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The abstract mural, designed by Smolen with input from the elementary school and the community, will depict colorful butterflies, flowers, and leaves. Inspired by the Talmudic quote, which will be painted at the top of the mural, it's intergenerational theme will be depicted by hands from above representing the hands of the seniors or angels reaching down to protect the hands of children, which will rise from the bottom. In addition, the mural will have the word "grow" in all of the languages represented by the children at the school -- English, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, Farsi, Yiddish, Hebrew, Arabic and Lao.
Smolen said she enjoyed searching for the word in the various languages, which was not as simple as using "Google translator." Her goal was for the languages to be as accurate and numerous as possible so that everyone in the community would have their language, country, and ethnicity represented by the mural.
On Mitzvah Mania Day, 250 volunteers of all ages are expected to help paint the mural, including students and the residents of the nearby Senior Center --bringing the intergenerational theme of the mural to life. The mural design will be projected onto panels of parachute cloth, which will then be painted. These five-by-five foot panels will then be assembled like a quilt and fixed to the wall with acrylic gel, similar to the way wallpaper is applied. In addition to facilitating the painting
for volunteers, this method will allow painting to proceed regardless of weather.
Mural painters need no artistic talent, and anyone is encouraged to participate. The painters will use a paint-by-numbers technique and even those who do not wish to paint can help by getting paint for others, cleaning up, setting up, and rinsing brushes.
In addition to the mural, the Jewish Federation is planning many other Mitzvah Mania community service projects, including park clean-ups, blood drives, a dance-a-thon, a cooking contest, delivering food to those in need, and rebuilding houses for elderly Jewish community residents.
To find out more about the activities available and to register to
participate, visit the Mitzvah Mania Website.
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