Second-graders at PS 261 in Boerum Hill brightened the lives of the veterans at St. Albans Community Living Center in Queens by donating their artwork as part of the Art of Giving project, a collaboration between UFT elementary schools and local hospitals. The framed and mounted art was unveiled at a reception for artists and patients of the veterans hospital and retirement home on May 29. UFT Vice President Karen Alford initiated the project four years ago after she heard the late Sharon Coates, a teacher at PS 156 in Springfield Gardens, describe how children’s artwork had lifted her spirits during a hospital stay. Children throughout the city learn the importance of giving when their school is chosen to be part of the project. They are also proud and delighted to see their work honored publicly and not just tucked into grandma’s scrapbook. It was the second Art of Giving event that took place during May, as PS 160 in Jamaica, Queens, donated artwork to Flushing Hospital. That event was organized by Chapter Leader Barbara Reill, an art teacher at the school.