When Side Street Studio Arts’ day-to-day operations were upended by the coronavirus pandemic and the stay-at-home order, its owners decided the best way to help kids stuck at home was to bring them a way to make art.
Side Street founders Tanner Melvin and Erin Rehberg are assembling and delivering Brown Bag art kits for Elgin children and teens free of charge. They’re using the art supplies they already had on hand as well as donations from employees and supporters.
So far, they’ve distributed more than 500 kits in an effort they estimate has reached more than 1,300 young artists, Melvin said.
“We’re offering folks and kids a chance to extend themselves in a new direction … offer them a chance to be creative, imaginative, and improve their mental health,” he said.
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The kits vary by age. Those going to younger children may include watercolor paint and playdough while an older teen’s kit may include acrylic paint and canvas. Other items being collected and distributed aree folders, paper, pencils, crayons and colored pencils, Melvin said.
Each kit costs them about $5 thanks to bulk purchases and donations, he said.
Recently, the Chicago-based Reva and David Logan Foundation made a sizable donation of supplies from which Side Street will be able to make at least 1,000 more kits, he said.
They have more than 1,300 art kits requests so far, Melvin said.
“When we get requests, we ask how many kids you have, how old they are,” he said. “That way we can better tailor the art kits to each household.”
Delivery is done on a volunteer basis and limited to a 10-mile radius of its downtown Elgin location, Melvin said.
Side Street is working with the School District U-46 Educational Foundation on 1,600 art kits to be distributed to all of the district’s preschoolers. The foundation will pay for the supplies
“When preschoolers are learning, these are the types of things they need. So this was a perfect match,” foundation coordinator Dawn Curran said.
Kits will include a watercolor set, crayons, pipe cleaners, pencil, chalk, paper and other items.
In a separate endeavor, U-46 plans to give its preschool students “kindergarten readiness backpacks” filled with English-and-Spanish-language books, supplies and activities, Curran said. The backpacks will be paid for by the district, pending school board approval.
“We’re looking to pair the district’s backpacks with the kits to limit (potential coronavirus) exposure,” Curran said. Both could be delivered some time in May, she said.
Side Street’s work on the art kits comes even as it faces its own financial hurdles. In a Facebook update, Side Street said they had applied to nine different “funding opportunities” and had already received one rejection. Many Side Street employees have donated their March paychecks back to the nonprofit organization.
Monetary donations to Side Street helped cover day-to-day expenses of 26 of the first 39 days since Side Street closed, a Facebook update said. Melvin said their two landlords have worked with them to figure out rent.
Side Street has developed an “excellent” base of donors since its inception seven years ago, Melvin said. He hopes the art kits project reminds people of Side Street’s role in the community or introduces them to Side Street for the first time.
“If we can offer even a little bit of help, that’s something we will strive for,” he said.