On an early spring Friday evening in 2008, 40 high school students crammed into a two-bedroom apartment to learn acting, singing and music production. There was a method to this chaos.
Chris and Ty Woods hosted the Friday night school programming in the tight space of their apartment in Smyrna. During the recession, many schools cut back on arts funding. Chris had a professional background in the arts, and Ty wanted to start a business that served local youth in their community of Smyrna.
“We didn’t have money. It wasn’t like we came from wealthy parents, and we could say, ‘Hey, Mom and Dad! Can we borrow $100,000 to start this nonprofit organization?’” Ty said.
Today, ARTportunity Knocks serves schools across Atlanta, providing arts programming and dinner to students who do not otherwise have access to arts education.
Chris, born and raised in Detroit, has a background in music production and worked for Ford Motor Company in car design. His wife, Ty, has a passion for working with children and graduated with a master’s degree in business from Kennesaw State University.
Beginning their organization during the 2008 recession, Chris and Ty had to be resourceful to start their nonprofit. They noticed schools were going through budget cuts due to the recession, and with those cuts came the removal of arts programs.
Ty passed out homemade flyers at the bus stops and at their local church’s youth group, Faith Christian Center in Smyrna.
Joshua Smith, 31, a music production instructor for the nonprofit, was once their student who met in the small space of the Woods’ apartment to learn about the arts. “Seeing them from almost 20 years ago … They are probably two of the most genuine, organic people I know,” Smith said.
It wasn’t just art that kept the students coming back. One important aspect of ARTportunity Knocks is food. Chris and Ty ensured that every week, they fed the students dinner out of their own kitchen.
“We knew that food would be another valuable commodity that we had to include in our program,” Ty said. “We saw how kids were having headaches after school before we started serving dinner.”
Some of their students were a part of Atlanta’s homeless population and it was important to Chris and Ty to support the students beyond art, including providing them with fresh meals.
“For some students, the only time they eat was when they go to school,” Chris said.
From 2009 to 2012, they shifted their organization to a performing arts camp they held during spring breaks and summers in various churches and schools. During those camps, the Woods would teach students singing, acting, dancing, and music production.
Over the years, working with high schoolers, Chris and Ty noticed a growing issue among the teens who were struggling with literacy and math. They pivoted their program towards elementary-aged students, educating students earlier in life on arts and literature.
In 2013, Chris and Ty signed their first contract with Atlanta Heights Charter School.
Since that first contract, the nonprofit blossomed and serves nearly 25 schools across metro Atlanta. They now offer both in-school and after-school programs as well as workshops, career development programs and summer camps.
This includes a multitude of unique arts programs including esports, music technology and film.
One of the students they serve, elementary school fifth-grade student London Brown, said her favorite part of ARTportunity Knocks is “all the fun activities to make friends and meet new people.”
“ARTportunity Knocks has been so phenomenal engaging kids emotionally, physically and academically,” said parent and teacher Lockett Brown. “My daughter before she came … She could not grow academically and socially.”
Brown shared that through ARTportunity Knocks programs, her daughter London achieved distinguished learning, which is the highest achievement a student can make through Georgia milestones at Kimberly Elementary School.
While the organization has great success, it has not gone without its obstacles. With the Woods’ love of children came a desire to have their own.
Ty was told she could never have a child. For a few years, they struggled with infertility and pregnancy loss. During those difficult times, her husband, Chris, took the reins of ARTportunity Knocks to give Ty time to heal.
However, the 2020 pandemic brought Ty back into the business as she brainstormed how to serve students in a time when no one could physically meet. She developed the program Steam n’ Meals. She asked families what they needed during the pandemic and the overwhelming answer was, “They said, ‘we need food.’”
A lot of the parents of the students they served were essential workers. Chris and Ty developed a program in partnership with a local church to have distance learning pods for students whose parents still had to go into work. This program, partnered with Atlanta Public Schools, allowed students to meet safely in a congregated setting to do their virtual learning while their parents were at work.
“It provided a safe place for the students. It provided internet access because some of the parents didn’t even have internet access,” Chris said.
During the pandemic, ARTportunity Knocks partnered with a struggling business, Supreme Burgers of Decatur, and the driving service Lyft to deliver meals to the students in their programs. Supreme Burgers cooked all the food, and Lyft drivers delivered the food to the students’ houses once a week, totaling 500 students across Atlanta.
Students were able to meet virtually with instructors who helped them use the supplies to complete their projects.
Since the pandemic, ARTportunity Knocks serves three elementary schools in Atlanta.
Chris and Ty have goals to further arts career development in high schools with their program Creative Careers.
Remember the infertility challenges? Chris and Ty have an adopted 10-year-old son, Dalorian, and miraculously gave birth to their daughter Amber in 2022.
Chris and Ty Woods invite readers to check out their website and consider volunteering their time and donating to their arts education program.
The Everyday Heroes project is a partnership between Fresh Take Georgia, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other newsrooms in Georgia.
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