Cherry Hill East rising senior Alexander Kang received the DuBois Humanitarian Award from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey in June for carrying out the moral and ethical principles of the award’s namesake, Josiah DuBois.
Kang was recognized at the annual leadership appreciation event at the Jewish Community Center, among recipients of several other awards for volunteerism and leadership, including Sarah Cole of West and Ayza Sayany from East.
In his contest essay, Kang wrote about the organization he started with his sister Allison in March 2022, Patch heART Works, to bring “joy, peace and healing to those that lack the support they need” through art.
“I kind of see (art) as a way of not only expressing myself through drawing or painting or crafting, but it’s a way to express your sense of community with others,” Kang said. “Mostly because creating art together is so much more of an experience – kind of like the environment that you make it in.
“So by hosting these kinds of activities and fostering art as a communal sense rather than an individualistic way,” he added, “I just feel like it’s just a really good way of showing community and interacting with each other and having a good time with art.”
In the year since starting Patch heART Works, the Kang siblings have hosted arts and craft events at the Cherry Hill library and decorated walls at Laurel Brook Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Mount Laurel, where they also held monthly art classes for seniors.
The Kangs have worked with both kids and seniors in their sessions to help them create art like Mother’s Day cards and poinsettias around the holidays. Alexander shared that one of the things he had learned along the way is the importance of having good communication.
“When we first started out, I knew we just wanted to bring a few wall decorations to a few nursing homes, but then I started reaching out to all these different organizations, and there was a lot of planning involved,” he explained. “There were a lot of back and forths over many many months, so that was a good learning experience for me.”
While Alexander also is an artist, he oversees more of the administrative tasks for Patch heART Works while Allison leads the groups.
“I feel like it definitely brings a more positive aura into the room,” she noted. “The elderly, seeing them working on projects and coloring, I feel like they really enjoy doing it, and just decorating it makes the place seem more happy and homier and more comfortable to be in because of the bright colors and the decorations we put up.”
To learn more about Patch heART Works or to request collaboration, visit https://patchheartworks.org/ or follow the organization on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/patchheartworks/.
