Tegan was inspired by a news program her mother was watching on a family living in poverty in the USA. She saw a boy being interviewed, and wanted to know why he was so sad. Tegan's mother Stacey Fisher explained to Tegan that he didn't have enough food or a home of his own, and that made him sad. Tegan didn't want the boy, or any other child, to feel sad, so she decided to raise money by selling her paintings.
It started with family and friends buying the paintings, but very quickly others were asking for Tegan's artwork as well. As the money started coming in, the family figured out what to put in each package.
To maximize their dollar, Fisher watched the flyers for sales, and talked to store owners about what Tegan was doing. Sobey's waived the tax for some items, while other stores gave discounts for bulk purchases.
There were a few items Tegan wanted to be sure were in the box as well, such as the Chicken flavoured Knorr Sidekicks.
"She wanted all of the kids to have her favourite," says Fisher.
That money bought over 760 items, which were put together into 40 care boxes. The Queens Family Resource Centre is distributing those boxes in the community to children in need.
Since starting in January, Tegan has painted well over 100 pictures. Sixty-one are going to the manor's alone.
Her work attracted attention outside of the county as well. Last week Tegan was invited to the Youth Art Week show in Bridgewater, where her paintings were displayed at the Wildwood Cafe. Normally the organizers display artwork of those between 13-30, however they asked Tegan to come down with some of her work for the showcase as well.
Fisher says overall it is important for parents to support their children's ideas, and help them accomplish their goals.
"Jason Mailman from community services had expressed to me that there just aren't many parents out there that support their children like Jonathan and I have. I really want to inspire parents," says Fisher
Tegan is winding down her fundraising now, with just a few more paintings left to go out. Any money that comes in after the packages are donated will go the schools to help with their breakfast programs.
