Shaler Area High School students are using their talents to create memories 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 eighth year Shaler Area High School students in David Boyles’ Art 3 and AP Studio Art courses are participating participated in the project.

Over the years, Shaler Area students have sent portraits to children in Africa, India, Indonesia and Central America. This year, students created 22 portraits to be sent to Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The Memory Project produces a video of the portraits being delivered to the children to send back to the school and art students.

“This is my favorite project,” said Kelly Lazaro, a senior. “I’m excited to see the video we get back to see how excited they are to receive the portraits.”

The project is a labor of love for the student artists and Boyles hopes 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.

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