Artists Bethany and Ben

When Bethany Sawyer was five years old, she unwittingly inspired her parents to encourage children to embrace the arts while simultaneously learning to give. Now, at age 6 1/2, she takes an active role in what has become The Giving Goose.

The Giving Goose is a familial organization with clothing and product lines that feature children’s artwork on T-shirts and sweatshirts. The organization gives 10% of its proceeds to charities chosen by the young artists. To be featured in the clothing and product line and choose a charity, children submit their artwork to be judged in a contest.

Nancy and Dan Sawyer, Bethany’s parents, own Image76, a company in West Wareham that provides graphic design, offset printing, digital printing, and more. The company’s sportswear department produces custom screen printing and embroidery on T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other garments. When Bethany first asked her parents to print her drawing of a butterfly on a T-shirt, the idea for The Giving Goose was born. Nancy and Dan used her request as an opportunity to teach their daughter to use her artistic talent with an entrepreneurial and charitable spirit.

You can view the existing designs on www.thegivinggoose.com. Non-profit organizations that have benefited thus far are Children’s Hospital, Boston; West Falmouth Preschool, a non-profit preschool with a mission to teach children in an artistic, cultural, scientific, and physical environment; the Epiphany School for middle school children of economically challenged families in Boston; Horizons for Homeless Children; and more.

Currently, the organization is accepting submissions of artwork from children through December 31, 2011 with the intention of printing three new images on garments by the end of January of 2012. A panel of judges, which includes Bethany, will choose ten drawings. The public will then have the privilege to vote for the final three on www.thegivinggoose.com or Face Book. The three young artists will then choose the charities that the organization will benefit.

Nancy says Bethany enjoys encouraging the artistry in her peers and seeing the smiles it elicits. Next, Nancy intends to bring Bethany to the non-profit organizations to which they donate so she can see the effect she and other children have on those less fortunate. Already, Bethany fills her personal bank, which is purple and has three slots. One slot says “spend”; the next says “save”; and the third says “share”. Of her own volition, Bethany changed the name of the third slot to “give”, and that is where she puts her money.

As the Giving Goose says, “Kids can make a difference.”

By Erin Heffernan

Erin Heffernan is a photographer in Scituate. Her Wink South series, "Shutter to Think", explains how looking at life from a different angle, even if it's via the viewfinder, can offer valuable lessons (and sometimes comic relief!).