United Way Days of Caring Charity Project

HEWLETT PACKARD ARTICLE BELOW:

 

December 21, 2004

Sent in by Gloria Mitchell

Volunteers use HP digital projector to create mural

 

     When I first looked over the projects for our local United Way Days of Caring,” I found a repetition of many of the services we had performed in the past. I was looking for something different -- something that might make use of HP technology in a unique way.  A project at a local boy’s shelter caught my eye. The project was about painting a mural to brighten up the Lakeside Alternatives Boys Shelter.

 

     I had an idea: What if we used an HP projector to show the outlines on the wall? The rest would probably be a piece of cake.  I spoke to Tom Greenman, the children’s director at Lakeside, and learned that it was a temporary home for children who were abused or living in unfit environments. Counselors worked with the children until they were ready to be placed in a foster home -- if the agency could find one for them.  I explained my idea for the project and Tom was thrilled.  “If it has anything to do with HP, I know it will be a success,” he said. “I have two HP printers at home and they are great.”

 

     On our first visit to Lakeside, we encountered some serious challenges. First, the images the boys requested were highly detailed and really not “mural” material. Among their requests were action-packed football and baseball scenes, choppers with iridescent paint jobs and portraits of favorite music artists.  We knew we could never create them on concrete block walls. So we suggested a compromise: We would paint the walls a pastel background color and create posters of their desired images on the DesignJet. The boys seemed pleased with the idea, so the crew set about transforming cold, barren walls into a soft sky blue. I returned to the office and began printing out choppers, surfers, sports scenes and music personalities.

But the feeling of total satisfaction was missing. We had invented a process and hadn’t been able to test it. I knew we had the technology, but I now realized we needed the talent and knowledge of a real mural artist to make the concept work.

 

     I learned long ago that when challenges arise in a service project, destiny often times miraculously steps in with the perfect solutions. This project was no exception. After several disappointing calls to local artists, I found the answer on the way to work in a small sign by the side of the road. I would’ve missed it if the traffic light had not turned red. But there it was, in simple handcrafted letters: “Mural Artist -– Call this number”.  I reached Kim Hansen that morning and learned that she and her husband had been foster parents for years and had adopted two of their foster children. She said she would love to volunteer her time for the boy’s shelter.  I told her of my plan to use the projector and she was intrigued. Within the week she had made a site visit to the shelter and called me to discuss her ideas for the mural. She had chosen a long, plain white wall that would be perfect for an 8x15-foot mural. Since the walls were concrete block, she envisioned an effect that would look like some of the blocks had been knocked out and the boys could step into a tropical rain forest, filled with exotic animals.

 

     Our team arrived at the shelter early on the first day, filled with enthusiasm and optimism.   I was a bit nervous since this was a process I had never used before. By all accounts, I knew it should work -— but there were a lot of people counting on this approach and I held my breath as I brought up Kim’s sketch and we positioned it on the wall. 

 

Pictured below Kim Hansen with HP Crew