The Giving Tree - Galveston, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 29° 18.299 W 094° 47.521
15R E 325957 N 3243108
Galveston has no shortage of artistic talent. All one has to do is look around downtown. This is just one part of a larger, seven section mural created in collaboration with Cool To Be Kind and the Galveston Kindness Project.
Waymark Code: WM10MD9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/27/2019
Views: 3
From Galveston Island Guide (
visit link)
By Rachel Delanoix
A sunny burst of rainbow paint beams a bright welcome from the corner of 22nd and Postoffice St. The new mural is an homage to Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree,” the surfboard-shaped leaves connect one end of the artwork to the other as it wraps around the corner of the ground floor of the old McCrory Building. The keen observer will note a small hashtag hidden among the artwork: #c2bk, an acronym for “Cool to Be Kind,” which is the calling card of the Galveston Kindness Project, the organization behind this gorgeous collaborative masterpiece.
Begun one year ago by Erin Toberman, the Galveston Kindness Project was conceived out of a desire to empower the meek and give voice to a simple idea: that standing up to bullies is easy when the only question is kindness. “Is it kind?” Erin asks, in a passionate but matter-of-fact way, perched on the herb garden planters between the mural and the street. She is supervising local artist Gabriel Prusmack, whose deft movements are shaping burnt orange spray paint into the form of a monarch butterfly. “They land on the island during their migration to Mexico every year, usually in October,” she tells me. “Have you ever seen a tree just covered in them? It’s incredible!”
Erin, in her official title of Kindness Ambassador, can often be found sporting her now-familiar bee costume topped with a huge pair of bug-eye goggles and a broad smile. Her enthusiasm overflows when she talks about the heart of the Galveston Kindness Project.
“We believe that kindness is a core character quality that we should all nurture, value, and require of ourselves, our friends, and family, our communities, our companies, our churches, and our government. The words ‘kind’ and ‘nice’ are too often inappropriately exchanged, and I believe we need to be more attentive to the use of the word ‘kind’ and use that word with its correct purpose and intention. What do you believe is the difference between the words ‘nice’ and ‘kind?’ We like to explain that the word ‘nice’ should be most often used as an adjective or a describing word and the word ‘kind’ should be used most often as an adverb or an action word. For example, your shoes look nice, and it was kind of you to hold the door open for me. Words matter. It helps immensely when you use your words properly, carefully, and intentionally. Kindness is an intentional action, and we feel compelled to reintroduce the value of kindness to the community.”