The public is invited to join Western Illinois University, Quad Cities Parent Mentor program and Women United to help paint a mural at the impending early learning site, Rocky’s Play Space, in downtown Moline.
“As our team began to think about how to capture the concept of the new WIU-Quad Cities Bilingual Lab Site, we wanted something visual that would bring the learning, love and language to life that will happen there,” Lindsay Meeker, director of WIU’s Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood, said in a news release.
“Quad City Arts was able to make that happen in the new mural that will become a part of our new space,” she added. “The playfulness and beauty of the design is just magnificent, and what’s even better is that the inspiration for the design came from our WIU parent mentors. I absolutely cannot wait to see the WIU-QC early childhood community of supporters come together to do this work.”
Ms. Meeker also applauded the partnership with Quad City Arts and Sarah Robb.
The mural will be painted at the future Rocky’s Play Space at 406 7th St. WIU students and the public are invited to participate in a community mural painting by Ms. Robb.
Paint days are scheduled for Friday-Wednesday, Aug. 25-30. Volunteers may limit their hours and do not have to participate in the full, three-hour time slots. Available time slots (and their corresponding registration websites) include:
- 3-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25
- 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26
- 3-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29
- 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30
Participants ages 15-17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, according to the release. To volunteer or for more information, visit the registration web pages or contact Stephanee Jordan at ss-jordan@wiu.edu or (309) 762-9481, ext 62285.
In addition to the mural project, WIU received a $39,700 grant in December 2022 from the Community Works Endowment of the Quad Cities Community Foundation to hire a part-time Spanish bilingual family resource specialist for the new learning lab. The specialist will serve as a cultural and linguistic broker, family education provider, advocate for equitable and accessible linguistic services and family wrap-around services navigator for Rocky’s Play Space (Area de Juego de Rocky).
