Chuck Jones Center For Creativity

Founded upon the time-honored philosophies of legendary Oscar-winning animation director Chuck Jones, the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to stimulating innovative thinking, individual expression and interpersonal collaboration -- while nurturing creative solutions to some of society’s most urgent and unmet needs.

Our vision is a world where creativity is known and experienced by the many not just the few in every discipline from science, to technology, to math, to education, to business and to all areas of the arts. In an effort to help build that world vision, the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity is a “gymnasium for the creative brain.” We see creativity as a “muscle” in the brain that needs exercise. The stronger it is, the better it works. Without sufficiently exercising the creative side of the brain, creative solutions to business, personal and societal issues are much harder to envision and create.

The Center’s programs for youth (including those on the autism spectrum), adults of all ages, schools, businesses and organizational teams focus on igniting the creative genius in each of us -- all for the betterment of the individuals, the groups and the communities we serve.

Why is fostering creativity so important? Studies have unequivocally confirmed that young people less creative than generations before them. They are falling behind in their ability to adapt in a rapidly changing world. CEOs of the top businesses in the world identified creativity as the single most important attribute for future success. Businesses of all sizes are seeking employees with the ability to think creatively to increase success in a brutally competitive global economy. Additionally, creative thinking is identified as one of the five pillars of brain health of aging adults. The cognitive function of seniors is deteriorating more rapidly than necessary.

Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching found that youth who participate in arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.

A California Alliance for Arts Education publication identifies art education as promoting higher attendance, lower dropout rates, increased graduation rates, decreased disciplinary problems, increased test scores and improved math skills.

A Mayo Clinic study found that “participants who engaged in artistic activities (painting, drawing, sculpting) were 73% less likely to have memory and/or thinking problems.”

A New York Times blog article states, “the arts in their myriad forms are enhancing the lives and health of older people – and not just those with dementia – helping to keep many men and women out of nursing homes and living independently.”

Founded in 1999 by Chuck Jones – the legendary animation director and four-time Academy Award-recipient who gave life to Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny – The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity is located in Orange County, California. Linda Jones Clough, Chuck’s only child, has been an integral part of the Center from the beginning. Together with her son, Craig Kausen, they continue to evolve and expand the programs and experiences of the Center locally and beyond. The Center has provided programs in 18 states already and continue to expand its reach. Our vision and mission has remained constant for 25 years.

Our programs build important life skills for school age children, support healthy cognitive abilities for seniors and enhance behavioral function for children on the autism spectrum. We offer workshops in schools and other community locations in southern California. The top 3 demographic groups served by the Center are:
Children Ages 5-13
Seniors/Older Adults
People with Special Needs (Autism Spectrum)

While some of our programming is fee-based, we strive to minimize the cost through our continued effort through grant funding, to better serve under-resourced youth that might otherwise not be able to afford these meaningful creative experiences.

Since the Center was founded, we have impacted over 1 million lives through our art-based creativity programs, community-based creativity workshops and other special events. Our weekly art-based creativity programs reach 1500 to 2000 elementary age young people annually. Our creativity experiences each reach anywhere from 250 to several thousand individuals.

Our long-term goal is to expand these enterprises outside southern California to communities around the country. We launched our first venture outside the area in Schaumburg, Illinois. A second venture in Central Florida is under development. Our program offering has increased exponentially since 2017.

Our valued collaborators include the Irvine Public School Foundation, the City of Irvine, Mission Viejo Potocki Center for the Arts, Girls Scouts of Orange County, Autism Resource Mom, the Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders and the Girls Scouts of Orange County.

Our top 3 most pressing needs listed along with estimates of the associated costs are:

(1) Fund Development Manager: (part-time) estimated cost of $40,000 per year.
(2) Marketing Manager (part-time): to foster effective use of social media platforms, customer engagement and ongoing web site management. Estimated total of $40,000 annually.

(3) A facility to offer our own programming and reduce dependence on other venues; estimated costs $60,000 per year.

