Since a picture is worth a thousand words, a mosaic mural was the way to go to create awareness of what the Streets Alive Mission in Lethbridge is all about.
A new art piece that now graces the outside wall of the building the organization is located in was unveiled on Tuesday.
The mural focuses on building a bridge between human connection, timeless support and inner beauty within the Lethbridge community.
Ken Kissick, a co-founder of the Streets Alive Mission, called it a great project and an awareness piece that will be visible for a long time. He said it means a lot to his organization.
“We were excited about it,” Kissick said. “It’s perfect because you have the wings, you have the message of hope… You have an individual standing there receiving hope.
“There is just so much in that sign for us that is just terrific.”
The mural was a fundraising initiative from the University of Lethbridge Dillon School of Business’ integrated management experience program, also known as IME.
Students came up with the idea of selling tiles where people could submit a photo or image that represents hope.
U of L student and project manager Ali Cyr said the project was a great opportunity to apply concepts learned in the classroom to fix a problem affecting real-life people.
“We were presented the issue that Streets Alive was needing funds and they were mainly needing recognition,” Cyr said.
“They needed to be seen in the community for what they can do and how much they offer the community.”
This fundraising initiative was able to raise $11,000 for the Streets Alive Mission to continue their work supporting the city’s most vulnerable people.