Posted by Scott Feight

From a meeting planner’s perspective, the challenge is daunting:  find the perfect teambuilding project that will appeal to your entire audience.  Clients are demanding and want something fresh, something impactful, and something that accomplishes a myriad of requirements.

A Foundation for Hospital Art PaintFest® event is typically a two-hour group collaboration to complete six-panel pieces of artwork that are donated to brighten a healthcare facility.  Teams, up to 12 members per team, partner together to create a beautiful and colorful mural-like painting that will uplift the spirits of thousands of patients, families, and medical staffs.

Meeting planners love checklists.  Here is quick rundown, in checklist format, citing the aspects of a PaintFest.

Networking
– teams bond and build relationships for approximately two hours – check

Achievable
– the paintings are finished within the time period – check

Impactful
– 6,000 people visit the average hospital daily; color in a dark place – check

Inclusive
– anyone can do it – men, women, & children; no physical limitations – check

Fun
– painting is relaxing after a long day of stressful meetings – check

Cost
– the average per person expense is flexible and reasonable – check

Venue
– the event can be indoors, outdoors; literally anywhere – check

Onsite
– the PaintFest comes to you; buses to offsite locations are not necessary – check

Food
– wrap food and beverage around a PaintFest; great pre- or post- meal – check

Awareness
– the sponsor is recognized on every painting that is donated – check

Timing
– any hour of the day – from morning to evening – check

Easy
– FFHA staff can handle the setup, execution and cleanup – check

Local
– the art can be donated to local hospitals, clinics, nursing homes & schools – check

The best question to ask your audience at the end is whether or not they would want to do it again.  Every PaintFest always culminates in a resounding “yes”.  The participants have a “pride of ownership” in knowing that their hands will make a lasting difference in the lives of hospital patients around the world and in their local community.

See you at the next PaintFest with a paintbrush in your hand!

Scott Feight
Executive Director
Foundation for Hospital Art