While we primarily serve all of Orange County, the Center also serves all of Southern California. We are also developing capabilities to serve communities outside our local area through offering online classes that will be offered nationally.

Chuck Jones lived a brilliant, creative life. During his lifetime, he was dedicated to passing along both his knowledge, skills, experience, and inspiration. He rarely said NO to anyone and was unexpectedly generous with his time and talents. His philosophies on life and creativity inspired countless individuals in a vast array of professions during his lifetime and his understanding that every person has an absolutely unique creative genius inside of them continues to inspire new generations. The purpose of the Center is to ignite the creative spark within everyone and stoke that creative flame through our programs using the films, drawings, writings and philosophies of Chuck Jones as inspiration.

There is a concept called a “beginners mind,” meaning openness, eagerness, a joyful lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even at advanced levels. Chuck talked about this – about how children between 4 and 7 all do beautiful paintings and drawings, unless they are told “NO.” He said, “Self-expression is one of the pressure valves to normalcy in a world heavy with restrictions. As adults we learn to live with our inhibitions – but a stifled child is an indictment of such a society. To the extent a child loses confidence in his ability, to that extent is the likelihood of doing any creative work or creative thinking diminished.”

Sir Ken Robinson put it this way, “Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it’s the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves.”

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important knowledge, because knowledge is everything that we currently know and understand and imagination is everything that we will EVER know and understand.”

The Center encourages the “beginner’s mind” – the freedom to color outside the lines, to think outside the box, to regard mistakes as possibilities, to explore new ways of thinking for all ages and all levels. Society increasingly recognizes the benefits of creativity in the technical fields of science, engineering and math to the wider world of industry.

As more people are empowered with the freedom to create without expectations or limitations, the Center believes there will be a wave of innovation in individual lives and the world will change.

As psychologist, physician and widely read author Dr. Edward De Bono put it: “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity there would be no progress, and we would forever be repeating the same patterns.” To create these new patterns, Chuck wrote, “The artist must be accident-prone … must stumble, then get up and not walk away, for that is when it happens. Stumbling is the unexpected event that corresponds to a mutation in genetics. It is the mutation of creativity. Without it, we would continue to do only those expected things the experts so adore. Without stumbling, we wouldn’t have gotten into the Stone Age – much less out of it. And we would have missed a lot of laughs.” De Bono also said: “Humor is probably the most significant characteristics of the human mind. Far more significant than reason. In fact, reason is actually a very cheap commodity.” Stumbling and laughter. It’s a journey we all can take with the Center as a joyful guide.

As the grandson of Chuck Jones, I grew up unwittingly being witness to one of the great creative geniuses of the 20th Century. As one of the handful of founders alongside Chuck, I was part of the seminal team to help articulate the mission to perpetuate the amazing world-changing inspiration that my grandfather brought to the world through his artwork, his animated creations, his persona, and his philosophies. Through nearly 40 years of growing up with and then working with my grandfather, I have inherited his passion for communicating a vision about creativity; Positioning and communicating its importance in the ultimate success in all walks of life, which is to move it forward. Yet that effort creates its own challenges – particularly to grant funders and corporate sponsors that are inundated with requests from organizations trying to meet basic human needs.

Although there are many published studies by reputable sources, it is becoming increasingly necessary to provide specific documentation that proves the tangible benefits of our programs on our three primary target demographics: youth without access to arts education, seniors, and children on the autism spectrum. Within the bounds of our limited funds, we have implemented a three-pronged strategy with the support of our Board of Directors:
1. Engage an expert resource to provide pro bono development of a brand strategy.
2. Decrease our dependence on donations by increasing our focus on social enterprise programs that deliver a consistent source of earned income.
3. Internal development of a “creativity test” as a start to measure both subjective and objective impact of our programs on the participants.

However, these strategies will only take us so far without additional funding from new sources. In order to impact more individuals exponentially, the organization will need to grow. We know that growth will be achieved through additional resources, both financial and human capital. Exciting new opportunities await, including plans to open an exciting new facility in the Irvine Great Park. We look ahead to a bright future.