The Brave Warriors step over the threshold into the Whispering Woods to find themselves transformed as if by magic into Courageous Creators.
While that may sound a bit like a line from a fantasy novel, it’s actually a very real occurrence taking place every single week in the shire we know as Olds Station on the north end of Wenatchee.
Whispering Woods is a brand-new arts studio in the new home of Brave Warriors NCW (formerly known as the Brave Warrior Project) built out of a converted garage thanks to a generous donation from local patron of the Arts, Kathy Woods.
In the Whispering Woods, special needs clients ranging in age from children to adults, improve motor skills, develop their social skills, regulate their moods, boost self-esteem and, of course, make all kinds of art.
These are the Brave Warriors served by the non-profit organization Moshe and her husband, Phil, founded in 2017 to fill a gaping hole in local support services for families caring full-time for special needs children and adults.
The non-profit relocated to its new Olds Station location in April 2025 after landing a $1 million state grant to purchase the building. They have been busily renovating the space and planning yet another capital campaign to expand into a second building as they strive to meet the demand for assistance across the four-county region they serve (Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties).
According to Moshe, the addition of the the new art studio space has been especially helpful.
Why Art?
“It’s a proven therapy within the population we’re working with,” said Moshe. “The magic is in the work.”
Studies have shown that art provides avenues for non-verbal expression combined with opportunities for emotional exploration and regulation that can be difficult to access for students across a full spectrum of disabilities and conditions such as nonverbal autism.
“They love art just as much as you love art,” Moshe says of her students and adult participants.
Group art activities build social skills; manipulating art supplies (brushes, clay, scissors) improves fine motors skills; creative “flow” states can improve cognitive abilities. Everyone can relate to the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing an art project and the creative process itself is form of empowerment, providing individuals the opportunity to make choices, solve problems and flex their imaginations.
Hence the “Courageous Creators” title – a name the staff cooked up to honor the fact that there’s a lot more than art happening in Whispering Woods. Many of these students are learning new ways to make their way in the world.
“Art was in our very first program,” Moshe said. “All of our programs have art – all of them.”
Looking for Creative Community Partners
As Brave Warriors NCW expands its footprint and programs in service of their mission to, “eliminate barriers for kids with special needs, chronic illness and cancer,” they are actively seeking community partners and, in this case, artists who might be interested in sharing their own creative talents with the Courageous Creators as they find their own pathways through the Whispering Woods.
“Volunteering on its own can be therapeutic,” Moshe pointed out.
The possibilities are limited only by imagination (not typically a problem in the realm of creatives). Artists interested in visiting with participants at Whispering Woods, leading an art project or even with an idea for collaboration with students out in the community (think student art show, for example); are invited to contact Executive Director Erica Moshe or Recreational Therapist Nicole Haskey (who leads the art program) at (509) 888-0902 or by email at info@bravewarriorproject.com.
