Art materials are put together during the Krafts4kids club once a month for children at the National Children’s hospital in D.C. lead by President Elena Bernal.
The Krafts4kids club was designed to allow children at the National Children’s Hospital in D.C. the opportunity to make crafts as a source of entertainment during their stay at the hospital. Most of these kids range from ages 6-14 and either enjoy arts and crafts or haven’t discovered their artistic abilities yet. This club allows these kids to engage in arts and crafts. President of the club, Bernal said, “My favorite thing about my club is I’m able to do something I’m passionate about while helping kids in the hospital.”
During the club meetings, the participants make little bags that incorporate different art materials including origami paper, coloring books and utensils. The participants in this club have said they love that they are able to help the children in their community. Junior student Alex Rabin said, “I truly believe that this is a ‘service to the community’ because it is helping kids within our community by providing necessary goods for them to explore their creativity through art.”
The club meetings are held once a month during lunch or advisory in room 187, which takes place in the art hallway. The sponsor, Kristine Hrin, is a new sponsor to the club and hasn’t had a chance to contribute much yet. Hrin said, “We are going to become more active in November.”
The club requires a lot of time and effort from Bernal. The club is not funded by the school nor the sponsor. Bernal pays out of pocket to buy the materials for her club. She also drives the bags that were assembled during the meetings all the way to the National Children’s Hospital in D.C. every three meetings. However, Bernal has a passion for art and strives for other children to share that same passion with her. Bernal said, “I wanted to incorporate my passion for art and take it to the next level by helping kids in the hospital and providing them with an engaging activity.”
The National Children’s hospital has assisted the Krafts4kids club greatly by working with Bernal and her sponsor to help donate art materials for children in the hospital and grow a passion for art. The collaboration between the club and the hospital opens up opportunities for the sick children in the hospital who are unable to do much due to their medical conditions, and supplies them with crafts and fun activities.
The club has made accomplishments but the biggest one was reaching their goal of making 40 bags in one meeting. Not only was this a big accomplishment for the club, but also for the participants in the club who worked hard to put these bags together successfully and neatly for the sick children in the hospital. Rabin said, “My proudest accomplishment during this club was reaching our goal of creating a certain amount of bags/care packages for the children.”
