When she was five years old, senior neuroscience major Liza Dowling was hospitalized after dealing with a severe autoimmune condition. As the president of The Art of Healing club, her leadership is influenced by her personal experience.
The Art of Healing club is a student-led community service organization at the University of Miami that helps children undergoing medical treatment and their families heal with arts and crafts.
A typical Art of Healing outreach takes place at the Ronald McDonald House on the Miller School of Medicine campus. Volunteers travel together, set up an arts and crafts table in the playroom and welcome children to participate at their own pace.
Popular activities include drawing with colored paper and markers, folding pipe cleaners, making jewelry, sculpting clay and watercolor painting. Volunteers play familiar music — like Disney songs — to help create a welcoming environment for the kids.
“These activities provide children with a creative outlet and offer families a positive distraction from the stress of treatment,” Dowling said.
She values creating arts and crafts herself, especially thinking back on her own time in the hospital. Dowling said that as a kid, they temporarily helped her forget the fear and pain she was experiencing while she was there.
“I joined Art of Healing with the hope of giving that same sense of comfort and joy to children facing similar experiences,” Dowling said.
Being part of Art of Healing has helped transform a difficult chapter of her life into a meaningful act of service.
“I have seen children go from quiet and reserved to excited and engaged. I have seen their family members join them in activities,” Dowling said. “During such a challenging time, moments like these are so important because they can provide a sense of comfort, connection and normalcy.”
Senior Miranda Neill is the vice president of Art of Healing. She initially joined the club because she loved arts and crafts, but could not always find a creative outlet as a health sciences major.
Neill used coloring, drawing and other forms of art as a safe space. By joining the club, she found a balance between personal creativity and giving back to others.
“Knowing how much they have been through and still being able to make them smile reminds me how important small acts of kindness are,” Neill said. “The number of children varies each time, but the joy that radiates from them while doing arts and crafts with us is always consistent.”
This semester, Art of Healing is offering multiple opportunities for students to get involved. The club plans to lead one to two volunteer outreaches each week at the Ronald McDonald house, along with three themed general body meetings.
The crafts made at these meetings, like candy heart garlands in February, St. Patrick’s Day cards in March and painted flower pots in April, will be donated to the children during volunteer sessions.
Dowling and Neill want students to leave Art of Healing with a deeper understanding of empathy and service.
“I hope students take away how important small acts of kindness are and the positive impact they can have on others,” Neill said. “This club has shown me that simply showing up and creating alongside others can bring comfort and joy when it is needed most.”
They will also be organizing several fundraisers to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. One fundraiser the club will be hosting is a Valentine’s Day-themed bake and flower sale, which will take place at the UC-Richter walkway on Feb. 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.