MISSION & VISION

Established in 2005, Beads of Courage, Inc. is 501c3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to provide innovative arts in medicine programs for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families and the clinicians who care for them.

We have built collaborative caring partnerships with hospitals and community organizations across the country and around the world. Through unique arts-in-medicine programs and community engagement, we create a context for caring transactions to take place and strengthen human connectedness.

Beads of Courage, Inc. contributes to the science, practice, and implementation of evidence-based arts-in-medicine programs. We are proud members of the National Organization of Arts in Healthcare (NOAH) and an affiliate of the Watson Caring Science Institute.

“The arts and medicine: these are two human callings that belong together, and our challenge is to rediscover the ways in which they can be most effectively brought together again.“
— Dana Gioia, Chairman
National Endowment for the Arts

Beads of Courage

Beads of Courage helps children, teens, and their families record, tell, and own their stories of courage using colorful beads that serve as meaningful symbols honoring their courage throughout their medical treatment.

Beads of Courage is implemented as a standard of care in more than 400 programs worldwide, including the USA, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

The Center for Arts-in-Nursing

The Center for Arts-in-Nursing exists to support and strengthen experiences of human caring across the lifespan through the arts. The Center is guided by three core principles: Convene, Create, and Caring.