Ormond artist and former teacher donates 71 paintings to Volusia County schools

Don Kennedy's collection will hang in the Museum of Arts and Sciences before going to the 71 schools in the county.

By Emily Blackwood
| 10:12 a.m. May 12, 2017

Don Kennedy donated half of his earnings to a charity of his customers choice from paintings he' s sold since 2006 (Photo by Emily Blackwood).

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

When Don Kennedy ended his 30-year career with the Volusia County school system, he made a decision that he wanted to give back to all the places and people who had made an impact on him.

There were four phases in this plan. The first was to donate 27 paintings to his alma mater, Murray State University, which took him a total of 12 years. The second and third phases combined his two loves: education and libraries. He donated 14 paintings to the Ormond Beach Regional Library and 10 to the Daytona Beach Regional Library.

With three phases completed, Kennedy is about to finish phase four: donate 74 paintings to the Volusia County School Board to be hung and displayed in the 71 schools across the county. The final three paintings will be hung in the school board's office, the school system's office and in the office of Visual Arts Specialist Beth Dobberstein.

"In the newspaper every day, sports get a big play," he said. "They always do, and they should because in many cases it’s keeping a lot of kids in school. It's the reason why they come every day. But you also have to consider the students who are in band and glee club; there are slews of kids who are there every day because of the one or two things that they really love. And for many of them, that's art. It's no different than what Vince Carter does every summer with his basketball camps."