Submitted by Fred Noer
LAKE GENEVA — Known best for operating Gallery 223 in downtown Lake Geneva, Geneva Lake Arts Foundation members also conduct specially designed art classes, programs and activities in area communities with youth and adults.
The members’ volunteer work fulfills a mission of the not-for-profit foundation to bring art into communities through its Art Access Outreach program. Members donate their time and expertise, and the foundation supplies the art supplies.
One example of outreach by the members was this summer at Holiday Home Camp in Williams Bay along the north shore of Geneva Lake. The camp held eight five-day sessions from June 14 through Aug. 13 for 631 children in grades 2-8 from underserved communities.
The campers participate in traditional camp activities. They include swimming, tubing, boating, archery, dance, drama, outdoor education, recreational sports, campfires, high ropes, and climbing tower.
Assisting with a portion of the arts and crafts program were foundation volunteers Erin Whalen, Andrea Jensen, Karen Whalen, Steve Jensen, Theresa Best, Silvie Sturm-Meyer, Samantha Polek, Sarah McConnell, Treasure Tomal, Kelly Krober, and Annette Conley.
Their participation was arranged by Eileen Streu of the foundation. She worked with camp executive director Brad Cripe and camp director Cierrae Caver-Chouhan. The volunteers went to the camp 12 days and assisted 132 children with decorating baseball-style caps during 90-minute sessions. The foundation provided all the materials, which are purchased with money from donations.
The campers used glues, paints, markers, gems, jewels and patches to adorn the caps. “It was fun to watch the whole process and see where the kids’ interests were,” McConnell said. “Some were into flowers, sports, cars, or animals.
“A lot of them created their caps around the camp theme of outer space this summer so they had stars and planets,” McConnell said. “The kids really enjoyed it and put a lot of thought into it. Each group was so different.”
Caps were used because they could be decorated in one session and each camper had a finished product, not one that had to be completed another time. Caps also were used for foundation programs during Camp One Step by Children’s Oncology Services in the Geneva Lake area in the late 2010s.
Of all the volunteers, Polek is the most familiar with the camp. She once served three years on the board of directors of the Lake Geneva Fresh Air Association, the organization that owns and operates the camp. “It is a really nice facility, and a lot of improvements have been made,” she said. “We were in a big art room with good lights that accommodated the caps project really well.”
Polek stated the campers enjoyed the project immensely. “I was impressed by the campers’ creativity,” she said. “I would volunteer again because it was fun. They were very nice kids, and they had the skills to know how to do things.”
Caver-Chouhan, who has worked at the camp since 2017 and served as camp director since January 2024, noted the importance of the art projects. “The kids need a creative outlet so they can figure out what they like,” she said. “We encourage them to try everything and get out of their comfort zone.”
She would like to see the foundation activity repeated in 2026. “We really appreciated the volunteers coming out and working with the campers because they really valued that experience,” Caver-Chouhan said.
Besides the camp outreach effort, the foundation has volunteers going on a monthly basis to Sage Meadow, an assisted living memory care facility in Lake Geneva; Willams Bay Health Services, a skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services facility in Williams Bay; Lakeland Health Care Center, a nursing home in Elkhorn; and Westshire Farms at the Lakes, a retirement community in Delavan Township.
Any nonprofit group interested in learning more about the foundation and its art outreach programs may contact it at genevalakeartsfoundation@gmail.com.