Centre County United Way Creating Community Mural During Arts Fest

Community members and visitors can join the Centre County United Way in creating a permanent public mural in downtown State College during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

“All Hands on Deck,” will be open for participants to add their handprints from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday on the outer wall of the Fraser Street Parking Garage along Kelly Alley. CCUW recently moved its headquarters to the office suite at the bottom of the garage next to the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza.

The mural is a way to collect donations for the 2022 Annual Campaign and for CCUW to be more involved in the festival, according to a news release.

Individuals are asked to donate $20 to add their handprint. Families of up to six people are asked to donate $50 to be part of the mural. Participants will have the option to sign their handprint.

“The resulting mural is a win-win-win-win,” said Ja Nae Wian, CCUW’s campaign and relationship manager who came up with the idea. “The community benefits by having a wall of art that they created, CCUW benefits by raising money for the campaign, our partner agencies benefit from the funding we can provide to keep their programs running in a tough economic environment, and our neighbors who need help have somewhere to turn.”

State College Borough officials welcomed the idea of the community creating a mural that illustrates the United Way’s mantra of “Live United,” according to the release.

This is a terrific opportunity for Centre County United Way. We will bring our community together to create a lasting reminder of the power we have to do amazing things when we Live United,” Leanne Lenz, Centre County United Way executive director, said. “People will be able to walk by the wall for years to come and see their handprint and know they are an important part of the Centre County community.”