Molly Covarrubias ‘20 is a Sociology and Hispanic Studies double-major and a lacrosse player. On top of both, she is also the creator of coloring books for children separated from their families at the United States border. For the past 8 months, she has been creating, printing, selling, and sending people these bilingual – Spanish and English – coloring books. I interviewed her over breakfast, and I have known about the coloring books for months now and own one myself. The printing, I’ve been told, is an out-of-pocket cost, while the money made from selling the books is used to send copies to the border. Here is the interview with Covarrubias:
AH: So, explain the basic concept of what you’ve been doing in your own words.
MC: The basic concept of my coloring book project was to provide a positive distraction for the children who were put into holding areas while their parents were being deported back to various countries in Latin America. Because many of the children who received the coloring books only spoke Spanish, I ultimately made all of my coloring books bilingual so the children could read my words of love and encouragement!
AH: What first inspired you, or what was your call to action?
MC: What first inspired me was the lack of action I was seeing. Everyone felt bad and disgusted that families were being ripped apart, but no one, including myself, was doing anything about it. I knew that doodling and art was a big form of therapy for me, and I thought I could help the young children feel like a kid again, even if it was just for a few minutes. I wanted to combine my love for my Latinx heritage and art for a positive purpose.
AH: What’s your goal with this project?
MC: My goal is to provide a positive distraction and source of comfort for children who are experiencing some of the most traumatic events they will ever endure. I want, just for a short amount of time, for these kids to feel as free and comfortable as I did growing up through art and love.
AH: Why is what you’re doing important to you, or important to the world in general?
MC: I am very proud to be Mexican. I feel as though the culture and language have been embedded into my DNA. I feel special to be Hispanic and, more importantly, very proud. When the hate and insensitivity is being geared toward the Hispanic/Latinx community, I feel a sense of responsibility and power to help those who need some love.
AH: What do you think people could learn about themselves or the world by taking part in a project like this?
MC: I think that it is incredibly easy to read CNN or watch the news and feel remorse and guilt for all the terrible events going on in the world on a daily basis, but only a select percent of the billions of people on this Earth do something about an injustice. It doesn’t have to be big, but something other than going, “Wow, that was sad,” and moving on. There is no change without action.
If you’re interested in purchasing a coloring book from Molly, feel free to email her at:
covarrubias_molly@wheatoncollege.edu Do you know a changemaker on campus who you believe deserves to be interviewed? Let the Wire know!