MANSFIELD, Ohio — Young people can make a difference. In Mansfield, Samantha Altman, 11, and Emma McAdams, 14, are doing exactly that.
The two youngsters, who help out at the Mansfield Art Center, launched a letter-writing campaign to help fund the art therapy classes for veterans at the art center. It was a project through the 5th District Junior President for the American Legion Auxiliary.
There were 142 letters mailed to 56 posts throughout the district, which contains 10 counties, Altman’s grandmother Kathy Heichel said. In her letter, Altman describes the art therapy classes and how they help veterans, also noting the need for funding.
“I am asking for any donation that you could possibly give for this, to help your fellow brothers and sisters,” she wrote in the letter.
Checking the mailbox became one of Altman’s favorite activities. Her typical response would be to jump up and down if a donation came in, she said.
The letters were mailed in early October, and as of this month she raised $2,425, exceeding her goal of $2,400.
“On behalf of the (Mansfield) Art Center and the veterans program, Samantha, I’d like to thank you very much,” Executive Director George Whitten told the youngster. “This is unbelievable.”
Art therapy student Theresa Moran was speechless.
“There are no words,” she said to Altman.
As a token of her appreciation, she presented Altman with a unit coin that she earned while in Desert Storm.
Moran, a retired U.S. Army Captain, served in the Army from 1984 to 1995. Since that time, she’s struggled from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“When I first started going to the Mansfield VA, my counselor had mentioned [the art therapy],” she said. “I was doing some little doodles and it helped me with my stress.”
And so, she began attending the classes at the art center, noticing a big difference in just a matter of weeks.
“I hadn’t been able to go to a family Thanksgiving for almost a decade,” she said. “And doing the art therapy has just helped me open up so much more.
“I was able to go to Thanksgiving at my brother’s … That was a big step.”
Instructor Cheryl Pete, a certified art therapist, helps create a welcoming environment for the veterans to feel at ease to talk about their emotions. She also teaches them various techniques on how to express themselves through art, Moran said.
“It helps us express ourselves and say things that we can’t say with words,” she said.
Altman, who has a passion for art, said phase two of her project would be to assemble art kits for veterans to take home after attending the art therapy class.
Also of merit, McAdams carries out a number of tasks to help with the day-to-day operations at the art center as part of her independent service learning program that she participates in through Discovery School.
She said she’s helped get out mailings, paint the sinks, enter class data into the computer, brainstorm ideas for family art nights and other things.
“They trust me to do things, which is nice,” she said with a laugh.
McAdams said her experience at the art center has helped her realize her potential.
“I know what I’m capable of,” she said. “I know that I’m able to go out in public or in a setting like this and help.”
Whitten said she appreciates the altruistic efforts of both McAdams and Altman.
“It’s remarkable to us that two kids this young are making such a difference in the lives of so many people,” Whitten said.
McAdams is proud to make a difference.
“We’re setting an example for other young people that maybe don’t feel they have power to change things, but they do,” she said.
