Press Release - Second Lady Karen Pence Provides Art Supply Kits for Children's Hospitals

Washington, DC--Today, Second Lady Karen Pence, joined by members of The Congressional Club, participated in a service project at the Vice President's Residence. Mrs. Pence, along with the 60 guests, assembled 800 art supply kits to be donated to 28 children's hospitals across the United States.

The art kits were made on behalf of Emma's Art Cart, a nonprofit organization started by Emma Stumpf of Indiana, who was seven years old when doctors discovered a brain tumor. Throughout her treatment, she found comfort by working with art therapists. Emma wanted other children to have the same experience, so she started to collect art supplies to donate to young patients, forming her own program called Emma's Art Cart. Emma is now a teenager and her program has gained national recognition.

Emma's goal is to have 150,000 kits donated to children's hospitals by the end of the year. Today, she joined Mrs. Pence and The Congressional Club by FaceTime to provide encouragement. Each kit contains three art supplies and an encouraging note.

"Emma Stumpf is a very special young lady who has touched many lives, including mine, with her enthusiasm to help others as she fights her own battle to beat cancer," said Mrs. Pence. "The art kits will help Emma get closer to her goal of giving art supplies to every child who is going through a difficult time and needs to express themselves. I commend Emma for her dedication to turning her dream into a reality. It was our pleasure to help this worthwhile cause."

To learn more about Emma's Art Cart, visit http://lead360.jeffersonawards.org/hub/emmas-art-kit/. To learn more about The Congressional Club, visit https://www.thecongressionalclub.com/.

To stay updated on the Second Lady's art therapy program visits and stories shared about the life changing treatment, follow the Second Lady's Blog Page. To stay updated on her events, follow her on Twitter at, @SecondLady.

Photos attached. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Amy Rossetti

About Art Therapy

Second Lady Karen Pence chose one initiative to champion, and it is art therapy. She calls her initiative, Art Therapy: Healing with the HeART. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Professional art therapists who are experts in human development, psychological, and counseling theories and techniques facilitate Art therapy. For more information about the art therapy profession, visit https://arttherapy.org/.