Every week, students in Heritage Christian Academy’s Art 2 Heart Club make items to sell at the Art 2 Heart shop in Hamel. But the money doesn’t go towards a class pizza party; everything goes to the school’s mission team.
Since 2009, middle school-age students have been making items like ceramic ornaments and butter dishes, in order to help fund the Heritage Christian students in ninth to 12th grades who are eligible for the school’s mission trips. “The nice thing is that what we do goes to the general pot,” says Heritage Christian art teacher Cindy Dreblow. That means all the students going on the Panama trip this June will have help in paying the $2,000 per-person cost. And the impact should be pretty big this school year, as the Art 2 Heart Club raised $1,500-$2,000 last year.
Peggy Quirk, executive director at Art 2 Heart, notes that funds given to Heritage Christian’s mission team also have gone to a school in Sudan, through the sale of cards and refrigerator magnets. “I personally think it’s a wonderful investment in the kids,” Quirk says of the collaboration. “It’s fostering creativity and building awareness of the world outside Maple Grove.”
The club meets every Thursday to make artwork for the shop, and Dreblow says she loves her students’ selfless attitudes. “They want to help,” she says. “And they really like service opportunities.” This time of year you’re likely to find things like flowerpots, birdhouses and picture holders. All items generally range from $3 to $15.
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Art 2 Heart
122 Hamel Rd. in Hamel
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday-Saturday
