Contact Us | Employee Resources
By: Mary Beth Almond | Rochester Post | Published April 27, 2022
Some Paintings for a Purpose designs (clockwise) include: the Central Train Depot and Big, Bright, Light Show snow globe greeting cards; downtown sign and Rochester Municipal Park coasters; and Rochester Grain Elevator and Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes shoreline greeting cards.
Photo provided by Paintings with a Purpose
A few Paintings for a Purpose greeting cards depict the downtown Rochester sign, the Central Train Depot (now Catching Fireflies), Rochester Municipal Park and a Leader Dogs for the Blind puppy.
Photo provided by Paintings with a Purpose
ROCHESTER — Armed with a paintbrush, some creativity and a little extra time on their hands, two Rochester-area women are giving back to their community in a big way.
It all started two years ago, when friends Cheryl Gambaro and Jackie Snell decided to retire.
While discussing the visions they had for their futures, the women discovered they shared a desire to learn to watercolor paint.
“My whole life I’ve wanted to watercolor, and I never had time,” said Snell. “When you’re raising kids and working, I just felt like I never had the time to devote to it, so it was one of the first things on my bucket list.”
“When I was working full time, I always envied people that had a passion or a hobby that they could pursue, because I would think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so exhausted by the time I get home, how do people do that?’” Gambaro added. “Once you retire, you can put your mind to it … because then, you can really focus.”
With no formal art training, the duo decided to meet once a week to learn the new skill together, fine-tuning their craft by watching watercolor tutorials on YouTube.
“We would practice and help each other out,” said Gambaro. “We just keep getting better the more we paint. … We love learning, so we are always learning something new to make it better.”
After earning rave reviews from family and friends, it was time to share their craft with the community by turning their hobby into a business, called Paintings for a Purpose.
The business offers greeting cards, postcards and coasters adorned with a variety of watercolor art, which are sold locally to generate funds for local charities.
The artwork includes iconic landmarks and businesses in the Rochester area, such as Lytle Pharmacy, Home Bakery, the Rochester Grain Elevator, the Rochester Hills Public Library, Lipuma’s Coney Island, the Rochester Train Depot, Leader Dogs for the Blind, The Royal Park Hotel and more.
“We just kind of went for it, and it took off,” Snell said. “It surprised us.”
“Neither one of us actually felt like we were a natural artist by any means, but there must be something there, because the work comes out well and people love them,” Gambaro added.
Merchandise from Paintings for a Purpose is currently sold at Bordine Nursery, The Cheese Lady, The Framer’s Workshop, Lytle Pharmacy, Piechniks’s Greenhouse, Premier Pet and The Royal Park Hotel. A special dog design is also sold on the Leader Dogs for the Blind online gift shop.
In 2021, due to the success of the card sales, the business was able to make charitable donations to the Rochester Area Neighborhood House Food Pantry, the Salvation Army, and The Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan.
“Even though Rochester is a very affluent community, there are people here that are poor, so we decided this was where we were going to start (donating),” Snell explained.
The day the women presented their donation to the Neighborhood House has been a highlight of their journey.
“Our check wasn’t really big — I think we gave them $500 — but they said they matched that with Meijer funds. Twice a year, Meijer does triple matching, so that $500 becomes $1,500. They then buy giftcards with that, and they give them to the families that need perishables that they can’t keep stocked up on their shelves,” Snell said. “As we walked out that day, I said to Cheryl, ‘So, two people can make a difference.’ To think that we could make that kind of a difference for something as easy as a greeting card was pretty exciting.”
This year, all products sold by Paintings for a Purpose will benefit Leader Dogs for the Blind, the Rochester Area Neighborhood House Food Pantry and the Clinton River Watershed Council.
For more information about Paintings for a Purpose, visit www.paintingsforapurpose.com or email ppurpose747@gmail.com.
Employee Resources | Privacy Policy
13650 E. Eleven Mile Rd, Warren, MI 48089 • (586) 498-8000
Copyright © C & G Publishing. All Right Reserved.