Kids with asthma learn to be afraid of their own breath.
During an asthma attack, the airways narrow and breathing can feel like pulling air through a straw. For a young child, that is a frightening experience. Many kids start bracing at every tight feeling in their chest. That fear makes their breathing faster and shallower, which can make their symptoms worse. Fear feeds breathlessness; breathlessness feeds fear.
Arts for Asthma is a free visual arts program designed to help children ages 5–9 with asthma calm that fear. Each week, kids paint with watercolors and practice gentle, slow breathing that feels like play. They take home their artwork every week, along with a card to keep practicing at home.
Our first cohort of 6–10 children begins in Harlem in November 2026, in a neighborhood where childhood asthma has been documented at roughly four times the national rate. The program is completely free to families, with all material provided. It is designed to work alongside each child's medical care, never to replace it.
WHERE YOUR GIFT GOES
$25 — one child's art supplies for all 12 weeks
$40 — one child's allergen-safe snacks for the full program
$65 — one child's supplies and snacks, start to finish
$275 — meditation cushions for the whole group
Arts for Asthma was founded by Elizabeth Cordova, a certified breathwork facilitator and former elementary school teacher who spent five years teaching pre-K through grade 5. This is our inaugural pilot, and we are tracking outcomes to learn whether the format helps children feel calmer and more confident about their breathing.
Help a child learn to trust their breath again.