Vacation Funds

The summer seems to be all about getting away. We celebrate the convenience of escaping to nearby resorts, the magic of our mountains, or traveling far away to exotic lands for exploration and mental stimulation. That’s what we do in the summer—we escape.

But what if your escape was as simple as putting paint to paper? On the corner of Rutherford Street and Stone Avenue near downtown Greenville is a getaway of a different sort. In the aptly named Triune Mercy Center, the downtrodden and disenchanted take a vacation every Sunday afternoon.

Theirs is an escape from problems most of us will never comprehend—a vacation from jailhouse nights, from unknown demons, from life’s misgivings. What if your demons danced with you every day, and then, one day each week, you got to wrestle them to the canvas with the help of a paintbrush?

Karen Lucci opened this art destination about a year ago. No reservations required. She’s the kind of travel agent I admire. As an artist, she knows the healing power and simple enjoyment a finished project brings. She sees the intensity in their work, their joy, and watches as they lose themselves in the moment.

Karen volunteers to take these folks on a mental vacation each week. Struggling to find supplies, she often donates her own money and materials to keep the resort open. She is a therapist disguised as an artist; an angel, spreading goodwill with every stroke of her paintbrush.

So here’s my vacation idea: For a few dollars, a few art materials, or both, you can help others enjoy a getaway of sorts. On our home page you will find a link to “The Art Room” with a wish list of much-needed items, as well as a mailing address where you can send a monetary donation to support this program (see below). Also, you will see a portfolio of the work produced by Karen’s guests. For the cost of that little souvenir you can’t live without, you could send someone else on a vacation of their dreams.

Art supplies are always in need at The Art Room at Triune Mercy Center including stretched canvas, tube acrylics, watercolors and watercolor paper, easels, and oil paint sticks.

Donations can be delivered to:
Triune Mercy Center
222 Rutherford Street
Greenville 29609
or
G Magazine
241-A N. Main Street
Greenville 29601

To make a financial contribution to The Art Room, mail a check payable to Triune Mercy Center to:
Triune Mercy Center
P.O. Box 3844
Greenville, SC 29608
Please note that your donation is for “The Art Room,” in the memo section of your check.

On behalf of G Magazine and The Art Room - thanks for your gift.