Joe Demjanenko considers himself an artistic person.
The 17-year-old Baker High School senior and Eagle Scout candidate draws or colors to relieve stress, and now he’s reaching out to help sick kids do the same.
Demjanenko is collecting supplies for art therapy for patients at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital for his Eagle Scout Service Project.
“Last April, I had a piece of my artwork featured in Golisano Children’s Hospital, and I made the connection,” said Demjanenko, a member of the Baldwinsville Cold Springs Boy Scout Troop 114.
Demjanenko’s first Eagle Scout project didn’t work out — his plan to build a few “Little Free Libraries” was not approved, so he went back to the drawing board.
“Sometimes if I’m just frustrated I’ll just go and draw or color and it takes my mind away from that,” Demjanenko said. “With the kids in the hospital, they can’t go outside and run and they might be confined to their hospital bed. They have nothing to do.”
In August, Demjanenko set up a collection box for colored pencils, crayons, paper and more at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church on Route 31 in Clay. Then, he began collecting at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church on Cold Springs Road.
He’s working with King of Kings Lutheran Church in Liverpool to set up another collection location.
Most of Demjanenko’s haul, however, came from a weekend when he and a few of his fellow Scouts stood outside a local Wal-Mart asking shoppers to purchase art supplies. He said back-to-school sales were a boon to his project.
“That’s where we got about 75 percent of our stuff,” Demjanenko said. “I was definitely surprised with how much we got.”
Demjanenko said he hopes the patients who benefit from his project will be able to show their visiting loved ones the artwork they will have made.
As for those who don’t connect with the visual arts, Demjanenko is also collecting pencils and notebooks for “kids that can’t express themselves creatively, but they can write.”
At press time, Demjanenko had collected an eight-foot high stack of paper and 500 boxes of crayons.
“It takes up the whole corner of a room,” he said.
While he is fortunate enough to have avoided a stay in the hospital, Demjanenko said the thought of children having to spend their days — especially the holidays — away from their families moved him to act.
“I’ve been lucky enough to never have to stay in a children’s hospital for a while, and I don’t want to begin to wonder how terrible that must be to have to do that for even two or three days,” Demjanenko said. “I’d be devastated if I [couldn’t] take part in the family traditions.”
He’s hoping to deliver his art therapy kits to the hospital in December, so there is plenty of time to help out.
Demjanenko is still in need of watercolor paint sets and colored pencils; all art supplies must be nontoxic.
People can drop off art supplies at St. Mark’s or King of Kings or contact Demjanenko at 622-4991.
