DENVER - Driving on South Broadway, you may have noticed a bright and colorful building. The Denver Girl Scout office got a makeover.
After continued vandalism to their office at 400 S. Broadway, the Girl Scout office reached out to reformed taggers to create a beautiful piece of art.
"The main reason is Girl Scouts is coming up on our 100th anniversary next year, and we wanted our statewide headquarters to really show what Girl Scouts is about as we head into our second century," Megan Ferland, Girl Scouts' Colorado CEO and president, said.
In unlikely alliance, the Denver Police Department, taggers and Girl Scouts came together with one common goal - to keep vandals away and to get the word out about the Girl Scout leadership programs.
"It was so incredibly exciting; the artist Chris Bernal has been so phenomenal working with the girls. What would happen is they would come, he would sketch out the designs, then he taught the girls different techniques to use in painting," Ferland said.
Girl Scouts from the Family Crisis Center - a residential care facility - are one of the many contributors to the mural. Many of the girls were previously involved in illegal tagging, but now get a chance to learn more about graffiti as an art-form.
"It changed their entire view of themselves, and it gave them so much confidence. It literally brought tears to my eyes what doing this project has meant for a lot of girls," Ferland said.
The wet spring weather delayed the mural's reveal, but today the wait is over. The Girl Scout office is hosting a community event from 4 to 5:30 p.m., to celebrate the mural's completion.
To learn more about the mural and event visit the Girl Scouts of Colorado's Blog http://gscoblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/join-us-for-our-mural-celebration.
Jessican Leicht contributed to this report.
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