Shaler Area High School students participate in The Memory Project
Each year, Shaler Area High School art students create portraits for children around the world through The Memory Project.
The Memory Project is a nonprofit organization, which started in 2004 as a way to give children who have been neglected, orphaned or disadvantaged in countries around the world a portrait created by an art student.
The Memory Project provides participating art students with color photos of a young child and the students transform them into pieces of artwork to be returned to the child as a keepsake.
This marks the ninth year Shaler Area High School students in David Boyles’ Art 3 and AP Studio Art courses are participating in the project. Additionally, students in Jeff Frank’s Art 2 classes also will participate this year. In total, Shaler Area students aim to create 50 portraits—almost double any previous year’s total.
Over the years, Shaler Area students have sent portraits to children in Africa, India, Indonesia, Central America, and Jordan. The Memory Project produces a video of the portraits being delivered to the children to send back to the school and art students.
The project is a labor of love for the student artists and students hope the community will support their efforts by sponsoring the cost to ship the portraits. Each portrait costs $15 to ship, and interested individuals who would like to sponsor a student can make a tax-deductible donation by writing a check to Shaler Area High School with “Memory Project” in the memo line. Additionally, the students have a Go Fund Me account to collect donations at https://www.gofundme.com/vpmy6-the-memory-project
Posted: Friday, December 22, 2017