When a tornado tore through Round Rock on March 21, some Round Rock families lost everything, and luckily they escaped without serious injury.
Round Rock ISD Art Educator Carolyn Scalan couldn’t get the devastation her students experienced off her mind. An artist herself, she turned to the healing power of art to help her students cope with their feelings.
“I knew our District counselors and social workers were taking care of our families basic needs, such as food and shelter,” said Scalan. “I love my students so much. I wanted them to see that their community cares about them.”
Scalan created an Amazon® wish list full of art supplies and sent an ask for donations out over her social media channels. A week later, dozens of Amazon boxes containing supplies arrived at her home every day for over a week. Scalan estimates that she received over $2,500 worth of donated supplies.
Scalan, her husband, and a teacher friend sorted the supplies and packed take-home Art Care Kits. Over 200 Callison Elementary School students affected by the tornado and some newly enrolled Afghani refugees received a kit containing five sheets of heavy paper, watercolors, markers, colored pencils, an eraser, a pencil, a little pencil sharpener, and a mini sketchbook.
“Food, shelter, and medical care are essential, but these art supplies are just for the kids, something special for them,” said Scalan. “Art is a way we can express our feelings, and it can help us process things and bring us joy in hard times.”
Scalan was given a drawing from a kit recipient. The student took great care in preparing a drawing of the kit supplies she received in her Art Care Kit.
For more information about art in our schools, send us a Let’s Talk.
