SAN ANTONIO — Holly Morrow is encouraged to let her expressions flow. Her mother, Melonie, is an art teacher.
“She paints angels. She paints self-portraits,” Melonie said. “Sometimes, if she sees herself pretty or un-pretty... Her journaling ---she sketches her feelings.”
Melonie is teaching her 11-year-old daughter art can problem solve. More importantly, just like life, art comes with mistakes.
“I thank God that she has inner strength,” Melonie said.
Holly is a young pageant princess who is also a member of the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Her Bronze Award project is called Holly’s Helping Hands, Happy Heart.
“It makes feel good that I’m giving back to them,” Holly said.
The sixth grader is collecting clothes, backpacks and school supplies for kids at the Children’s Shelter. “I called people from my family to see if they could donate money or backpacks and supplies to me,” she said.
A table filled with more than 20 backpacks sits in her living room. She raided her closet and collected clothing too.
This isn’t the first time she’s given to the shelter. It is her biggest effort. Holly got a unique view of the kids’ needs when she spent time at the shelter. But her time there was not particularly pleasant.
“It was sad and kind of hard,” she said. “Because there were older kids and they would bully.”
According to Holly, she experienced foul language and mean names.
“She wrote about it in her journal and it hurt me,” her mother said.
Holly did not let her bad experience challenge her desire to give. In fact, Melonie believes her daughter has a connection to the shelter.
“Maybe she feels that’s one of her purposes from God to give back and she sees the need,” Melonie said. “So I admire that strength. A lot of people can’t do that.”
She’s starting at a new school this fall. Her plans are to become a veterinarian. She said she will continue to express herself through her art and her giving.
Have a story about a kid doing great things in South Texas? Send Marvin an email: greatkids@kens5.com #KENS5GreatKids