Main Street Vineland recently donated $500 to the New Jersey Veterans Home at Vineland. The money donated represents money raised in excess of that which covered expenses for a mural, which was formally dedicated this past Veterans Day. The mural was the creation of artist George Perez, who started work last June. Located facing the mini-park on the southwest corner of Landis Avenue and the Boulevard in Vineland, it honors active members of the five branches of the military—the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard—as well as Veterans and POWs. Work by Perez and his assistants lasted throughout the summer and culminated with a formal dedication ceremony on Veterans Day.

Main Street Vineland held a campaign to garner public financial support on its website and its various events, with the provision that all money in excess of that to cover expenses would be donated to the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home.

“What makes this so special is that the money raised for this mural came from people from all walks of life, said Main Street Vineland Executive Director Russell Swanson. “That makes this project really a mural by the people and for the people.”

Swanson noted that, all told, the mural cost approximately $15,000, which included funds from all sources.

This mural is envisioned to be part of a larger Urban Canvases on The Ave Mural Project, in which certain downtown buildings are being looked at for murals that would add artistic flavor to the downtown—The Ave—and which would add to the richness and flavor of Vineland’s heritage.