Make a Difference & Volunteer With Arts for Smiles

Whether you can lend a hand at an event, assemble care packages, or share your creative talents, your time can help brighten a child’s day. Volunteers are the heart of our mission, and there’s a place for you here.

List of Volunteer Roles:

Event Support

Art Activity Leaders

Care Package Assembly

Fundraising & Outreach

Volunteer

In addition, we now host a free monthly Art Club for children, providing a welcoming and supportive space where creativity can flourish. Each session offers hands-on art activities led by caring volunteers, encouraging kids to explore new techniques, experiment with materials, and express their unique ideas. The Art Club is more than just a time to make art — it’s a place to build confidence, form friendships, and discover the joy that comes from creating something of your own. Open to all children in the community, it offers a safe and inspiring environment where every child is valued, celebrated, and free to imagine without limits.

Bringing Hope, Healing, and Smiles Through the Arts

Our journey from a single hospital visit to a countywide mission.

How It Started

Arts for Smiles was founded in 2020 by Carolina King, whose heart for children and belief in the healing power of creativity came together in a moment that changed everything. The year before, while serving as president of a local art society, Carolina partnered with a Child Life Specialist at Palms West Hospital to bring art supplies and crafts to children receiving medical care. Some gathered in the hospital’s playroom; others, too unwell to leave their rooms, received personalized kits delivered bedside.

In those moments watching children light up with focus, joy, and self-expression, Carolina saw how art could help children forget their pain, even if just for a little while. That experience left a lasting impression and awakened a sense of calling. Drawing from her background in nonprofit work, event planning, and community organizing, Carolina began building a team committed to one mission: to bring hope, healing, and smiles to children through the arts.

In-hospital art sessions brought joy to children in care.

500 packages delivered in our first year.

Every smile
matters.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of uncertainty that deepened the need for emotional support and basic essentials, especially for children in underserved communities. Arts for Smiles responded quickly, transitioning from in-person events to community outreach. That summer, the organization launched its first Back-to-School Drive, followed by the Holiday Personal Care Package Program. What began as a small effort quickly grew: by the end of our first year, we had delivered 500 care packages across Palm Beach County.

Growing Our Reach

Since then, Arts for Smiles has continued to grow in reach and impact. To date, we have delivered over 2,250 care packages filled with essentials and comforting items to children and families throughout Palm Beach County. And now, we are proud to be back to in-person visits, partnering with organizations like Kids Cancer Foundation, Quantum House, and Palm Beach Children’s Hospital to bring creative joy directly to children facing medical challenges.

Monthly Art Club

A free, safe, supportive space for children to express themselves through creativity

From a single hospital visit to a county wide mission, Arts for Smiles continues to grow with one guiding belief: Art has the power to heal, uplift, and restore joy! One child, one smile at a time.