The Memory Project connects Seaholm High School students to kids around the world
Posted: 02/23/2011
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., (WXYZ) - Art students at Seaholm High School are connecting with children around the globe in a unique way.
They're involved in The Memory Project, a powerful and heartwarming initiative in which high school art students from around the country create portraits of children in orphanages around the world.
There are nearly 1000 high schools nationwide participating in The Memory Project, but students at Seaholm have set a record by creating almost 200 portraits, more than any other school in the country.
Susan Chapman, Seaholm High School's art teacher heard about The Memory Project and fell in love with the idea. "It just choked me right up. I decided this is what I’m gonna do with my students instead of self-portraits. It's a little more meaningful," says Chapman.
Seaholm High School students have created portraits of children from Haiti and Peru. Their latest set of portraits focus on orphans in Thailand. It's a way to bring smiles to the faces of the children and show them people care.
Lacey Gardner is a senior at Seaholm. She created a portrait of a little boy named Toon.
"The fact that they don’t have pictures taken of them all the time or on the first day of school...If I can create some kind of memory that they can appreciate in the future, that's a great thing", says Gardner.
The Memory Project was founded by Ben Schumaker of Wisconsin. He sends the pictures of the children to the high schools. Art students look at those photos to create the hand drawn portraits. Once they're finished, they are sent to Schumaker and he, or someone with The Memory Project, travels to the orphanages to hand deliver the portraits.
He has a goal of having 6,000 portraits made this school year. He encourages other high school art students to get involved. For more information on the initiative and how you can take part, go to www.thememoryproject.org .
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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