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.
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. Military and first responder agencies will attend the graduation event along side local 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. Thank you Victory Academies for autistic kids, Brighton Charter School, Seeds for autism, Inspire Academies for inviting Yvonne Wan of Focus comics as a volunteer special guest to their school during autism awareness month in an effort to bring our exclusive programming to more autistic and special needs kids.
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 Saturday and Sunday in April. 9am – 9.40am
One to one classes are any time throughout the month subject to our teachers availability.
Home school options are available.
We will host independant class rooms at different venues and will volunteer at schools across Maricopa throughout April. We will also bring our exclusive art programming to different school districts across Maricopa to benefit more autistic and special needs kids.
Schools we have volunteered so far: Victory Academy School for autistic students. Inspire Academies. Brighton Charter School. Seeds for Autismhttps://focuscomic.com/focus-comic-legends-event-honoring-living-and-fallen-heroes/.
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 by Yvonne Wan is up for silent auction and limited prints are an available for sale. Proceeds from the sport art /print 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.
