11th Anniversary of Mentoring and Arts Mural

The public was invited to participate in the 11th Anniversary Celebration of Olivet Boys & Girls Club’s “Mentoring and the Arts Program” by helping the Olivet youth paint a mural under the direction of artists Jessica Sheetz and Thomas Alexander. Working together on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th Comcast employees, Olivet Boys & Girls Club youth, and community volunteers painted a mural focusing on the evolution of Communication through the Ages. The mural is located at Comcast on Riverfront Drive in Reading.

Photos below show the mural being worked on by Olivet youth and Comcast employees. The final project will be released soon on the website.

Olivet Boys & Girls Club’s Mentoring and the Arts Program combines the personalization of mentoring relationships with positive adult role models and the therapeutic quality of group art activities to provide a holistic approach to working with high-risk students. The program began in 1998 when the Police Athletic League of Reading and Berks County (now Olivet Boys & Girl’s Club’s PAL club) joined forces with 15 other organizations to address the serious and growing problem of juvenile delinquency and the alarming high school dropout rate.

The Mentoring and the Arts Program incorporates four components designed to increase healthy, positive self image of youth participants and improve their ability to employ positive problem-solving and coping skills. These components are: mentoring; involvement in the arts; family involvement; and a community-wide support system.

In addition to mural painting, Mentoring and the Arts students participate in visual and performing arts, digital music, photography, cooking, art history, and other artistic genres. The first mural by Mentoring and the Arts students was painted in 1998 on the 3rd & Buttonwood Streets. Since then, the youth and community volunteers have painted ten additional murals throughout the City of Reading under the direction of various artists and Olivet Boys & Girls Club staff.