CLEARWATER, Fla. — Every year, the Valspar Championship likes to give back to the community that supports their golf tournament.
This year, their theme was Back to Bright. They were looking for an organization that could use a splash of color, after a very dark year.
“You take a blank canvass, something that was kind of thrown away really and insignificant and make it into a focal point,” said Ronde’ Barber.
The Super Bowl champion stopped by the North Greenwood Recreation Center in Clearwater to see how his friend, Zulu Painter, was progressing with his newest mural.
“It's in a location that could really use it, that could really appreciate it in a different way,” said Painter.
The North Greenwood Recreation Center was chosen to be the recipient of the Valspar Championship Back to Bright Initiative. It’s in conjunction with their annual PGA tournament later this month.
“It marries into what we are doing with the golf tournament, it marries into what people are looking for in their communities, to get back some brightness, some life,” said Barber.
Barber is part of Copperhead Charities, the organization responsible for choosing the recreation center.
“Everybody has been down during COVID, people’s passions have waned a little bit because of the fatigue of COVID, but this community center has been right there providing for their people,” said Barber.
Recreation coordinator, John Areus Young, works with kids and teens on a daily basis, most of them living below the medium income.
“This represents hope, it adds color and art to it, and it just brings in a lot of people from the community to say, ‘hey this is something that you can be proud of,’” said Young.
Painter said it is those families that come here every day that inspire his work.
“Just portrays a child thinking about all the things they can do once they get back to normal, where you can hug and playgroup activities and see family members,” said Painter.
The Back to Bright mural will be officially unveiled to the public Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the North Greenwood Recreation Center.
