450 art kits are being distributed this week to local children in the Wilmington area who are in crisis, transition or need.
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and the Jefferson Awards Foundation celebrated the donation of the art kits this week to the Wilmington Police Department, the YWCA Home Life Management Center and Exceptional Care for Children.
“This is an extension of the Jefferson Foundation Awards LEAD 360 2017 award-winning program called “Emma’s Art Kits.” Emma (Stumpf) was a child who is enduring some of the treatments that come with fighting cancer and it occurred to her just as a young child that art was helping her cope with a hard time,” said Wilmington Communications Director Tonya Richardson.
She says Emma Stumpf had the dream to make art supplies available to any child who was going through a tough time. So the Jefferson Awards Foundation asked local leaders, like Mayor Purzycki, to help take the project nationwide by doing a version locally.
The kits were assembled and donated as part of the Jefferson Foundation Awards’ nationwide Emma’s Art Kits initiative - according to JAF National Director Michele Fidance.
“It is the end of us activating Emma’s Art Kits. But I want to tell you, I want to shout loud and proud for Delaware, because we had 27 activation partnerships this year, which is the largest we’ve ever had and all of our partners collectively/ So this is a big number...packed and donated 13,300 art kits that are going to youth across the state of Delaware into each of our communities,” Fidance said.
And the Wilmington effort is just one here in First State. To date, there are 27 Emma’s Art Kits active partnerships throughout Delaware and 13,300 art kits have been distributed to children in crisis statewide.
Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from theDelaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
