Portraits of Hope Adorn Aspen Fire Trucks, EMT Vehicles

Nope, that ambulance in downtown Aspen wasn’t tagged with graffiti. The big flowers around town on fire trucks and EMT vehicles are part of a project called Portraits of Hope. The California-based nonprofit was founded in the ’90s to give children in the hospital a therapeutic outlet in an otherwise sterile environment by being invited invited to create art.

Today, the nonprofit still aims to meet that mission, but for the Aspen/Snowmass project, it enlisted the help of valleywide school children to help paint the trucks and vehicles. Previously, Portraits of Hope decorated more than 5,000 taxis in New York City and hundreds of lifeguard stands in Los Angeles, according the Aspen Daily News.

The emergency vehicles are covered with vinyl pieces which were painted last month. They will keep their inspiring decorations for five months. Organizers say that children often look up to first responders and identify flowers as symbols of inspiration and beauty, so the pairing was an ideal match.