Doodles for Dreams: Young Ambassador Ali Scala Raises Over $10,000 for Garden of Dreams

My name is Ali Scala, and I am so excited to be a Youth Ambassador for the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation!

For my Independent Service project, I chose to help the Garden of Dreams foundation based in New York City. The Garden of Dreams is a charity partnered with Madison Square Garden that helps young people facing financial challenges, illness, or the loss of a uniformed family member. I wanted my project to benefit this foundation because of all of the incredible work they do to support and provide unforgettable experiences of joy to children, as well as scholarships, opportunities, grants, and community projects. I think that is so important so they can have bright futures.

My Independent Service Project is called Doodles For Dreams, and the way I operated the program was that for a donation (minimum of $30 for Henrik Lundqvist’s number!), people would send in a picture of them, them and a friend/family member or pet and then I would hand-draw it in my cartoon style! I have loved to draw and create since I was very little, and I often would make a little drawing or doodle to make someone’s day better. Over the summer I volunteered with the Rye Arts Center and helped with their young kids programs, which was a really meaningful experience as well. Doodles for Dreams was a really nice way to not only spread joy with art and cute drawings, but to help a really important cause in our community. My goal for my projects’ fundraising was 5,000 dollars but I actually raised over 10,000 dollars which I am very excited about as it will help a lot of people!

I created over 30 doodles from July to October for people in my family, neighborhood, friends, classmates, and many others which I am so grateful for. I want to thank everyone who donated so kindly to help make this project a success, as well as my Mom, Dad, Aunt Vee, and former HLFYA brother Jack as well as my whole family and friends for supporting me! Lastly, a huge thank you to the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation for giving me the opportunity to create something so special, as well as Meredith Wolff and Johanna Bialous for purchasing doodles and for your support!

Written by HLFYA Ali Scala