Looking Forward
1000 Students in 2 Years
As the Covid-19 lockdown reached its first full month, Jill Turner, founder of Painting Pandas, launched a fundraising campaign to supply art materials to 650 students from a Title 1 school in Austin, TX.
2000 Community Members in 3 Years
Starting in summer 2024 with Art in the Parks, a community initiative with Austin Parks Foundation, Painting Pandas will increase its Austin community presence to include other local nonprofits in strategic economic areas.
3000 Curriculum Users in 4 Years
Painting Pandas will provide curriculum and support to any school who licenses the program, expanding its reach to homeschool, private, and public schools that see the value in its innovative curriculum.
“Painting Pandas does a great job inspiring the young artist to be creative with multiple art mediums. Our daughter loves Painting Pandas!”
—Parent of Student
“Painting Pandas is truly an amazing blessing to my family! Having 6 children you try to get them involved in as much as you can to keep them busy. All my kids LOVE art and to be able to be a part of the classes and the look on their faces when they get their boxes is truly heartwarming! They are already on my back to sign up for the next sessions.”
—Parent of Student
Why “Painting Pandas?”
The story behind our name is as colorful as our project itself.
As a young girl growing up in Chicago, Founder Jill Turner loved to draw, craft, and hook rugs. She also loved panda bears and their playful personalities. When she could not find a hook rug of a panda bear, she took things into her own hands…literally and figuratively. She found yarn and leftover burlap, drew a panda bear on it in black magic marker, and started to hook away. She still has that hook rug today.
Given her love of pandas and how they inspired her own love of art making, she thought it was only appropriate that “Painting Pandas” would be the name of the non-profit she would create to give quality art education and supplies to young people.
Where We Do It
You could say we are “Deep in the Art of Texas,” as we call Austin, Texas, home. We serve children in zip codes across the country. You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook; and hopefully in the hearts and minds of many young artists.