Girl Scout Troop 30197 helped an effort to spread an abundance of smiles to those in nursing homes, those in hospitals, military personnel stationed overseas and anyone else who needs a smile. Teach Right hosted Troop 30197 and other children who dropped in on Dec. 12 to “Color-A-Smile” to share with others.

Color A Smile was started by Jerry Harris in the early 1980’s. While at a friend’s house, Jerry noticed the colorful artwork on their refrigerator door. Jerry knew that in a few years his refrigerator would have plenty of cheerful drawings from his then infant son. The idea of collecting crayon drawings from kids and sending the drawings to senior citizens appealed to Jerry and his wife Susanne. They thought this would be a simple way to bring joy to the lives of elderly people that often feel forgotten. Color A Smile started by distributing a few drawings to some local nursing homes.
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The program has grown tremendously and today mails thousands of drawings every month to people all across the country and distributes cheerful artwork to our military troops overseas. Thousands of thank you letters, from the recipients, confirm that this program does spread smiles and remind people that someone is thinking of them. Color A Smile has distributed well over a million drawings since it started.

Even though the program was started mainly to benefit the seniors that receive the drawings, the response from the children that do the coloring has been overwhelming. Parents, teachers and scout leaders all praise the program for allowing children of all ages and abilities, to realize they are capable of helping someone else. Color A Smile provides volunteer opportunities, for people of all ages and abilities, to experience the rewards of helping others. Visit colorasmile.org for more information.