Mural brings Foster House games room to life
BY LAUREN MARTIN
When it comes to volunteering with The Salvation Army, there are so many ways people can use their gifts and talents for good. Recently, a volunteer team from design software company Canva painted a mural at a Salvation Army homelessness services centre in Sydney.
Elizabeta Chessum from The Salvation Army’s Corporate Partnerships team said Canva approached the Salvos looking for a volunteering opportunity as part of their ‘Force for Good’ initiative.
“Given they employ lots of designers, they suggested they could create a mural for one of our centres. I knew that Foster House staff were keen to freshen up some of their spaces, and so a mural at Foster House was proposed.”
Foster House is The Salvation Army’s men’s crisis accommodation service in the heart of Sydney. It provides accommodation and case management to assist men experiencing homelessness to secure longer-term, stable housing.
The team from Canva came up with three different mural designs, and staff at Foster House chose ‘The Wavy Roads Landscape’ by Maria Izvestkina as the one to be painted in the games room. Then, the action began with 50 Canva staff volunteering over three days to paint it on the wall.
Robyn King from the Canva Foundation said: “Our team of Canvanaut volunteers, alongside the amazing team at Foster House, loved using creativity and design to help local communities and make a tangible difference in the lives of people experiencing homelessness and hardship.”
Elizabeta said staff and residents at Foster House were blown away by the result.
“It was amazing to watch the Canva designers develop unique, trauma-informed art and to see it transform the gaming room to create a truly welcoming space that encourages connection, community and collaboration for the residents at Foster House.”
