Go Fund Me Post Seeks Art Activity Financial Support for Local Special Needs Adults--Please Consider Giving!

Lynne Kornecki
Apr 21
3 min read

Steve Tucky (aka The Diamond Dude) is expanding his local classes in diamond art to not only more senior centers in the area but also communities serving adults with challenges. He is flanked by a diamond dot portrait of himself completed by his students as a gift. Also, please check out diamond the painting projects he teaches at the end of this article.

Please read his compelling note below posted on the Go Fund Me page he set up.

Hello, my name is Steve Tucky.

I currently teach 3 diamond painting classes with 2 more starting up very soon. The ones currently taking advantage of the benefits of diamond painting are at 2 different seniors centers and 1 at a special needs community. At my first seniors’ class, we grew from 5 to over 70 in a little over a year. The therapeutic benefits of diamond painting, what I've seen and have been told, is beyond belief. Anxiety gone, shaking hands reversed, excitement felt for the first time in years, caregiver stress relieved, artistic ability surprisingly discovered. At the 3rd class, a special needs community, one student was excited that she would be able to give Christmas gifts. Something she hasn't been able to do in quite a while.

I'm starting a 4th and 5th class which will be for the DuPage County special needs adults’ community. Right now, the county classes will be 2 weeks a month with 24 students per class and 4 case workers. I'm hoping to build that to 4 classes each month. They will be bussing residents from their various buildings to my class for us to have fun, uplift, create, engage, and build confidence. The kits I can purchase begin at $3 each. A total of 60 kits will be needed each month for my 3 special needs classes. With the kits alone, the financial need is $180 per month. Of course, more money will mean bigger and better kits.

Diamond painting is so much more than just pictures to hang up. Go to my Facebook page, Steve Tucky, and to my albums. I have many albums dedicated to diamond painting. I also have an Artists Showcase album for each class I teach. That is a place I post completed works of art to celebrate each artist. I do not post names or pictures of artists to protect them against identity theft.

This diamond painting adventure has had Gods hand on it from the very beginning. I have seen doors open up and lives changed in ways I could never have imagined. The people He has put on this path to help it succeed is amazing. I am forever grateful and humbled to be a part of this journey, serving both seniors and special needs folks. Two groups that many times feel forgotten.

Another thing I did was to start a "Teachers Only" Facebook group for folks who want to start their own seniors diamond painting class. It has handout resources, tips and tricks, and support every step of the way. My goal is to have a new seniors’ class in every state in the US. Right now, there are 4 new classes, and I've been in contact with someone in Canada and the UK.

The picture I've used in this fundraiser demonstrates how any picture you may have, can be converted into a diamond painting, surprisingly very affordable as well. This picture was a complete surprise to me. Four of my students, the "Diamond Divas", secretly completed it and presented it to me at class. I was absolutely blown away.

Diamond Painting is a relatively new hobby/craft. It's like paint by numbers but instead of paint, you place small diamonds on an adhesive numbered canvas. Bit by bit you see magic happen and the image grows into a beautiful work of art. Many of my students work on the kits to give away as gifts. The recipients absolutely love them. Diamond painting is for all ages and for both females and males. I have males in all my classes, and they love it.

My gofundme link is gofund.me/82e80534

THANK YOU!

Diamond dot Keepsake Box

Journal with diamond dotted cover

Diamond dot butterfly-shaped coasters; or with the addition of magnets on the back they are perfect for the refrigerator.