West Sacramento youth experience the power of art

By Bradly Palmer and Yaminah Bailey
West Sacramento Youth Resource Coalition

Community, Networking, Change and Art. Three out of the four seem to go together at least, but it seems we often mistake the power of art. The beauty lying within, the mark it could leave on a community or even the world. Through networking, we, the Sactown Heroes, Master Gardeners, Riverbank Elementary School staff, Juvenile Probation and volunteers were able to join together for the betterment and change of our community.

We decided to beautify an old brick sitting area and bring new life to it. The Riverbank Elementary campus, formerly known as Golden State Middle School, has called West Sacramento home for nearly four decades and has seen its share of wear and tear. We knew we wanted to make it better, but how? We decided to put a creative spin on things and do a mosaic project. Thanks to the efforts of Master Gardener Carol Klesow, we have been able to collaborate with Sal Gavin, a local business owner who is very well known for his restaurant that is covered in beautiful mosaics that he created himself. Sal is a very talented individual. He dedicated much of his time and donated all the materials for the project. Sal continues to give time on the weekends to mentor us and teach the art of mosaic.

Over the past month, our members have gotten together for three work days to contribute our time and efforts to adding life in this area of the campus. This area was maybe one of the most unappealing and oldest areas of campus, but after this process it will be full of life. Today we are at the halfway mark and continue to make progress.

Another area of our project is the Sunflower Garden, which is almost in bloom. We also are replanting in flowerbeds and new decorative pots to accent the school’s entrance. It was discussed early on that students wanted more places to sit. So, Northern California Construction Training, Inc., which works with youth through Yolo County Probation, will be installing six new benches into the cemented walkway at the front of the school. This will create a whole new sitting area for the students to enjoy. This goes to show that little thing you call art is Community, Network, Change, Passion, Beauty and Gold.

The West Sacramento Youth Resource Coalition is a REACH Community Action Coalition.