Hello again, dear reader. I am so excited to tell you about this morning – I got to work early so I could run down to City Arts and check out the progress on the van.

Back story –We  wanted to turn that drab white van into an ART VAN that tells the story of a family without access to reliable transportation.  Our first step was to find an artist, so we got in touch with Daniel Stuelpnagel,  the art car curator for ArtScape to see if he had any suggestions. He had a great one: Have the up-and-coming artists at City Arts collaborate on the design.  I dropped the van off on Friday afternoon for our artists to work on over the weekend. We want to leave space for the public to paint, too. When we take it on tour, we’re going toinvite people to add their creativity to the van.

I got to City Arts pretty early, and this is what I found –

Well, my first thought was “WOW! That’s AWESOME!” My second was, “What in the world are they doing to this van?!” The van was covered in blue tape, creating an intricate city scene across the side. They sprayed paint along this tape, creating crisp, sharp edges and geometric detail. Then they peeled off the tape, and revealed THIS:

My big question: What’s with the squares?! The artists explained that they wanted a wayfor people to interact with the van even if they didn’t have a creative streak. So they made ita rolling game board. They’ve put in a lot more detail than we were expecting – and that’s just ONE side! The other side looks great, too!

I get to help paint tomorrow – I’m pumped! I haven’t painted since freshman year of college… which was a long time ago.

Hello! I’m Julia, the Vehicles for Change Community Outreach Coordinator. I’m spending my summer driving this awesome van all around Maryland, Virginia and D.C.

Why am I doing this, you ask? To bring the mission of Vehicles for Change (VFC) to the masses. VFC is a nonprofit organization that accepts donated cars, repairs them and awards them to low-income families who need them to get to work. These cars give recipients increased mobility; 70% have obtained better jobs. They have the freedom to take their kids to daycare, school functions, or the park. Before, they had to plan in advance for simple, but essential, chores like going grocery shopping so they could feed their families.

When I heard about VFC, I thought back to when I was in college and carless. I was constantly begging friends for rides, and it strained relationships. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be carless in the “real” world. That’s why I’m devoting my summer to raising awareness of this problem and trying to get as many car donations as I can.

Check in on my progress here as I travel with the van to various events in Maryland, Virginia and D.C.!