Portraits of Hope …

Look at this amazing picture.  A bunch of huge balloons being colorfully painted by a diversified group of people in Los Angeles.  What’s going on?  I first saw this on a TV segment and was intrigued. I wanted to know more so I did some research.

It turned out to be just one more imaginative project sponsored by Portraits of Hope.  This is a group that was originally formed to provide seriously ill and physically disabled children with creative therapy.  They would think up ways to display the many colored flower which is the symbol of Portraits of Hope, and then see it come to fruition through their efforts.  Cars, buses and walls came alive and it was a colorful way to advertise their needs and to give them a sense of achievement.

 

Although those projects are still going strong the group has progressed to  large civic challenges. Their interests are: “the environment, education, senior care, national security, ethnic relations, healthcare, women's equality, medical research, foreign aid, poverty, and animal rights”, and their projects colorfully attack these areas. 

 

Kudos to the City of Los Angeles that gave approval for the balloon project. It was a civic activity that involved more than 6500 children and adults and was an amazing visual makeover of MacArthur Park. 

Portraits of Hope … a concept becomes a reality.