Ten-year-old Emma Klocker loves to create art. So, it was not entirely surprising that when she saw sick children in a hospital on the news one night last September, she decided art was going to help them.
What she didn’t expect, however, was the ripple effect her efforts would have.
“One day I was at home and we were watching the news and we saw a kid in the hospital that was really sick and he looked bored,” Emma, of Chester Township, said last week. “Then I went to school and a girl was pretending to ship (a pencil) to Colorado and the kids on the news were also from Colorado.”
Seeing it as a sign and realizing she could ship materials to children, Emma got to work, hatching a plan that night in her bedroom to help collect art materials for children at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.
“I decided on art supplies so that they can stay busy while in the hospital and take their minds off of being sick, and I really like to do art and crafts projects, so I thought it’d be fun,” Emma said.
‘Kids for Coloring’ Takes Off
Emma decided to call her project “Kids for Coloring,” which kicked off October of 2014 at Lindsey Elementary School, one of two elementary schools in the West Geauga school district.
“(Emma) came up with a plan on how she would ask kids at her school to donate art supplies. The next day, she went to her teacher and principal, and with their full support, ‘Kids for Coloring’ was set in motion,” said Debra Klocker, Emma’s mother.
In October of 2014, Emma collected over 550 items from her school and another 150 from family and friends. All donations were given to RB&C and the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
“I’m really proud of her. We’ve never had this conversation of helping other people yet, I thought she was too young for it almost, so we never had that ‘we need to volunteer’ conversation yet,” Debra said. “And she came to me with this idea … and I was like, ‘OK, we can go get some supplies’ … that’s where I thought she was going with it … (but) she was like, ‘No, I wanna do something at school.’”
Debra said she told her daughter if she really wanted to pursue the project, she had to take it seriously and have a plan in place.
“So she went to her room and wrote up this plan and came to me with it,” Debra explained. “I said, ‘Go ahead and take it to the principal.’”
Emma worked with Lindsey Elementary School Principal Ron Dahlhofer, her guidance counselor, Meg Cunningham, and teacher, Jim Croff, who were “100 percent supportive from the get go,” Debra said.
“They said whatever you want, go ahead and do it. There were no restrictions. It was whatever she wanted to do, they were supporting it. I was blown away with how supportive of her they were because we were new to the school and I didn’t know how that was going to play out,” she said.
Exceeding Expectations
Since starting “Kids for Coloring,” Emma’s project has delivered 4,400 supplies to children in hospitals.
“I am so thankful and grateful for everyone’s support. It’s gotten so much bigger than we ever thought,” said Debra, adding she has at least 600 more supplies currently in her basement and hopes to eventually collect over 10,000 items whiles continuing to get other schools involved.
“It made me feel happy and surprised because it was growing so much and I also felt glad that we could send things to the kids,” Emma said, adding she plans to continue collections next year — she’s currently working on plans for a collection at her competitive cheerleading gym, Spirit Athletics, in Solon — and hopes to volunteer at the hospital as well.
The 4,400 items delivered so far include donations from a drive held in January at Emma’s former cheerleading gym in Mentor. The gym also donated time to allow Emma to hold an open gym day for “Kids for Coloring.” Admission to the event went toward the project and 350 art supplies were donated as a result.
“Emma also received a $1,000 donation from Capital One’s ‘Wish for Others’ campaign in January. These funds will also be used to purchase art supplies for local children’s hospitals,” Debra said.
In January, “Kids for Coloring” had a table at a charity competition, the Children’s Cheer Classic in Akron, which benefits the Reach Out and Read program at Akron Children’s Hospital.
Visitors and athletes in attendance had a chance to make “get well” cards to be delivered with the art supplies that were collected throughout January. There was also a Chinese Auction, which raised $300 for the purchase of additional art supplies.
In February, over 1,100 items were delivered to RB&C, Debra said.
“Emma’s efforts have made a tremendous impact on the children hospitalized here,” said Meredith McCulloch, an art therapist at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
“Many of the children I work with have lengthy admissions and they are often confined to their room to minimize risk of infection,” she said. “This can understandably be monotonous and isolating. They require new art materials due to compromised immune systems. Having new art materials and new ways to express themselves makes such a difference on mood and coping.
“These children are often in unimaginably challenging circumstances, and trying to describe what they are thinking and feeling through words can be difficult. Making art is a natural and enjoyable way of communicating for children.”
Art therapy combines the creation of art with the therapeutic process, McCulloch explained.
“It is used at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital to assist our patients with self-expression, reducing anxiety, coping with adjustment to illness, provide a diversion from pain, provide a ‘normal’ childhood experience for children in extraordinary circumstances, and provide sensory stimulation,” she said. “I am in awe of Emma and her organization. It has made such a tremendous impact on her patients and it’s amazing that she is only 10 years old. She certainly has an empathy and drive that is well beyond her years.”
The Ripple Effect Continues
Other supply contributions have included:
- The Laurich family, Mentor Girl Scout Troops and families at American Elite in Tallmadge collecting art supplies as well as cash donations to purchase more supplies, resulting in over 700 items donated to Akron General Children’s Hospital and roughly 400 items donated to Rainbow Babies;
- A student at Central Catholic in Canton collecting 700 items, which were delivered to Akron Children’s Hospital;
- Families at Constellation Schools – Old Brooklyn Elementary collecting over 500 items, which, along with over 130 additional local donations, resulted in a delivery to RB&C and to McCulloch’s program at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital;
- Over 200 cans of Play-Doh recently donated to RB&C;
- A Montville Township family, the Townsends, helping their daughter hold a “Kids for Coloring” lemonade stand in August, resulting in over $300 collected to purchase art supplies for Rainbow Babies.
“I always tell everybody, we want good students, but we also want good community members and that’s a perfect example of it, just everything she’s doing for this community to help other kids in need is just unbelieveable,” said Dahlhofer Oct. 23. “And now she’s trying to expand it on to other schools, she’s trying to get our other elementary school involved, trying to get St. Anselm involved and other schools around the area, so it’s just a great idea and knowing her, in five hears, I can see this going even bigger than it is now.”
Dahlhofer said many of Emma’s classmates have been on board with her efforts.
“The kids all see her doing this and want to help her make life better for other kids,” he said. “To me, that’s the most important thing we can do for kids. There’s all this pressure we have right now on test scores and academics, but this is what being a child is all about, teaching them to be a member of the community and give back to people in need.”
For more information about “Kids for Coloring” and upcoming events, visit online at facebook.com/kids4coloring or gofundme.com/kids4coloring.