Earth Day fundraiser to benefit Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind
Courtesy of Megan Hursh
Courtesy of Megan Hursh
Leigh Santa, owner of Twelve Oaks Mansion in Mars, Pa., was on board to lend her venue to Megan Hursh for the Earth Day Fundraiser event, Hursh said. Twelve Oaks Mansion will be transformed into an art gallery April 22 to raise money for the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
Pottery offers a multi-sensory experience to visually disabled students, said Ellen Filar, art teacher at WPSBC. Mugs, espresso mugs and planters handcrafted by students will be available for admiring and purchasing during the April 22 Earth Day Fundraiser event at Twelve Oaks Mansion. (Photo courtesy of Megan Hursh)
A visually disabled WPSBC middle school student creates a work of pottery art in Ellen Filar’s class one February afternoon. His work will appear alongside his classmates’ at the Earth Day Fundraiser event. (Photos courtesy of Megan Hursh)
Courtesy of Megan Hursh
Courtesy of Megan Hursh
A self portrait of the artist Megan Hursh, who organized the Earth Day Event fundraiser for the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, as a way to both give back to the more than two dozen Southwestern Pennsylvania students and honor her aunt.
news@greenecountymessenger.com
An idea that took root on a quiet January day has quickly blossomed into a magnificent, multi-community Earth Day Fundraiser to benefit the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
On April 22, Megan Hursh, of Canonsburg, will host an immersive gallery Earth Day Fundraiser at Twelve Oaks Mansion in Mars, Pa., to benefit the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
The fundraising idea was born in January, when Hursh, who owns Megan Hursh Photography, took the month off to relax, regroup and refocus. Recharged, she reached out to friend Leigh Santa, who owns Twelve Oaks Mansion, and suggested the two host an event.
“She said, ‘I happen to have Earth Day free,'” said Hursh, eyes wide. “I love Earth Day.”
Hursh decided to marry photography and speech therapy (Hursh, a wife, mom and part-time photog, is also a full-time pediatric speech-language pathologist). While imagining what an event like that could look like, a friend booked Hursh for headshots.
“She is a physical therapist at the (Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children),” Hursh said. “I thought, we could help the school. Another tie to this: My aunt has severe disabilities. My Aunt Roseanna, who didn’t have access to a school like WPSBC. In a way, it’s a way to honor her.”
The event, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Earth Day, will serve as a fundraising launching pad for the WPSBC, which is in the early planning stages of a rather big, serendipitous project.
When Hursh met with school representatives earlier this year, she asked if funding was needed for anything in particular.
“Of all things … (they said) we are working on accessibility upgrades and renovations to our outdoor garden. I was like, you’ve got to be kidding me. This is on Earth Day,” Hursh said.
Pieces started falling into place like raindrops falling to earth, watering the ambitious idea.
Local artists, including photographer Jacob Woodyard and singer/spoken word artist Special K, are lending their talents to the Earth Day fundraiser. Artworks by 25 area artists will be available for purchase, and a live auction featuring pieces by renowned photographer George Lange and Canonsburg’s Jim Sulkowski will benefit WPSBC.
Those simply out for an evening will enjoy drinks, culinary confections by Ashley Comer, live music and live painting by Washington abstractionist Samantha Cortese.
Comer, owner of Carnegie Coffee Company, has been instrumental in making the Earth Day Fundraiser bloom, Hursh said.
“Do you know that people work on projects like this for a year? In January (Megan) was like, I’m going to do this and three months later, it’s materializing,” said Comer. “Someone that you meet by chance on social media says, ‘Hey, I’m doing this awesome thing’ – I just became really excited and wanted to help her.”
Carnegie Coffee Company baristas will pull espresso at the coffee shop’s mobile bar during the fundraiser, crafting elegant drinks in pottery mugs handmade by WPSBC students.
“I was approached for the idea of the fundraiser by a coworker who is friends with (Hursh). I was actually planning on doing a pottery lesson with my students around the same time – we always try to do a pottery lesson once each school year – and I thought it would be a really great fit for the Earth Day event,” said Ellen Filar, art teacher at WPSBC. “It just kind of evolved from there.”
This year is the first post-COVID school year students have gotten their hands dirty in clay, Filar said.
“We’ve moved art rooms since COVID, and the pottery wheel and our kiln have been in storage,” she said. “We really like to focus on the process, not the product, when it comes to making art. Our students have limited or no vision. It’s really about the experience. With pottery and the pottery wheel, that’s a new experience for a lot of our students. It’s just a different tactile experience for them, using the wheel and feeling it spin, and the water that they need to work with the clay on the wheel, and the sound that the pottery wheel makes when it spins and turns. A lot of kids really enjoy that.”
Students – 19 of whom live in Washington, Greene or Fayette County – have enjoyed creating mugs, espresso mugs and planters this semester. Each piece takes about 16 hours to make, including the first firing in the kiln, glazing and a second, eight-hour stint in the kiln. Filar’s students have made about 230 pieces to date.
“We’ve done shows in the past, nothing to this extent. They know that they are making it for the fundraiser, and I think they like to be a part of that process where they’re creating something that is going back to the school and helping out the school. It is empowering. They are artists creating something that is meaningful, and that people would potentially like to purchase,” she said.
Some young artists will be in attendance at the event, and Filar is excited her students are part of every aspect of the Earth Day fundraiser.
“Even though a person may have a vision disability, that doesn’t restrict them from creating art,” Filar said. “I just really want to thank everybody for graciously allowing us to be part of it and for thinking of us, really, and giving our students the opportunity to create art for this.”
Hursh, Twelve Oaks Mansion and WPSBC hope this fundraiser is a launching point for the school’s garden renovations.
When Allison Burke, primary program teacher and member of the outdoor Children’s Garden Renovation Committee, put this project on her wish list five years ago, costs were estimated at more than $150,000. Post-COVID, those costs have increased, though Burke does not have final numbers.
“It is very, very expensive. If we get quality products and it’s done well, it will last a very, very long time,” Burke said.
Though the campus garden is used nearly daily, it isn’t a space kids and staff can walk outside and fully utilize: the garden is hilly, the water fountain is grated over and, while some students enjoy the adaptive slides and swings, the equipment is older and not accessible to all, Burke said.
“It would just be nice if we could walk out our door here and go to our own playground. If you think about it, every school has a playground and the kids really look forward to breaking up the day, getting their wiggles out on the playground. Our students deserve to have that as well,” she said.
Burke envisions a large, lush space that serves all students.
“We are hoping that we can flatten the playground area. We want some sort of a splash pad; that area could also be used whenever the water feature was not on. We were talking about an outdoor classroom area, about having swings that were accessible to everybody, and a playscape feature,” Burke said. “It’s OK if it’s accessible in different ways. We want to make sure that it can be a learning space and multi-sensory space that can be used year-round. We have so many kids that learn in different ways. A lot of therapies can take place out there. They can practice their fine motor skills, they’re constantly using their communication skills and their vision while they’re out there. It’s kind of an all-encompassing benefit. To be able to have that at our fingertips, an awesome playground that was designed specially for our students, would be a dream.”
For now, Hursh and those helping throw a successful Earth Day immersive gallery fundraiser are dreaming of making a difference.
Though ticket sales closed officially March 24, a limited number are still available. Monetary, in-kind, food or drink, and volunteer donations to the Earth Day Fundraiser will be accepted through April 22.
Reach out to Megan Hursh Photograph at meganhurshphotography@gmail.com or 570-423-2213 for more information about the fundraiser and donation opportunities.