A typical high school art class can cover a range of topics, from painting and drawing to digital design and photography. For students in the National Arts Honor Society at River Ridge High in Woodstock, the curriculum also comes with an element of community outreach.
Art teacher Mary Jo Mulvey started the honor society chapter eight years when she began teaching at the school. Members must be in an art class and maintain a B average in all their coursework. They also commit to a variety of community service projects that highlight art.
While COVID put a crimp in some of those projects, the group has ramped up its efforts to put members’ artistic talents to work for worthy causes.
“This year our kids did face painting when River Ridge hosted a Special Olympics,” said Mulvey. “They did a mural for our ROTC department and painted the Special Education coffee shop. We’re going to do face painting for an elementary school Christmas event.”
The 26 society members have also signed on to paint murals at the Anna Crawford Children’s Center, a Woodstock nonprofit that fights child abuse and neglect. The center has been a beneficiary of their work for several years through the Empty Bowl initiative, a fundraiser held the Thursday prior to Thanksgiving that brings attention to childhood hunger.
The community was invited to the school’s art room for a meager meal of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, water and a few crackers. Society members chipped in to cook and cover the food costs, while 30 diners made contributions – and committed not to eat again until the next day.
“We used crockpots to cook about 15 cans of soup,” said art teacher Chris Akins. “Then we served it up small, Styrofoam bowls. We’ve had parents say their kids went home hungry but woke up the next morning with a real understanding about what food insecurity is.”
For some diners, that insecurity hit quickly.
“We have kids who come in and say, ‘I’m not sure if I can make it the rest of the night without eating,’ but we encourage them to try,” said Mulvey. “But sending them home hungry really raises the level of empathy and understanding of what it’s like to go without a meal.”
While eating, guests were joined at their tables by someone who started a discussion about hunger.
“It might have been a peer or a grandmother, but someone sat down and talked about food insecurities with each person,” said Mulvey. “The idea is to get them to think globally but act locally and know that some of our kids get fed at school on Fridays and don’t eat again until they come back on Monday.”
This year’s event raised $300 to support the Crawford Center, and each participant left with a ceramic bowl created by the art students.
“It’s really gratifying,” said Mulvey. “And it’s a great way for kids to give back to the community through art.”
Information about River Ridge is online at cherokeek12.net/riverridgehs.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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