How’s this for a win/win/window situation?
In an effort to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation, and to spotlight small businesses, and to support local artists, Tundra Home Improvements and Renewal by Andersen have teamed up to sponsor Windows for a Cause.
The very clever and especially poignant idea (given 2020’s persistent challenges) encourages businesses to comission artists to paint a storefront window. For each participating business, Tundraland and Renewal by Anderson will donate $1,000 to Make-A-Wish and the winning artist will receive $500.
I enjoyed seeing all of the Appleton entries yesterday as I took a quick stroll down College Avenue. While some artists, like Nate DeRidder, specifically explored 2020’s theme of “What inspires you?”, others honed in on the overall theme of making wishes. For example, DeRidder painted a beautiful tribute to front-line healthcare workers, and Julie Jilek created a whimsical six-panel tribute to the magic of wishes. I wondered, as I stood in front of the PAC taking in Jilek’s piece, how many of those wishes flying around those windows might have been pleas for a return to a less complicated life pre-pandemic life.
Of course, the children Make-A-Wish serves have even more profound wishes, and it’s easy to forget, as we all struggle with unfamiliar restrictions, that there are plenty of people doing the same in addition to battling heart-breaking diagnoses.
The Windows for a Cause project does a good job of reminding us of that. I’m going to save a few of those first-star and dandilion-seed wishes for the childhood cancer battlers.
I hope you get a chance to check out the windows yourself, and support the businesses displaying them, in the next few days. The display runs through Tuesday, Sept. 22 and you can vote for your favorite storefront artwork via Tundraland’s Facebook page. The voting period will run from September 15-22. Remember, the artist who receives the most votes will receive $500. I haven’t voted yet because I love them all, but I intend to narrow my choice down in the next few days.
(It’s also good practice for the important voting that will take place in November.)
In case you don’t make it, or you live too far away to see this windows in person, I am including the pictures I took of the Appleton entries I saw yesterday.
