It’s summertime in the city. For that reason, our New York office decided it was time to go to summer camp.
In the spirit of being good to each other, one of our five company values, we connected with our friends at the New York City YMCA to do something fun with the kids in the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA Summer Day Camp program.
Instead of popsicle stick crafts, we encouraged the kids to try their hand at something different: chalk hand-lettering. (We have chalk murals in both our NY and C5 offices, so we pretty much look for any chance to share the art.)
Because camp is an awesome chance to learn cool stuff while making friends and memories, we thought a chalk mural would be a great way to celebrate the kids’ time together—and get their hands dirty.
To make it a collaboration—instead of a bunch of separate images—we outlined a 30×12.5-foot postcard-style mural, then welcomed the kids to contribute.
Inside each letter, the kids drew scenes and objects depicting what they learned and loved most about camp. From lessons about the Olympics to picking out cute clothes for the summer, each individual had the chance to express their unique personality via the mural.
Helping the kids turn their memories into a meaningful piece of art was a summer highlight for C5NY. We’re incredibly inspired by our local communities, and we hope the kids gleaned some inspiration from their final product, too.
To keep that memory alive, we also filmed a fun timelapse video to show the entire process and end result.
Many thanks to the camp kids and coordinators at the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA Summer Day Camp for letting us spend the day together. Hopefully we’ll see everyone back next summer.
Want to see more of our passion projects?
- Try #ThePopcornProject problem-solving activity we created with Girls Inc.
- Explore our People For Periods interactive infographic, which aims to destigmatize menstruation.
- Check out our Beyond the Beat interactive infographic, a celebration of African-American musical history.
There needs to be more community outreach projects like this. Thank you so much for doing this and for sharing this beautiful moment.
Thank you for the kind words, Michelle!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Those kids are adorable and I loved the time lapse video
Glad that you enjoyed it!
Such a great way to reach out to the community! This would be a fantastic project to do with students at the end of the year.
We think students and teachers would love to do this, as well!
I loved this! The kids look like they had so much fun. What a fantastic idea!
They had a blast and we had a blast, too!
That is absolutely adorable!
They certainly were!