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A group of George Fox students use their vocational skills in graphic design, illustration and art to serve in Philadelphia By Sean Patterson and Hunter Bomar

Standing like a jewel amidst the rubble of the Kensington area of Pennsylvania’s largest city, the Philadelphia Dream Center has become a beacon of hope for the hopeless – the addicts, the homeless, the hungry and the trafficked.

The formerly abandoned Catholic church – complete with vaulted ceilings and ornate stained-glass windows – has been transformed into a place of restoration, healing and soul care. Through its many-faceted outreaches, including an after-school program, a food truck ministry, a nondenominational church and a human trafficking support group, the center is, as founder David Dominguez describes it, “a place where God-given dreams are awakened in the birthplace of America.”

It was into this setting that a group of George Fox graphic designers, illustrators and studio artists from the School of Communication and Design traveled this spring for a weeklong “SpiL Trip” – pilgrimages dedicated to immersing students in the contexts of others to learn and serve alongside ministry partners. Unlike previous trips, however, this marked the first time students applied the vocational skills learned in their specific major to a service project.

Among the projects tackled were graphic design services for the center’s website and print collateral, and fine art illustration work.

For graphic design major Adrienne Pena, it was an opportunity to tangibly live out the university’s Be Known promise.

“We have that promise – Be Known – and we are here saying, ‘We want this center to be known in the city of Philadelphia,’” she says. “We want people to know this place is here for them. We’re here helping them be light to this community – to be a hope to them.”

Or, in the words of Rus St. Cyr, university pastor for service and soul care, they are there to be “hope dealers.”