The fifth annual Paintings for a Purpose art show will support causes including food insecurity and at-risk youth throughout July and August.

A reception opened the exhibit at Meredith Village Savings Bank on June 27, which features the work of artist Dr. Marc Bard. The Meredith show will last throughout July, before moving to MVSB's Wolfeboro location in August, with an opening reception there happening from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1.

Two benefitting charities were picked for each month. Restoration Acres Farm and Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire will receive proceeds from July art sales, and Kingswood Youth Center and End 68 Hours of Hunger will receive donations in August. The four nonprofits were chosen out of 89 applications by Bard and a committee of community leaders in Meredith, and 100% of the profits of the artwork is going to the recipients. Kathy Sorell of Restoration Acres Farms was happy her nonprofit was chosen. Being a small nonprofit that helps feed families, the money raised from the event will help to have food more readily available, and to keep things running.

“I would like to have something more steady where we can always have money to continue to fill up once a week and not feel so stressed,” Sorell said. “We've been definitely growing and this will help us continue to grow.”

The show consists of 80 original paintings, 65 by Bard and 15 by his teacher Cheryl Johnson of Campton, and six photographs taken by Dr. John Ingard. Both paintings and prints are for sale, as well as cards featuring reproductions of the paintings.

“I have a personal goal between the two shows. I would like to raise $25,000. And I believe that with the help of the organizations, I think that's possible,” Bard said. “But I'd be happy with whatever we can raise. Whatever we can raise will be of value to the organizations.”

This is the second year MVSB is hosting the event. President Marcus Weeks is excited that Bard chose them again, and believes the show is representative of MVSB’s values.

“We exist as a community asset. We do not have shareholders, everything we do is done in what we believe is the best interest of our customers, our employees and our communities,” Weeks said. “By helping the nonprofits in our communities to meet underserved populations and help them serve needs that exist in our communities, it's really Meredith Village Savings Bank fulfilling its promise to the community.”

CASA Director of Community Relations Erica Thoits emphasized how exciting it is for CASA to be a beneficiary.

“We serve children who have experienced abuse and neglect and I think it's just really nice to be at a positive event like this where we can connect with people, surrounded by beautiful artwork, putting people in good moods to talk about what it is that we do,” Thoits said. “Dr. Bard, he's a part of this community and his paintings reflect that.”

Bard, who was an primary care doctor focused on internal medicine for 25 years before he became a leadership consultant in health care, first ignited his love for art in medical school when he worked as a medical illustrator. He took a big hiatus, and about 10 to 12 years ago, decided to learn how to paint watercolor.

“Watercolor is the most challenging medium, but also for me the most interesting because there is an interplay between what the artist wants to do, and what the water wants to do,” Bard said. “And sometimes I win, and sometimes the water wins, and sometimes I was right, and sometimes the water was right. It's a much more interactive medium, because the water really has a mind of its own.”

At age 78, after a long successful career in the medical field, Bard doesn’t need to paint for money. But he wanted to find a new way to give back to his community.

“I had the opportunity, both as a doctor and as a consultant, to do work that I loved to do, that was also of benefit to society. It is no different with my artwork,” Bard said. “I would not make a dichotomy between ‘Why isn't it just a hobby that you do out of love?’ The answer is it's both. It is once again an opportunity for me to do something I love to do and benefit the community in which I live.”

While Bard’s name is attached to this art show, he wanted to emphasize the show is not about his work, but instead, about the nonprofits selected which do good work within the community. Bard said shoppers understood the goal of the show last year, which supported the Meredith Food Pantry, so anyone who is interested in supporting the nonprofits should look, and hopefully buy, the art.

“People got that they were coming to support the food pantry, not Marc Bard, that I was in the background. That I'm not important,” he said. “And as a result, the spirit of the show last year was very different and it will be different this year. People are coming to support CASA, they're coming to support Restoration Acres Farm.”

For details about the event, visit paintingsforapurpose.org.