“The Memory Project is a cool way of letting kids know that there are people out there that care about them even when times are hard,” said Weedsport student Mallory Brown. 

Mrs. Palmer, Weedsport art teacher, has been impacting the life of many kids from all over the world with a heartfelt project called “The Memory Project”. Palmer partners with an organization called “The Memory Project” created by Ben Schumaker in 2004. The project is an attempt to make a kinder world through art. 

The art students start by receiving a picture of a student from another country. Last year the kids were from Cameroon in Africa, but this year they were from Syria. Along with the picture of the student, they also receive information about the kid like their age, name, favorite color, interest, and three words they would use to describe themselves. The art students then have to draw the picture of the kid that they were assigned. Once the art students have finished their drawing they trace their hand on the back of the drawing. Palmer said, “The handprint is a symbolic way for the students to connect with the kids.” Along with the handprint, each student writes a note saying, “I was happy to make this for you and I hope you enjoy it.”. The students then attach a picture of themselves to the project. The drawings are sent out and the kids receive a drawing of themselves along with the picture of who drew them. 

Along with a great lesson about helping others, the art students also learn new art skills. A Weedsport student, Jordan Powers, said she learned new skills about painting, drawing, and sketching realistically. The class learned a new method of gridding. The students drew grids on their paper and the picture to accurately copy the original image of the kid. Shading was also heavily emphasized in this project making the project look realistic. 

Palmer found out about this project because it was something that was done at her previous art teaching job.  It costs around $10 – $15 a portrait to keep the program running because Ben Schumaker, who started this project, hand-delivers them.

In the past, Palmer has done this project digitally. This is a quicker and more accurate way to accomplish this project. And on top of that, they were free. 

Although this project takes some time, especially when drawing it all out, the students seem to enjoy it. It’s a nice way to help others while learning new techniques along the way.