Children living in Belize have the opportunity to show their artistic ability with help from a class of 23 Gordon Elementary students.

On Dec. 13, Bethany LaHaie’s 3rd grade class packaged art supplies gathered during a two week donation drive. The supplies will be sent to students of similar age. Though the students are similar age, the opportunities they have to experiment with their creativity is limited, said Kaitlin Halady, a Gordon Elementary alum.

“The school has access to regular supplies, but other than that there isn’t really much available,” Halady said.

Halady visited Belize with a group of students from Stanford University and the Impact Abroad program for three weeks during the summer. She found the students participating in art workshops did not know how to mix colors.

The art workshop is part of the Columbia River Cooperative where Lisa White, a teacher at Toledo Community College, works with young students. The inability to understand mixing colors is an example of students lacking basic skills because of insufficient supplies, White said in an email.

The Co-op school, a non-profit started by White and some of her colleagues, allows young students to experiment with artistic tools they have never used. The majority of students are Kekchi Maya and Mopan Maya who have strong backgrounds in other forms of artistic cultural traditions, such as weaving, embroidery and wood carving.

The idea for the donation drive came from LaHaie’s attempt at bringing in a Gordon alum to positively impact current students.

“Gordon gave a lot to me and I just wanted to give back,” Halady said.

Though the drive was scheduled for one week, it was extended because of the snow storm on Nov. 22 that cancelled school for three days. Despite the setback, LaHaie said the class met their goal of supplies, which were shipped through the Passport club to reduce the cost.

“Sometimes the cost of shipping ends up being more than the materials are worth,” LaHaie said. “I was getting ready to do bake sales in order to pay for shipping.”

In all, about five boxes full of supplies were sent to Belize. No other donations are planned for the immediate future, but Halady said she will keep in contact with the school and its ongoing needs.