The Madison Craft Club, or MadCrafts, is a student-led organization that volunteers at Madison Elementary School once per week to lead an art club for fourth graders. Each Wednesday at 2:45 p.m., members of the club drive 15 minutes off campus to share their love of art with members of the next generation.
MadCrafts is directed and funded through Colgate’s Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism and Education (COVE). Accordingly, MadCrafts prioritizes both service and creativity. During their weekly volunteering, the club’s members provide art materials, project plans and companionship, establishing a sincere connection between Colgate and the fourth graders of Madison Central School. Senior Tilly Morris, co-leader of MadCrafts, described the significance of the club’s activities to the COVE’s wider goals of building relationships and community engagement.
“It means so much to the kids,” Morris said. “They get so excited to see us every week, and we make such meaningful relationships with them. I truly believe that doing crafts and hanging out with them every week [is] important and special to them.”
Senior Cammy Foster, another co-leader, also emphasized the artistic and service-oriented nature of the club. She mentioned some of the club’s previous projects, including crafting clay sculptures, painting, designing tote bags, decorating pumpkins for Halloween and making snowflakes for the winter. Foster explained how, through these various projects, she and other Colgate students found a way to express their desire to both create art and improve the lives of the people around them.
“It [feels] good to give back to the community,” Foster said. “All the kids are super appreciative, and it’s a lot of fun to take time out of working and doing homework to just go to the elementary school and do an arts and crafts project.”
Senior and former club leader Grace McCaghey discussed how her experience with MadCrafts preserved the meaningful aspects of giving back without becoming an overwhelming time commitment.
“MadCrafts is a service club that does not feel like service at all,” McCaghey said.
McCaghey also discussed how the club offered the potential for a different outlook on life than she usually observes in college, benefitting not only the community that the club reaches out to but also the members of the club itself.
“At Colgate, we are surrounded by people our age and older,” McCaghey said. “It’s amazing to get a little bit of the childhood joy sprinkled into your week.”
Foster expressed sentiments similar to McCaghey’s about the positive emotional aspects of volunteering for MadCrafts.
“It’s a good change of pace from the stressful, academic side of Colgate,” Foster said. “If you enjoy arts and crafts and you enjoy working with children, it’s a really fun way to spend your afternoon.”
Morris likewise encouraged involvement in MadCrafts for the sake of connection to the Madison Central School community as well as for the joy volunteering has brought her.
“It’s really heartwarming,” Morris said. “I think that people should join MadCrafts because it is a good way to connect with local schools and a super fun community to be part of.”
Art serves societal and human well-being as an emotional and expressive endeavor. What better way to find an emotional connection to art than the joy of a close-knit community and the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to it?
Further information about MadCrafts and how to get involved can be found on the club’s Get Involved webpage.
