Hauppauge HS Students Crafting Murals For Long Island Cares

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Around a dozen Hauppauge High School students are creating two murals for Long Island Cares and its Harry Chapin Food Bank. The organization has the goal of ending food insecurity on Long Island.

The project was started by group leader Catherine Dau and her fellow IB Diploma candidates at Hauppauge High School. The IB Program is a rigorous, internationally recognized education offered to those looking for a challenge academically and personally. Dau and her friends have been planning the project since May.

Dau was familiar with Long Island Cares and the work it does on the island because of her having Jeffrey Yablon as her biology teacher in her freshman year. Dau asked if Long Island Cares was offering any volunteer opportunities in the art domain, and she and her fellow students were tasked with painting two murals at a community engagement center in Hauppauge.

"Before I graduate high school and move onto college, I want to leave behind some kind of legacy by contributing something meaningful to the Hauppauge community," Dau told Patch.

The group is hoping to finish the project before October and has worked on the murals on the weekdays during the summer, as well as some days during the school year.

Dau said that since Long Island is one of the most developed and wealthiest regions in the United States, people may not think that food insecurity is an issue on the island. But she is hoping to show that is not the case.

"The reality is that anyone could be undergoing harsh circumstances to which they have inconsistent or little access to food at all," Dau said. "It is important to bring awareness to hunger and food insecurity in order to educate people to be more open-minded about the issue and to prevent any negative scrutiny that may come with seeking help. I do believe that the murals will raise awareness of the issues through inspiration. If a random group of high students can come together to paint, what's to say that more can't be done?"

Dau said she hopes the murals motivate others to use their skills or passions to help others while bettering themselves and others.

"Not only do I want these murals to support the work that LI Cares does, but to encourage action and do something more valuable with time than just sitting around at home," she said.

Part of one of the murals shows Harry Chapin hovering in the clouds. It is a tribute to Chapin and the work the organization does to feed the hungry, according to a spokesman for the organization.

Chapin, who founded Long Island Cares, was killed in a traffic collision on the Long Island Expressway while he was heading to perform at a free benefit concert at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow on July 16, 1981. Chapin's car was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer in Jericho, the New York Times reported. He was 38.

The mural also boasts a more light-hearted touch: lots of geese.

The industrial park where Long Island Cares is located is infested with geese, so the organization requested that the birds make an appearance in the murals. The students obliged.

"Flocks of Canadian geese surround the facility, and it was just a creative and fun touch to both murals," Dau said.