Grand Knight Jim Bruso presents  the check to Picasso’s Grapevine Owner Leanna Haun and Cecilia and Robert  White. Photo provided

BY JESSICA STEELEY
Clarkston News Staff Writer
Club Create Clarkston, a club where adults with special needs create art, recently received a $500 donation from Knights of Columbus Council 5436.
The money will help the club continue to provide opportunities for socialization and creative expression to these special needs adults. They currently meet every third Monday of the month from 4:3-6 p.m. at Picasso’s Grapevine Studio.
“Since our first class in 2015, Club Create Clarkston membership has grown to 20 members, with interest and membership continuing to increase as more and more residents in northern Oakland County hear about and experience this wonderful opportunity,” club co-founder Robert White said.
White founded the club two years ago with his wife, Cecilia, Picasso’s Grapevine Studio Owner Leanna Haun, and Kathy Cole, a representative of VSA Michigan, the state’s organization on arts and disability.
Robert and his wife have often been part of the special needs community as parent advocates for their two adult sons who are on the autism spectrum.
A VSA certified instructor leads the class in various art projects including painting, glass fusion, wood working and clay sculpturing, Robert said. Current class members come from all over Oakland County.
“We have grown to the point where we have made a decision to add a second Club Create Clarkston class,” Robert said. “We hope by adding this second class we can reach new members who have expressed an interest in joining, but had a conflict or a transportation complication with the current class schedule that prevented them from participating.”
Grand Knight Jim Bruso, representing Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, presented the check to Robert and his wife, along with Haun at Picasso’s Grapevine. The money is a portion of the proceeds raised during the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive in April.
“Club Create Clarkston would not be the success it is today without the ongoing support and charitable contributions from several Knights of Columbus councils in our local area,” Robert said.
For more information, contact Robert White at 248-789-2165.