KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The folks who work at Dogwood Arts shifted their focus to assemble more than 600 art kits.
Each one includes coloring pages, crayons, pencils, a watercolor set, scissors, glue, modeling clay, construction paper, and a small note pad.
"We created all of these art kits for underserved youth who might not have all of these materials at home. A lot of kids only get to work with their art supplies when they are at school so this gives them an opportunity to take these art kits home," Shannon Herron with Dogwood Arts said.
Gwyn Pevonka is a Creative Arts Coordinator for Boys and Girls Club.
"When they contacted me and were like we have all these kits for you I was like oh my gosh the kids are going to survive during this," she said. "They always want to take the art supplies home from the clubs because they say we don't have this so I think they are going to blown away."
The people who delivered the art kits to the Boys and Girls Club this week didn't actually see the kids' reactions. They kept their distance.
Last week, they dropped off art kits at Centro Hispano. Rene Yanes is the Community Resource Director and also on the Dogwood Arts Board.
"Our vision is to make sure the Latino community thrives culturally, educationally and economically and also through the arts," Rene Yanes said. "Art is one of the best ways to open your mind and to explore the world and be able to express yourself."
Shannon Herron said the new program fits the mission of Dogwood Arts.
"We are always trying to engage the art community to inspire the younger generation. We have several youth art programs that of course we can't do in person right now but we want to encourage kids that are at home to stay creative and keep making their art."
Gwyn Pevonka said, "Colored pencils, chalk, clay. They are going to have their hands busy. Their parents are going to thank us dearly."
Dogwood Arts hopes to attract more sponsors to make more art kits so more kids can create.
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