Veselskyi to help children from local villages receive a public education with American teachers. Inna saw how the English language is needed but not accessible to teachers in the villages. This led her to form Project SELO, where American volunteers connect virtually to converse with Ukrainian teachers and practice their English.

DISCLOSURE: This is a charity posting. I was not compensated. The Ukranian war is heartbreaking on all levels but the effect on children simply breaks my heart.