(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

video of mural unveiling

U of L students unveil “hope” mural for Streets Alive, raising $11,000

Aug 10, 2021 | 2:23 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – “Hope” is the driving force behind everything Streets Alive Mission does in Lethbridge, and a new mural aims to remind everyone of that.

Students at the University of Lethbridge’s Integrated Management Experience (IME) program are tasked every year with supporting a local non-profit, and this year’s group worked with Streets Alive.

Student and Project Lead Ali Cyr says, due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic, it took her group of 15 a while to figure out how they could raise money and awareness for the group, but it was eventually decided that a mural was the right way to go.

“The biggest thing Streets Alive wants to bring is hope. We wanted to bring hope for the clients that come through the Streets Alive building because, as we’ve seen with the pandemic, hope wanes and weaves, and our biggest thing was bringing something that’s here every day in the community to show the community is here and we care.”

The mural features hundreds of “tiles” with each showcasing a different business or person who donated to the cause, or of imagery that fits the theme of hope.

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A classmate of Cyr’s volunteered with Streets Alive for a few days to get a deeper perspective on what their clients go through, which she described as “raw.”

“The picture, it encapsulates the feeling that there’s hope and you can break free and someone will be there to catch you.”

Ken Kissick, Co-Founder of Streets Alive, says he has been eagerly anticipating the unveiling, adding that it turned out even better than he could have imagined.

“When we actually saw the design initially, we were excited about it. It’s perfect because you have the wings, you have the message of hope, you have an individual standing there receiving hope. There’s just so much in that sign that it’s just terrific.”

The mural itself was put together by Phil Alain with Mural Mosaic, whose portfolio includes work with the 2010 Olympics.

Through the selling of tiles, the students were able to raise nearly $11,000, far exceeding their expectations. It was a grand total that Kissick says will make a major difference.

“It means a lot because we look after 60-70 people every day, we have upwards of 35 people in our recovery programs on any given day, we’re out there working with the street population making sure they’re hydrated and their health is OK. There’s lots for us to spend the money on.”

Being a group of business students, Cyr says this project taught her a lot about business and community involvement.

A few of those areas include overcoming fears of public speaking and giving presentations, how to apply for permits and deal with the legalities for their initiative, adapting to difficult situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, and that “things aren’t a quick fix like they seem to be in the textbooks.”

Kissick hopes to be able to expand the mural in the future and looks forward to working with other organizations that want to have something similar.

(Lethbridge News Now)

(Lethbridge News Now)