Tri-City residents are being asked to send "messages from the heart" to Alberta school children evacuated from their High River homes earlier this year.
Port Coquitlam art activist and teacher Diane Moran wants to mail at least 500 letters to the elementary students at Holy Spirit Academy, who she said are now taking classes in a community centre following the June floods.
"They have lost everything," Moran said, noting many teachers, students and staff are living in trailers or temporary shelters.
To date, Moran's Hi Art with Heart project is being undertaken locally by students at PoCo's Kwayquitlum middle and Riverside secondary. They will be asked to sign their name to the message and, on the back of the paper, draw or paint an image that will brighten the day of a Holy Spirit student.
The message reads: "When your world is upside down, turn this page around to see something of beauty. We hope you know you're not alone, nor will you ever be. Because you have folks from afar who say, 'We hope tomorrow is a better day.'"
The public is also invited to take part. Message sheets are available for pick up and drop off at The Outlet at Leigh Square Community Arts Village (behind PoCo city hall); Terry Fox Library (2470 Mary Hill Rd., PoCo); Tri-City Printing (2559 Shaughnessy St., Coquitlam) and Port Moody city hall (100 Newport Dr., c/o Kristin Tracey). Groups or schools wanting a drop off can email [email protected].
The deadline for submissions is Nov. 23.
The project is open to "anybody who wants to make a difference in someone's life," Moran said. "It shows that someone is thinking about them and is taking the time to recognize they are in a difficult situation."
Moran is no stranger to humanitarian art projects. With Terry Fox secondary and Westwood elementary schools, she donated more than 50 handpainted banners and raised cash and books for a Brooklyn school hit by Hurricane Sandy; she was also involved in a similar project for the New Orleans victims of Hurricane Katrina.
