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"All the people we work with are victims of trauma," says Johnson, "from sex trafficking to relationship violence to people who have aged out of foster care." Created in 2019, OUR Arts Foundation — the OUR stands for Outreach, Understanding, and Resilience — partners with local organizations, offering workshops in everything from drawing and painting to ceramics, candle making, woodworking, jewelry, floral design, and more. "It's not therapy," Johnson stresses. "ere's no pressure to open up or share personal experiences. ere's also no emphasis on the product. It's simply working with the creative process, which can be very healing." Due to the pandemic, the foundation didn't find its full momentum until the world opened up again in 2022. Since then, it has grown quickly, and now has roughly 30 volunteer artists who lead workshops throughout San Diego. "Most of the organizations we work with have us come in on a regular basis," says Johnson. "We'll run a workshop once a month, so that typically we're able to work with a person for a year or more before they move on to a transitional home, where they're starting to get jobs and reengage with the community." Johnson, who grew up in La Mesa and now lives in Solana Beach, has been working in philanthropy since her family created a foundation more than three decades ago, in 1993. "We knew we wanted to fund smaller, underserved groups, and early on, I went into a yarn store that was really a front for domestic violence counseling," Johnson explains. "e women would tell their abuser they were going to a knitting class, but really they were getting counseling. And while they were getting counseling, someone would knit their project so they had something to take home with them. at stuck with me, and has been a thread through my life," says Johnson. She wanted to work with similar groups, and given her own love of art, she had the idea to get artists to lead workshops, knowing how helpful the creative process has been when confronting difficult issues in her own life. To keep overhead down, OUR Arts Foundation has no physical location, and all the artists volunteer their time. "Once they lead a workshop, the artist can't wait to do it again, and I understand why," says Johnson. "ere was a girl I worked with — she did all the projects, but she was never very enthusiastic. But then one day we brought in charcoal drawing and she looked at me and said 'is is it. is is the one.' Until the next time, when we brought in decoupage, which involves decorating with paper cutouts. She'd reached a point in her healing where it didn't matter what we brought in. She was ready to express herself." Johnson recognizes the work OUR Arts Foundation does is just one piece in a person's recovery, but as studies have shown, artistic expression can be helpful. Johnson says, "You can see the healing." Currently, OUR Arts foundation works with seven organizations, including GenerateHope and the Alabaster Jar Project, which help women who have been rescued from sex trafficking, as well as Just in Time for Foster Youth, which works with foster youth who have reached the age of 18 and have aged out of the system. e foundation also recently launched an online gallery featuring the works of those recovering from trauma, and given its growth over the past two years, Johnson says the organization is looking to expand its reach to the homeless and those in addiction recovery — two more groups filled with people suffering the effects of trauma. ourartsfoundation.org COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY Focus philanthropy << ranchandcoast.com Marcia Johnson Sculpture by Marcia Johnson