Tuesday, January 5, 1999
Monument gives sick children hope
CHARITY: Activity allows community to transform oil tower into
work of art
By Andy Shah
Daily Bruin Staff
UCLA students got a chance to get to the bottom of things
Thursday, as they helped paint the base coat of what is going to be
the largest monument on the West Coast.
The activity was organized by members of Project 9865, a
grassroots effort to get sick children in hospitals to transform an
oil tower in Los Angeles into a monument representing the four
seasons.
The concept was developed four years ago by Bernie Massey,
director of the Center for American Studies and Culture, and his
artist brother, Ed.
"There aren’t enough activities in hospitals," Bernie Massey
said. "A lot of these kids can’t ride bikes or go to the beach, so
we thought this would bring them happiness."
More than 35,000 volunteers are expected to help paint the base
coats, and about 4,000 hospitalized children will paint the surface
area of the monument, which is on the border of Beverly Hills.
"It’s in a great location, and we hope that the motorists who
pass by will think of these sick kids and get involved," Massey
said.
The number 9865 is the tower’s address on Olympic Boulevard.
The UCLA event was sponsored by the Hillel Jewish Students
Center, Push America and several fraternities and sororities.
After getting the approval to use the tower, volunteers began
painting it two years ago.
Massey and his crew take portable panels of the monument to
different schools and hospitals throughout California. UCLA is the
first university the project has visited.
He estimates that Dinwiddie Construction, which also built the
J. Paul Getty Center, will take about a year to install the panels
onto the tower.
Aviva Sufian, the Jewish Campus Service Corps fellow for Hillel,
helped bring the project to UCLA.
"It is an easy way to get connected to tens of thousands of
people without leaving campus," she said. "We thought UCLA students
would benefit from making their mark on this project."
Students also helped paint cards for the children.
"I was in the hospital this summer and I was scared," said Ray
Fernandez, a fifth-year women’s studies and Chicano/a studies
student, who was painting cards. "I can’t imagine how frightening
it must be for a child."
"Getting a card from a stranger can help distract from your
surroundings and get through the day," he added.
Project 9865 is a component of Portraits of Hope, which is run
through Massey’s center and uses art to address social issues, like
racism and international relations.
The next campus that the project will visit is Stanford
University.
Amber Jones, a second-year microbiology student and member of
the Delta Delta Delta sorority, said she worked with children who
were participating in the project at an oncology camp this
summer.
"It’s a cathartic release for the kids and puts their thoughts
away from cancer for a while, and on making a difference," she
said.MANDY SIU
Justine Lazarus,a first-year undeclared student, participates in
Project 9865, an effort to create a monument dedicated to seriously
ill children.
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