Amaeyzing Spirit Award

Melisa Mottola is a dedicated volunteer who has participated as an artist assistant at hospital workshops, bereavement art experiences, and family events. She helped dozens of children create bird puppets at a community fair and used her gift wrap skills at a local fundraiser benefitting Kids & Art. Melisa’s compassion, creativity, and unwavering kindness have touched countless lives in our community. Her steady presence and reliability make her a beloved volunteer and a true ambassador for our mission.

Lisa Tsuruoka is a dedicated volunteer who has spent hundreds of hours supporting our programs. She has assembled thousands of ArtKits, managed the packing of projects for children with bone marrow transplants, and appeared as a guest artist in the @home program. Earlier this year, Lisa completed extensive training and now creates with cancer patients at art workshops held in the Bass Center of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. Lisa’s belief that the arts can transform and her commitment to helping medical families make her a perfect choice for the 2024 Amaeyzing Spirit Award.

Helen is an artist and teacher who has shared her love of creating with countless Kids & Art community members. Since 2008 she has volunteered at destination workshops, helped organize fundraising, and assembled Amaeyzing ArtKits. In addition, she has been a lead artist at online art experiences and outpatient waiting room workshops. Two of Helen’s art pieces were used as inspiration for last year’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month projects. Helen embodies the spirit of Kids & Art and the magic between our artists and kids. As she has reflected, “Often I wonder who gets more out of Kids & Art, the kids or me.”

Bianca is a longtime Kids & Art volunteer and heads our Artists Advisory Committee. She is a gifted paper cutting artist who shares her creativity and style with pediatric cancer patients at our waiting room program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and at destination workshops.

Paula is a longtime volunteer at our hospital workshops. She has helped us with our Amaeyzing ArtKits assembly since we started the program. Paula always shows up with her calm and empathetic self and puts everyone around her at ease.

Rachel and Caroline transitioned our programs to a fully remote model during the pandemic, engaging patients and families with enthusiasm and joy each week while pushing forward with persistence and dedication. Their efforts have made a tremendous impact for many families, bringing stability and normalcy in a time of uncertainty.