Design students brighten pediatrics unit

With specific colours chosen for tranquility and energy, Cambrian College design students donated 1,000 hours of their time, not to mention their talents, to create a large mural in the pediatrics unit at Health Sciences North.

The multi-panelled handmade mural was unveiled April 25.

Students in Cambrian’s draphic design and art and design fundamentals programs teamed up with the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) at Health Sciences North to create the mural, which measures 24 feet long by four feet wide, and is divided in three sections.

“We are thrilled by the generosity,” Diane Belanger-Gardner, administrative director of the Family and Child Program at HSN, said. “Families, staff and patients have commented on how nice and bright the murals are and how they created a cheerful environment.”

During the unveiling ceremony, students at Cambrian College also made a $300 donation to the pediatrics unit.

The Cambrian students involved contacted the hospital's pediatric department with the idea of creating the mural as a philanthropic project. They raised money themselves to pay for all materials and supplies, and chose an abstract design to keep the viewer’s brain busy.

“This is another example of the service-learning that happens at Cambrian,” Cambrian president Sylvia Barnard said. “In this case, our students learned about community collaboration in order to create something very special for patients, staff, parents and visitors.”

The hospital's YAC was formed in late 2011 and is made up of youth between the ages of 12 and 25. The mural was the first official project completed by the council.

Posted by Arron Pickard