Normally, news that a Kings Highway Elementary School Girl Scout troop has created 24 “lily pad” seats for pediatric cancer patients would not be blog-worthy.
It’s nice, sure. You go, girls! But big enough news to share with thousands of “06880” readers?
It is. That’s because Richard Lytle — a celebrated artist whose work hangs in the Museum of Modern Art, and who once served as dean of Silvermine College of Art — collaborated on the project. He even painted one of the seats.
The girls of Troop 50889 worked hard. They designed, cut, sanded and painted 2 dozen cool, artistic seats carved out of wood. Each has its own unique design.
The Girl Scouts of Troop 50889, hard at work on their lily pads seats.
The seats go at the bottom of IV poles at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. Kids too sick to walk can still leave their rooms, and scoot around the cancer ward floor.
The 5th grade Scouts are the youngest group nationwide to complete the project. They’re also the first to do so on the East Coast.
Claudia McRoberts — a Westporter who co-leads the 5th grade troop — organized the project. She recruited local artists to help paint the seats. Naturally, she asked her father: Richard Lytle. He was happy to help the girls — and pick up a brush himself.
His works sell for up to $25,000. Now one of his most important creations will serve as a seat, bringing a smile to a sick child’s face.
The lily pad seat painted by Richard Lytle.
(Congratulations to Girl Scouts Evelyn Anvari, Carly Chamlin, Sasha Chamlin, Hannah Cohen, Anna Diorio, Gianna Holt, Jane Leahy, Molly Lynch, Scarlett McRoberts and Lilly Weisz, and c0-leaders Claudia McRoberts and Lyn Hogan.)