Markers, crayons and coloring books--items Emma Klocker has collected for the past two years.
She explained, “I always liked coloring. It always keeps my mind off of something when I have a bad day or whatever.”
But she's not just collecting for fun, she’s collecting for a cause.
Her mom, Debbie Klocker, said her desire to give back threw her off guard.
“We hadn’t had that discussion of like giving back to your community yet…so when she came to me with it I was, I was, surprised,” Emma's mother said.
Neighbors, friends and even her school pitched in to help the 10 year old donate as many art supplies as they could.
“People wanted to help, people wanted to have their own collections,” Debbie said. “Some people that we didn’t even know had collections for her. So we just keep getting more and more stuff.”
The growth has caught the fifth grader by surprise.
“I wasn’t really sure like how much it would grow; I thought it was going to be just a little thing,” Emma said.
In her first year doing the project ‘Kids For Coloring,’ Emma collected more than 700 items.
And since then her project has collected more than 6,000 pieces of art supplies to donate to sick kids at local children's hospitals.
Stephanie Skrout, a childlife assistant at University Hospitals, helped coordinate the deliveries with Emma and her family.
She said the art supplies came in handy in multiple places around the hospital.
“Anything that they can use their creativity and their imagination, it really helps the kids feel normal when their here in the hospital," Skrout said. "It’s just great for the kids to know that another kid did this for them.”
"I wanted to give to other kids so in the hospital they don’t like, so they don’t keep thinking in their head that they’re sick, that they’ll keep their mind off of being sick,” Emma said.
Tuesday night Emma will hold a special donation event in Solon to gather even more supplies. She told NewsChannel 5 her hope is by the end of it, she'll reach her goal of 10,000 items.
“I’ll be shocked. I’ll probably be really happy that I can get, that I have more art supplies to give to kids in the hospital.”
Her mom added that the project has not only been an inspiration but it has also allowed for great family bonding time.
“It’s something fun we do together and I hope she continues to set new goals cause I really enjoy doing it with her,” Debbie explained.
The event Tuesday starts at 7 p.m. at The Spirit Athletics Cheerleading Gym in Solon. It’s open to the public and donations are welcomed.
