When school budgets are tight, art teachers often find their money for supplies is one of the first things to go.

That's why an Arkansas foundation, with the help of an energy company, is trying to help.

Next week, nearly $25,000 worth of art supplies will be delivered to 26 elementary schools in the five counties that make up the Fayetteville Shale area--thanks in part to Chesapeake Energy.

(Paul Leopoulos, Thea Foundation) “They'll all get fifty-dozen of colored pencils…”

Paul Leopoulos--who named the Thea Foundation after his late daughter--along with countless volunteers, have separated about $1,000 worth of art supplies for each art teacher, so that the teachers can adequately encourage the arts among their students.

(Leopoulos) “The arts are the silent, wonderful power behind students. The problem is, if you don't have the supplies to do the classes, it's very hard to motivate kids and help them with their creativity.”

The hope is that all children have access to art, regardless of where they live, or their economic status.

(Leopoulos) “There's a lot of poor people in Arkansas, and it's hard to dream when you don't have much. But in art, you can learn to dream because of the process of learning--you can think outside the box and those kinds of things. So, all we want is these children to believe in themselves, the way our daughter Thea believed in herself after she got involved with the arts. That's just our dream.”

For more information, click here.

Email To A Friend