QuickTake:

The mission of the Lucky Enough Social Club is to build community by painting murals for nonprofit organizations in Lane County. 

A group of volunteers listens to music and chats while painting fir trees on the wall of an apartment complex on Polk Street in Eugene.

They are part of Lucky Enough Social Club, a local group that creates murals for nonprofits in Lane County and, in doing so, builds community, says club founder Rodger Deevers. 

Rodger Deevers, founder of Lucky Enough Social Club, works on a mural in the entryway of Polk Street Apartments. Credit: Lillian Schrock-Clevenger / Lookout Eugene-Springfield

“The cool thing is that when you get 10 or 12 people working on the mural, they’re talking to each other, and they understand that their piece is part of the bigger image,” Deevers said. “And that’s what we want to talk about. … We all have a role to play in our community and making it the community that we want to see.”

Deevers and fellow volunteers were at a painting party Saturday working on two walls in the common area at Polk Street Apartments, 89 N. Polk St. The building, a DevNW project, opened in 2015 and was the first apartment complex in Oregon dedicated to youth aging out of the foster care system. DevNW is a local nonprofit that develops affordable housing for low- and moderate-income people throughout Lane, Benton and Linn counties. The organization also offers a variety of services such as financial counseling, downpayment assistance and small loans for families and individuals. 

Deevers said DevNW reached out to the social club about painting a mural at Polk Street Apartments. Club volunteers worked with DevNW and the apartment residents to design the mural, landing on a calming mountainscape with muted colors. DevNW suggested adding an element to the painting that showed the building was a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community, and the volunteers incorporated a hot air balloon with Pride flag colors. 

The mural in the Polk Street Apartments features a hot air balloon in Pride colors, in response to a request from the building developer. Credit: Courtesy of Kathy Rasmussen

“We want to take cues from them, and we want to give them the mural that they want,” Deevers said. 

He said he believes in the healing power of art and that murals can brighten spaces and improve energy. Many nonprofits can’t afford murals, so the club does the artwork at no cost.

Apartment residents held a barbecue Monday evening and celebrated the mural and the new warmth in their space, said Kristin Yates Fronza, assistant director for Young Adult Programs at DevNW. She said the paintings make the space feel more homey. 

“We feel really lucky that they were able to do that,” she said. “Our staff worked with them for a few months to figure out the design and where it would be located in the building. It was just really easy and they were super-accommodating, and it just really adds a lot to the space.”

A second mural in the dining room of the Polk Street Apartments was also painted by Lucky Enough Social Club. Credit: Courtesy of Kathy Rasmussen

Membership in the social club is free, and anyone is welcome, Deevers said. He provides the painting supplies. (Forrest Paint Co. gives him a discount on paint.) Deevers drew the mural outline on the wall a day ahead of the painting party.

Lucky Enough Social Club painted its first mural last year in the volunteer department at NextStep Recycling. The club’s other projects include a painting of the United States at Irving Elementary School, murals at Hosea Youth Services and an art installation at the International Day of Peace Celebration.

The club’s next project is scheduled for July 12, when volunteers will paint the goat enclosure at Welcome Home Animal Sanctuary in Creswell.