9 days in Colorado

Between our everyday busy lives there is always time to help others.

Looking through 500+ photos it's hard to tell where to start. Two weeks before we left for Colorado my wife & I were really itching to go somewhere and help others. We asked several people for suggestions for new places that could really use our help through art and medical help. Finally our good friend Brad Corrigan suggested a inner city community of 1500 people within Denver, CO. We said great and booked our plane tickets.

Since we both had never been to Colorado we flew out two days earlier to enjoy the Rocky Mountains. Hiking, climbing, chasing elk, playing in the snow, etc. It was amazing.

After our mini vacation we arrived at the Sun Valley Youth Center. The community is made of of mainly housing projects with 1500 people living there. Out numbering the adults , 1000 of them are kids. All hours of the day kids were outside throughout the neighborhood. The average annual household income is only $7,500. We worked & slept within the community. Being there non-stop we experienced the area on a daily basis. The area, people, & community are in need of support.

The first day we arrived I started on a mural for the Youth Center. I had a few sketches that incorporated a child like feeling of imagination. After showing several kids and volunteers the idea, I started painting. The process took a few hours each day for 3 days. Several of the kids got involved filling in "their part" of the wall and were loving every minute of it.

As long as the mural keeps the kids smiling as they walk by it and sparks their imagination to dream and be creative... it was & will continue to be a success.
During the rest of the week I organized several interesting kids games outside. We ran around, threw water balloons, raced, climbed trees, drew pictures, and just had an exhausting good time.
The second to last day at the Center a huge event was to be held. The "Day of Light" within Sun Valley. There was 3 main rotations through out the day:

-A group of professional and high school lacrosse players came out to help & teach the kids lacrosse. Several kids got to keep the sticks.

-My wife & I organized a art activity where kids got to decorate a small figure and let us know what they wanted to be when they grew up. Myself & two other volunteers also painted faces.

-Musicians, Ray, Paul, & Tiago, ran a drum class. The kids loved making music with various drums and instruments.

A group of girls who lived within the community who were originally from Africa also taught us how to dance. A conga line started soon after. The day ended with Braddigan playing a full set of songs for Sun Valley. Professional hip hop artist "Age" also joined the performance.
I hope the kids and families of Sun Valley had as good of a week as we did. All it takes is one person to have an idea... and it can turn into an amazing experience for everyone. Sharing your talents and love with others is an overwhelming feeling.

-Patrick

To see all the pictures in detail you can go to my Flickr: CO1 and CO2