One Detroit neighborhood group is taking to online fundraising to make a series of community-themed mosaics come to life.
The Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation (GRDC) has launched a crowdfunding campaign raise funds needed for the installation of seven large mosaics onto the dugouts at Stoepel Park No. 1 in Northwest Detroit. The GRDC, a non-profit, has been a staple of this part of the city for 26 years.
This project will beautify the park, attract new park users and increase the sense of ownership residents and park users feel toward this important community anchor in Northwest Detroit.
The goal is to raise $13,000 and the installation will complete a two year park renovation project spearheaded by GRDC in partnership with the Rosedale Grandmont Little League and the Brightmoor Alliance.
“We built eight new dugouts, so we have eight blank walls,” said Tom Goddeeris, Executive Director at GRDC. “Last year, we put a mosaic on one of those walls and it was a great experience for the kids who were involved. It was a natural fit to want to do more.”
Renowned Detroit artist Hubert Massey will facilitate the project’s installation over a three day period in July. More than 180 youth volunteers from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are committed to install 1,400 square feet of mosaic.
“This project will be a wonderful opportunity to create a public gallery of art works at Stoepel Park. It will surely have a lasting impact on this community,” said Hubert Massey.
GRDC has been awarded a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs in the amount of $22,500 to support the project, but additional funds are still needed.
As an added bonus, if all $13,000 are raised during the online crowdfunding campaign, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) has agreed to match each donation, dollar for dollar.
GRDC’s crowdfunding campaign on Patronicity is active until June 19, 2015 at www.patronicity.com/mosaicsinthepark.
