To sign up for the free art program for autistic and special needs students please submit the following info to [email protected]
- Student Name
- Student Age
- Parents Name / Legal guardian
- Parents / Legal guardians email address and telephone number
- City of residence
Classes start April 1st to April 30th. Deadline to apply for class is April 30th.
To nominate a hero for a Hero Award ( you can nominate someone or yourself) please send us the following info to [email protected]
- Name of the person you want to nominate for a Hero Award
- Which military branch or first responder agency they represent / represented
- The nominee’s contact info ( email address and telephone number).
Heroes will receive a certificate of honor signed by our dignitaries; a complimentary legacy portrait by Yvonne Wan and Challenge coins.
Key Dates:
The free art program is throughout April 2026. Graduation and the Hero Awards ceremony is May 2nd 2026, 3pm at Zinc Apartments, 2005 N 103rd Ave, Avondale, AZ 85392. The graduation event and heroes awards ceremony is between 3-4pm. The sports heroes art exhibit (open to the public) starts at 4pm inside the club house.
Free Hero Art Program details:
Who:
- Children of military and first responder families
- or Autistic and special needs students
Autistic and special needs students. There is no age limit for this specific art program.
What: Free hero art program honoring heroes celebrating autism awareness month. This specific program will honor military, first responder and sports heroes.
Format: one to one or group classes, online or in person. Students can participate in one class or more.
When: Classes are commence April 1 – April 30th. Graduation is May 2nd 3pm (for approximately an hour. 2 hours if the graduates want to stay longer to experience the vehicles and technological experiences). See schedule at the bottom of this page.
Where: Classes will take place online (zoom) and or in person. One to one and group in person classes: Zinc Apartments. 2005 N 103rd Ave, Avondale, AZ 85392. We will announce other classroom venues soon.
Focus comics are proud to announce that they will be hosting their free Heroes event for 2026, celebrating autism awareness month, and honoring heroes. This specific program will also be open to children of military and first responder families to.
We will be hosting free art classes in person and online across Maricopa In April. We will graduate our students at our patriotic event where multiple agencies will bring their hero vehicles, representatives, latest technologies and fun experiences to the community that we serve. We will also host a free heroes art exhibition of local heroes including veterans, active military, first responders and sports heroes. The children will receive custom certificate of achievements and gifts to celebrate their accomplishments at graduation.
The Heroes free art program, exhibit and Awards ceremony honor fire fighters, first responders and airmen for their courage; sacrifice, selfless service, patriotism, kindness, compassion and leadership. We will be presenting local heroes with awards for their service. Yvonne Wan, award winning artist will gift her portrait art work to multiple award recipients at the event along side dignitaries.
The United States Air Force Honor guard will start the event with the Presentation of Colors, with Pastor Mark of Grace Walk Church performing the national anthem. We will also have a professional photographer and film maker booked for the day to document the event, and capture our class photo of 2026 of our students with our local heroes.
- We will be honoring all branches of the military and first responders.
- We will also honor sports heroes to celebrate the human condition. Sport honors the human condition by transcending mere performance to celebrate resilience, inclusivity, and profound moments of empathy. It celebrates humanity by overcoming adversity, such as in adaptive athletics, acts of compassion, and the pursuit of purpose beyond competition, highlighting dignity and connection over, or alongside, victory.
- Students can learn different mediums, including traditional pencil and ink, digital media, and others.
- Art supplies are included for those attending in person.
Art work for this program:
We will have different classes for our students to choose from, honoring each branch of the military and first responder agencies and American Sports:
- Major League Baseball / World Baseball and USAF Tribute Class
- NFL American Football / US Navy Tribute Class
- NBA American Basketball / US Marines Tribute Class
- NHL National Hockey League / US Army tribute class
- AZDPS / USCG tribute class
- Fire Fighter Tribute Class
- Baseball and bat 3d sculpture class using sculpey
What our students will learn: Comic book Story Telling, Pencilling, inking and coloring techniques. Digital drawing. Other mediums.
Schedule:
Group online classes are every Sunday in April. Class times is every hour for 40 mins with a 20 minute break before moving onto the next tribute class. Classes commence from 9am. Last class commences 8pm accommodating those wanting evening classes.
In person group and individual classes are an option in Week 1, 2, 4 any day except Sunday, at any time subject to our teachers availability. We have a team of teachers available to support our students.
Week 3 is reserved for online one to one classes. Any day and time between 9am to 8pm subject to our teachers availability.
We will host independant class rooms at different venues and will volunteer at schools across Maricopa throughout April.
Dates booked with local schools so far:
- Brighton Charter School in Glendale: April. 2nd 3:15pm-4:15pm
- Inspire Academy of schools in Sun City : April 14th. 9am-2pm.
Thank you United States Air Force, United States Coast Guard, AZDPS, for providing gifts for our graduates. Other gifts from other agencies TBC. We will have other gifts including art supplies and more for our graduates.
Thank you Wacom for gifting us educational equipment to teach our students.
Please email [email protected] to sign up and or nominate.
Confirmed agencies attending: AZDPS. USAF. Others TBC.
Confirmed dignitaries attending: Mayor of Goodyear Joe Pizzillo. Others TBC.
Sports hero art exhibit : commences 4pm at Zinc apartments club house in Avondale through to 6pm. The exhibit is free entry for the public. The original art work is up for silent auction and limited prints are an available for sale. Proceeds from the sport art /printed sales go towards supporting autistic and special needs kids and honoring heroes. We have a charity fiscal sponsor. Prints are limited to 100, each with a signed certificate of authenticity. We will have at least 5 sports paintings for silent auction. We accept silent bids in person and on the phone and email 480 787 6729. [email protected] . Final bids are at 5.50pm May 2nd Arizona time.
