Community Corner

Sandy Hook's SHACK Hopes to Stay Alive

Offering so many free arts events for kids in Sandy Hook has become difficult, the organization's founder says on Facebook.

Tucked away behind the storefronts in Sandy Hook, the SHACK (Sandy Hook Arts Center for Kids), has offered a crowded schedule of art events for kids all year since its opening. But the organization's founder has announced that, unless something changes, it may soon be forced to close its doors.

"Hello everyone," wrote Wendy Leahy Mitchell in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon. "I have been hesitating to post this hoping that more kids would sign up for June classes & summer camps by now, BUT if we do not get more students and/or more funding by June 30th then, sadly, the SHACK will no longer be able to operate."

Mitchell grew up in Sandy Hook and attended Sandy Hook Elementary School before moving to Bethel five years ago. While the idea for the SHACK was born in the months before the Dec. 14 shooting, Mitchell told Patch in May she realized afterwards how important it was to have a place for kids to create and express themselves through art in Sandy Hook.

"After the tragedy, a lot of my friends were saying 'What can we do to help?'," she said. "I presented this idea."

Since then, the SHACK has been one of the most active places for kids' activities in Newtown. From art shows to the Newtown Strong therapy dogs -- and most recently, 999 origami paper cranes from Japan -- the SHACK has offered it all. (Mitchell is also a regular blogger on Patch -- follow her blog to find out more about the events SHACK offers for kids.)

"I wanted to be able to provide healing through the arts for the Sandy Hook community after everything that happened," she told Patch in May. "Eventually all the toy donations and teddy bear donations were going to go away, but this is something that will be a long term."

But Mitchell says it's become harder to offer such a wide variety of kids' activities on a budget limited to donations.

"We have been paying for rent, utilities, advertising, overhead expenses, supply costs, rental equipment for six months of free events and many other expenses -- all on a only a few thousand dollars that we have collected in donations over the past six months," she said in the message to her Facebook followers. "We have reached out to many different government and town officials and arts organizations, to no avail. So at this point there is not much more we can do."

It's become harder to offer free events, Mitchell said, because so many other organizations are doing the same for kids around Newtown.

"It's hard to compete with free," she said.

To help the SHACK or get in touch with Wendy Leahy Mitchell, write her at sandyhookartscenter@gmail.com. For more SHACK events, see their website.


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