Since 2014, with School’s A Gift, we have now raised over $200,000 in funds, helping individuals and communities with education and hygiene in deprived areas of Ethiopia.
THE BACK-STORY
fenton&fenton was born almost 10 years ago now out of Lucy Fenton’s adventurous spirit and love for travel, particularly to places off the beaten track. This passion is what led Lucy to Ethiopia in 2010, exploring the country with her sister, Georgina Fenton. As a result of that trip, visiting remote and destitute schools, the duo launched School’s A Gift, with the aim of helping communities through education.
WHAT IS SCHOOL'S A GIFT
School's A Gift is a not-for-profit organisation that is helping Ethiopian children living in poverty remain in school, as there are proven outcomes showing the impact that every year of schooling has on individuals and communities alike. So far, School's A Gift has managed to help over 4,000 children access primary and secondary education, with over half of them being girls.
HOW THE ART COMMUNITY HAS HELPED
In 2014 we launched a biennial fundraiser with School's A Gift, called Peace of Art. The first "Peace of Art Exhibition" was held at fenton&fenton, which showcased a diverse collection of works from 73 coveted and emerging Australian artists.
All artworks were sold via an online silent auction and the event raised an incredible $107,500, with 100% of the profits going towards School's A Gift's projects. The biennial event was again held in 2016, including even more artists and raising $125,000. The two exhibitions attracted significant attention and praise, with the artworks purchased from collectors across the globe.
The Peace of Art Exhibitions have now almost single-handedly funded School's A Gift's work over the past 5 years, which has enabled over 4,000 children to either begin their education or return to school after dropping out. This has been achieved through the construction of two brand new schools (one primary, one secondary) and the repair and expansion of three more schools (two primary and one secondary).
Access to water and sanitation have also been a crucial part of their work with schools because diarrhoeal diseases cause the death of one child every hour in Ethiopia, which are preventable with just clean water, toilets and good hygiene! They have ensured new toilets are constructed at each school; put in water tanks to capture rainwater off the classrooms; initiated effective hygiene promotion practices and provided three communities with new water reservoirs and pumps, allowing local access to clean, safe water.
More information about each of their projects can be found on their website here > schoolsagift.org
School’s A Gift is making a significant impact on the quality of life and opportunities of children and their families in these remote communities of Ethiopia.
PEACE OF ART RETURNS IN NOV 2018
This November fenton&fenton will host the third Peace of Art Exhibition, bringing together contemporary original artworks from a diverse range of talented artists. We look forward to using this event as a platform to both showcase Australian artists, and also to make a life-changing difference in the world.
All of the artworks will be exhibited online and in-store at fenton&fenton and sold via an online silent auction with 100% of the funds raised will go towards School's A Gift's projects in Ethiopia.
To stay updated on the event details please follow both @fenton_and_fenton and @schoolsagift on Instagram.
