Breckenridge mentor students create artwork for Dr. Goodall’s House

Breckenridge Mentor Students gathered at the Breckenridge Art Center, to create Christmas artwork for Dr. Goodall’s House. 

Each year Dr. Goodall’s House-A Family Resource Center sends out Christmas cards as an annual appeal for donations to the Center. 

Twenty-five years ago, parent organization, Virginia’s House, opened its’ doors to help the children of Young and Stephens Counties and began the yearly tradition of the annual appeal. It wasn’t until around 1998 when, then counselor, Trish Remington suggested using children’s artwork for the annual appeal cards. 

“There was a child that had drawn a picture of how her heart felt when she first came to the Center,” Remington stated in a press release to The Breckenridge American. “It was a heart that was only colored red at the very bottom of the heart. I ask the child to explain. She said, ‘it felt as if all the blood had drained out of my heart.’ I asked her how she felt after being at the Center; and she drew a picture of a heart full of all various bright colors. I knew then that we had to incorporate that into our annual appeal card, that our supporters needed to hear and see how this child felt.”

 Since then the Center has asked Mentor students to create the artwork for the cards. Most years the students have worked with their Mentors using crayons, markers and colored pencils to create the pieces. 

Last year, Graham artist Marc Nesbitt, assisted the students in working together to create one big piece of art; working together on that one piece. 

This year the students were asked to create their artwork on individual canvases with acrylic paints. Mentor Program Directors Alicia Waller and Judy Hart assisted the students with their work, giving them tips on how to use the paints and brushes to their best advantages. 

“It’s so much fun to see how creative these kiddos can be, the ideas they come up with and how they make it all work,” stated Hart. The Breckenridge Mentor Program currently serves many children. However, more children are added to the program through-out the year.

“It has taken many, many people giving of their time to make this program work,” Waller stated in the press release. “Our Mentor volunteers are the backbone of the Mentor Program. Literally, we could not do it without them.” 

Dr. Goodall’s House is very appreciative of the hospitality of the Breckenridge Art Center and its’ assistance in this project. 

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer Mentor, please call Alicia or Judy at 940-549-5451.