June is home to both National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month. In Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Evergreen Co-op simultaneously honoured and acknowledged these important events while also making a difference in their community.
Local group, Rocky Pride has created a new art feature and “Diversity Park,” to recognize LGBTQ and Two-Spirited community members. They found the ideal location outside the library where the group meets, which happens to be across the street from Asokewan Friendship Centre.
Rocky Pride decided to paint a small rainbow walking path, but with the rising cost of paint due to the pandemic, the group wasn’t sure if they would be able to create their Diversity Park.
That’s when Evergreen Co-op stepped in. Seeing an opportunity to help create a more diverse and inclusive community, Evergreen Co-op donated Co-op Imagine Paint, through the Communities in Full Colour program.
“Evergreen Co-op was proud to donate paint for this project,” says Andrea Kristoff, Marketing Manager at Evergreen Co-op, “[because] we know that visible signs of diversity and inclusion makes a real difference.”
Evergreen Co-op employees also joined Rocky Pride and community volunteers to paint the beautiful, inclusive artwork. The designers cohesively combined the Progressive Pride flag — traditional six colour Pride rainbow and five colour chevron that represents racialized, transgender and non-binary communities — with the Indigenous Two-Spirited Pride flag, which includes a circle with two black and white feathers to represent male and female spirits.
“We had an overwhelming amount of support, everything from painting volunteers to community donations to complete strangers dropping off snacks and drinks for our crew,” says Andrea. “People have also [reached] out, sharing stories about their own LGBTQ2+ family members and friends and how much this project means to them.”
This project is a great example of how Co-op makes a difference in members’ lives, by creating events and spaces where everyone can feel included and represented.
