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Auction to fund Help Line, arts
2/8/2010 6:50 PM   0 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend

Help Line of Aiken County will host a student art show and silent auction Thursday at the Aiken Mall as a fundraiser for the agency and elementary school arts programs.

The event will be held at the former B. Dalton bookstore space from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Visitors can bid on student artwork. Three winners each in kindergarten through second grades and third through fifth grades will get prizes and earn funds for their schools. Participating schools this year are Aiken Elementary, East Aiken Elementary, Millbrook Elementary and Warrenville Elementary schools.

Help Line provides its 211 call service, helping people in need with referrals to a range of social service organizations and other programs.

At a time that Help Line is experiencing significant budget constraints, "We've seen an increase in calls for basic needs like utility assistance and housing," Executive Director Janis Leonard-Hoffman said. "People are losing their homes, and we're finding those who never thought they would be in a situation where they had to ask for help. For some, their employment has run out, and they can't find another job."

Carla Kerrigan's art students at Aiken Elementary won $800 for the school last year. She used the funds for consumable art supplies, such as watercolor pencils and new types of special markers and crayons. Gel FX markers have also been popular with the kids, Kerrigan said.

She appreciates the opportunity that the art contest and silent auction is providing at a time when budget cuts are taking resources from the arts. Her students did work around a Valentine's Day theme, studying the work of artists Wayne Thiebaud and Jim Dine. Thiebaud does a lot of paintings with ice cream and cake, while Dine enjoys repetitive heart themes.

"We don't usually do anything around the holidays," Kerrigan said. "The kids really enjoyed doing something for Valentine's Day."

Help Line hosts the event to create more awareness for its program and services and to get recognition for students and the arts, Leonard-Hoffman said.

"By collaborating with the school district, it's a way of reaching out to families in the community that we may service," she said.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.


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