Toil De’ Gallery provides art experiences for the kindergarten-through-12th-grade age group and plans to hold six themed art shows annually at its gallery space in downtown Dayton.

In addition, the gallery reaches out to children living in Taylor Homes, a public housing development in Dayton, and it holds special events such as a Christian rock music concert.

Toil De’ is a nonprofit outreach of St. Matthew’s but brings together people from various denominations and attracts support from a broad range of people and businesses in the community. The name is Gaelic for “children in God’s will” and honors the Irish heritage of Rhea County.

Robin Thomas, a communicant at St. Matthew’s and a graphic artist and printmaker by profession, came up with the idea for the gallery after attending an outreach conference at Kanuga.

Approximately 2,200 square feet of space in a brick building owned by Mary Brooks was made available for the gallery. Refurbishing the space took several months and brought together a large coalition of people in the community.

The first exhibit was held in December, and the most recent opened in July. The new exhibit, “Adaptation,” focuses on the physically challenged and contains 21 sculptures.

Each artist had to invent his or her “alien” (physically challenged person), Thomas explained, and build something that would permit the alien to come and visit. The pieces were three-dimensional, large and ranged from chairs to devices hung from the ceiling.

Earlier this summer, a weeklong art camp was held at the gallery. Fifteen students were enrolled, and activities were led by several young people involved in the gallery.

The end product was a handmade book that the children bound themselves, Thomas said. A youth was in charge of each aspect of the book, and professional artists also provided their expertise.

The outreach to Taylor Homes is also led by several youths. “They work with anywhere from 40 to 50 kids,” Thomas said. “They go twice a month.”

Five families who are members of St. Matthew’s are donating $100 per month that enables Thomas to do the outreach at Taylor Homes. The families “have dedicated themselves so that the project continues,” she said. “It’s above and beyond what they already give.”

Other good things have been happening at toil De,’ too. The gallery won first prize and $750 in the nonprofit category for a float built for the Dayton Strawberry Festival.

The gallery program has added Bible study at the request of the children and youths; a St. Matthew’s parishioner leads the sessions.

A representative from the national church visited the gallery in late June to evaluate it for possible designation as a Jubilee Center, Thomas said. If the gallery is named a Jubilee Center, it would become part of a network that provides support, training and resources to the nearly 800 centers around the world.