07.05.2018
Blick Art Materials Celebrates Christmas in July
When Larry Aldrich, the general manager at Blick Art Materials in Seattle, found out that Treehouse’s Holiday Magic program wouldn’t have the funding to buy their usual art kits, he was devastated.
“To me, that equated to kids that weren’t going to get something,” he said.
Larry has previously run several donation drives for art supplies for our free store for youth in foster care and typically provides art kits for children for Holiday Magic. Upon hearing this news, Larry decided to combine these two into a Holiday Magic donation drive: “Christmas in July.”
Larry worked with Treehouse to create a new art kit with all ages of kids in mind. He wanted to make sure that children in foster care who were younger could appreciate it, but that the older youth weren’t forgotten or left out.
“We did add a presentation book to put their artwork in and everything comes in a zipper bag, so it’ll be really portable,” Larry said. “If they need to move or take it with them somewhere or just take it back and forth to school, they can.”
Larry’s inspiration for this drive and his passion for Treehouse come from his experience as a child and his desire to share that happiness with other children.
“When I was a kid, I think I got almost anything I wanted at some point,” he said. “It’s really important to me that every child have the opportunity to have that new box of crayons or something of their own. The memory of getting a brand-new box of crayons and their smell was a driving factor.”
Though Larry and Blick run donation drives for several organizations every year, Larry loves working with Treehouse.
“I know that it’s going into the hands of people that need it,” he said. “I trust Treehouse and I know that the donation is being used appropriately.”
The Christmas in July fundraiser began June 24 and runs through the end of July. The goal is to build 200 kits, and every customer who donates will receive a coupon for their next visit.
You can host a donation drive to support youth in foster care at any time of the year. For more information, visit treehouseforkids.org/drives.
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The Stationery Company
November 26, 2020
Thank you for this post. I know this is years later, but this is really the only helpful post This is an actual ARTS SUPPLY list. So helpful. Thank you!