Painting for Peace book fund

The children's book, "Painting for Peace in Ferguson" has won a number of national awards and tells the story of a moment when volunteers created beautiful art of the boarded up windows in and around Ferguson and helped the community to begin to heal, but the story doesn't end there. Since publication the book has been shared with more than 1,000 classrooms and libraries, where with the help of a core-curriculum aligned Teacher' Guide, teachers have a tool to start positive conversations in their classrooms about issues around tolerance, racial issues in St. Louis and reaching out to help others.

Profits from the book sales have been shared with a number of Ferguson organizations including PAKT, Ferguson Youth Initiative, Northern Arts Council, and the Ferguson-Florissant School District foundation. In addition, through a generous donation, more than 650 books were donated to the Ferguson Florissant School District.

Author Carol Swartout Klein has also visited dozens of classrooms, libraries or larger speaking engagements sharing the stories of the messages behind the art and the Paint for Peace effort. The larger than life art panels themselves became the feature of a multi-site art exhibit supported by educational programming and events at COCA, the Sheldon, the Missouri History Museum, Vaughn Cultural Center at the Urban League and UMSL in October and November, 2016. Plans look hopeful for a display of all the art in one location at a major national convention mid-summer.

The children's book has won awards including:
-- "Outstanding Books of the Year" in the "Peacemaker" category by Independent Publisher - May 2015 as one of nine
-- Missouri Center for the Book's 2015 selection to represent Missouri at Library of Congress' National Book Fair
-- One of three finalists in its Ardis L. Glenn prize
-- International Literacy Associations' 2016 Teachers' Choice Reading List with the highest number of reviews for intermediate readers - May 2016