YouthBuild Cape Girardeau collects art supplies to support Project Hope

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) — YouthBuild Cape Girardeau is turning crayons, coloring books and other art supplies into a way to support children and families facing difficult circumstances.

The organization held its “Art Heals” donation drive Thursday at Capaha Park, collecting art-related items that will be donated through Project Hope on Oct. 9.

YouthBuild Cape Girardeau works with young adults ages 16 to 24, helping participants earn their high school equivalency while gaining job skills and training.

The program also emphasizes community service, giving participants opportunities to work on projects that benefit people throughout the area.

Desiree Warford, an academic instructor with YouthBuild, said giving back to the community is an important part of the program’s mission.

“Our end goal is to be able to get enough donations to give to Project Hope on October the ninth, so we can help,” Warford said.
For Warford, the idea behind collecting art supplies also has a personal connection.

Before her work with YouthBuild, Warford worked as a Children’s Division investigator. She said that experience showed her how something as simple as a coloring book and crayons could give a child a distraction during an otherwise difficult situation.

“It was just nice to be able to pull that out of the backpack with some crayons and have a kid maybe distracted for a little while, think about something else going on,” Warford said.

That experience helped inspire the focus of the Art Heals drive.

Warford said coloring can give both children and adults an opportunity to focus on something creative when they are struggling or simply need a moment to themselves.

“Sometimes if someone’s not feeling the best or just needs a moment, coloring is amazing,” Warford said. “That’s therapy in itself, adult-wise or little kids.”

YouthBuild has an existing connection with Project Hope. Warford said the organization participated in Project Hope last year, when children were able to receive items including blankets and coats.

This year, YouthBuild wanted to return with donations of its own.

The group is collecting items including new coloring books, crayons, colored pencils and other art supplies. Those donations will be taken to Project Hope on Oct. 9 for distribution to children and families.

Warford said the value of those donations may be easy to overlook because of how simple the items seem.

“Even the small things that we think are small could be huge for someone else,” Warford said. “Being able to have a brand-new box of crayons or colored pencils and a little backpack to put it in could change somebody’s whole entire trajectory for the day, for the week, for their month, for their year.”

For YouthBuild participants, the project also puts the program’s community-service mission into practice by allowing them to take part in collecting and giving resources back to people in the area.

The Art Heals drive was held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. Donations collected through the effort are scheduled to be given to Project Hope on Oct. 9.