Page 11 - The Decorative Painter Summer 2018

YOU GUYS ROCK!
COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES OF A BUSY CHAPTER WITH A BIG HEART
The society is
EXCITED
about the wonderful
happenings of our
SDP chapters.
Please let us know about your programs.
Send information and photos to: sdp@decorativepainters.org
by Pat Hull – Greater Cincinnati Decorative Artists
“You guys ROCK!” was an
expression frequently exclaimed by
Peggy Hermes during her recently
concluded five years as Service
Coordinator for Greater Cincinnati
Decorative Artists (GCDA). It was
her favorite response to excellent
chapter member participation in the
community service projects adopted
each year. As newsletter editor, member
Pat Hull has recorded and published
accounts of these activities, but the
chapter has engaged in so many different kinds of service projects that it warranted a retrospective review. GCDA has been an SDP chapter for nearly 38 years, but a look at just the past eight years alone revealed a rich history of wonderfully diverse opportunities selected for community service, most of them related to decorative painting.
GCDA’s activities have included:
n Painting hundreds of book bags, backpacks, wheelchair/walker bags, and memory boxes for various facilities and organizations
n Painting bricks which raised $1,740 in a “Bricks for Breast Cancer” fundraiser auction
n Making a few hundred no-sew blankets for homeless shelters n Donations of art supplies to Children’s Hospital
n Donations of toys to St. Vincent de Paul toy drives
n Painting rocks with groups of home-schooled children
n Donations of nonperishable items to soldiers via Yellow Ribbon Support Project n Volunteering time and a $500 donation to Matthew 25 Ministries
n And finally, to support early art education, GCDA recently donated $300 for the
purchase of art supplies and made donations of art materials to a small, privately
operated elementary school with limited funding and no budget for an art curriculum. n They kicked off 2018 by painting memory boxes at the January meeting.
The performance of service projects by SDP chapters, particularly when expressed
by and integrated with decorative painting, is more than a worthy group exercise. It’s an excellent way for individual members to experience the satisfaction of using their creative and artistic skills to give back to their communities. Call it an artful approach to giving!
TEACHING DECORATIVE PAINTING TO THE MS SOCIETY
Gloria Folk
was asked to do a
presentation at the
Muscula Dystrophy
Society. They meet
monthly to do a craft
or listen to speakers
on various subjects.
She created a Butterfly on Suede mat board project for them. They all did a great job and had a lot of fun.
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