South Florida non-profit helps kids tap into their creativity to express themselves
Darius Daughtry may look like a traditional classroom teacher, but he's not anymore.
"When I was teaching, I saw this gap that existed in a lot of schools. I began to go around to different schools and see that some schools have these arts programs, but then other schools didn't have them and I knew what it did for me," he said.
So taking his love for his students and art into consideration, Daughtry founded the Art Prevails Project non-profit.
It was born from his own experience as a child who needed an escape.
"I realized that was a place I could go when I needed to just express myself and over the years the idea of expressing and writing, putting things on paper just became a place of refuge for me," he said.
Expression through creativity and art
Daughtry set out on a quest to make art accessible for every child. The Art Prevails Project started in his car but has blossomed into much more.
With his signature programs, like Speak Your Piece and Write Out, Daughtry goes into schools to help students tap into their creativity and learn life skills.
"For our students who need to learn self-advocacy and those independent functioning skills, this is huge to help them prepare to go into their work-related fields," Hollywood Hills High School assistant principal Sara Pierce said. "What I think I love most is it really opens them up to possibilities they didn't think of before."
While Daughtry isn't a teacher by title anymore, he is still teaching students how to overcome obstacles and making Miami Proud.
"Like Whitney Houston said, I believe the children are the future," Daughtry said. "As a world, if we're ever going to be what we're destined to be, it's going to be in the hands of the children."
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