This summer, the Hope House Shining Stars Youth Program took on the challenge of creating a public mural. The program, designed to give children a safe environment that fosters learning through educational and recreational activities, typically involves events for children living in the shelter as well as children from the neighborhood around Hope House.

The summer program opens children's eyes to new experiences and learning opportunities. In the past, the children in the program participated in a variety of learning experiences through daily fieldtrips to places such as botanical gardens, museums, nature centers, working farms and petting zoos.

This year, however, the children and staff took on the challenge of painting city property when they chose to design a mural for Witkowiak Park, named for Norbert Witkowiak, the alderman's late father. With the help of Ald. Witkowiak, the group received all the necessary permissions and took on the community art project. "Finding a way to use city property for a painting or art project like this is very hard. Ald. Witkowiak really helped make this possible," said Stephanie Saniter, community liaison for Shining Stars. Students interviewed residents in the area to hear stories about the neighborhood in the past, to learn about the residents who lived there and to understand the image of the area.

The neighborhood images and stories were incorporated into the mural that is now a permanent part of the students' neighborhood. To thank Ald. Witkowiak for his help in finalizing the project, the students invited him to visit the completed mural as it was dedicated in late August.