UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) recently raised $21,000 for communities around the world affected by climate-related disasters. And the beauty of it is: they did it with the help of children’s paintings. These paintings were auctioned off at New York’s Harvard Club and then online, where people from across the globe bid for these charming pieces of art.

The artwork had a very important theme: the fears and hopes children have surrounding our global crisis. 27 pieces were chosen from nearly 200,000 entries. The average bid for each work was $2,000

Charlotte Sullivan, 13, won first place for her stunning piece of art

“I wanted to express the need for everyone to act because climate change is happening now. The silhouette of the figure in my painting represents the governments’ and global businesses’ idle hold over the world. In the background red, oranges and yellows represent fossil fuel power plants and the warming of the planet, while the people that could act, just use the umbrella to shelter behind. The umbrella illustrates the world being turned inside out by the wind. My wish is that everyone should take care of the environment.”

This is not your average finger painting!

To view all the paintings:  www.unep.org/paint4planet