Well, I guess that the best place to start is at the beginning.
Over the Christmas holiday in 2008, I was traveling in Africa with some wonderful friends. We had been to Kenya and were on our way to Tanzania for the rest of our safari vacation. As we drove through a dirt road in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, I was doing a lot of thinking. We had driven past a well that was built by Canadians to help bring clean drinking water to an area that would otherwise have nothing to drink. We saw small children with no shoes and school houses with no supplies. It really made me appreciate what we have back in Canada and realize that the children that we were working with in Egypt had no idea just how well off they were.
I wanted to do something to help. But what? The possibilities really are endless. So, how could I, a girl from a small town in Northern Ontario, make a difference half way across the world? I was pondering the possibilities about things to do in Kenya when I decided that living in Egypt, I should do something to help out there. I knew I wanted to involve my students and I decided that I wanted to contribute something to the many people in Egypt that are in need.
But what to do? I like to think that I am creative. I like scrapbooking and photography. So, maybe something artistic? Yes, it had to involve the arts. How could I involve the children at my school? Easy, everyone LOVES art made by children! And so the seed was planted. I decided that an art exhibition would be awesome. We could charge parents to come in, just like a real art gallery. And sell some art too. Brilliant!
So, I took off my ipod and presented my idea to my travel companions who are also educators. They LOVED it too! "Art for Action!", one of them replied! PERFECT! And so, we discussed and brainstormed. What about reusable bags? Yes! And t-shirts! Great! How about a silent auction? I love it! I took out some paper as soon as we got back to camp and jotted down our ideas. And I fell in love with Art for Action.
When we arrived back at school after the holiday, I presented the idea to administration and they loved it too. I spoke to my colleague and friend Kathleen about it, she loved it, and we were off and running. Choosing a charity, having shirts and bags printed, getting display boards built, ordering art supplies, chasing teachers for art work. But, we put our hearts into it. It was something we were both passionate about and we wanted to make sure that it was a HUGE success. And it was!
I was so proud of the students. They all knew what we were doing and about the children at the cancer hospital. We even had the opportunity to bring some of our students to the 57357 Children's Cancer Hospital to meet some of the children there. It was an unforgettable experience.
Now, it's YOUR turn!
