Hand Turkeys for Mashed Potatoes (2020)

2020 was a hard year for many. COVID-19 in particular took a heavy toll the health and finances of many, locally and globally. 

When it came time to do Caragh’s annual Thanksgiving fundraiser, we called Mission Arlington to see what they were in need of. “Everything” they said. People’s overall ability to donate had been down while the community reliance on their food pantry was at an all-time high. 

Caragh went to work and decided that paintings sold for more than drawings, so she would put her focus there; quite the young entrepreneurial mindset. With this in mind, she wanted to experiment with different painting techniques, both for fun and to see what types of things liked to buy. The 8-year-old version of market research.

She also asked to change the name of her page from “Caragh’s Picture’s Helping People” to just “Pictures Helping People” so that her little brother, 2-year-old Zane, could also make some paintings to sell. The two of them created a number of collaborative pieces as well, which made for some pretty precious hand turkey art. 

With all of her pieces developed, she photographed them (with a little help, but still did most of the work) and named each one as her parents helped her list them on her Facebook page, the newly rebranded Pictures Helping People. She also edited her first video for her page. 

 Overall, she raised $480, which she took to Walmart to load up her 3 baskets to the point of overflowing with turkeys, cornbread mix, canned yams, canned vegetables, cranberry dressing, boxes of stuffing, and an entire basket dedicated to just mashed potatoes (how it all started).

Her ambition to give exceeded her budget, however her parents were proud of her fundraising efforts and gladly covered the difference as their contribution to her donation. 

All in all, Caragh donated over $620 worth of groceries; enough to fill an entire truck bed.