MACON, Ga. — Laura Gómez moved to Macon seven months ago from Bogotá, Colombia. Even though Gómez is still adjusting, she said she wants to bring people with a similar background together.
Gómez calls her project "Macon for everyone, Macon para todos." She started it with the help of a $5,000 grant from the Knight Foundation.
"I've always wanted to do something for the community wherever I am. I want to leave like a fingerprint,” she said.
Gómez pitched her idea to the Knight Emerging City Champions Fellowship. The foundation chose her project and now she will use the project grant and foundation resources to plan events at the Cotton Avenue Plaza in Downtown Macon.
She wants to focus on Hispanic community members. Her husband Benjamin Perez Mendina said getting involved right away in a new town can be a challenge.
"I feel like maybe there might be a language barrier, they might not know who to approach to use these public spaces,” he said. “So, this is an opportunity to show the Hispanic community particularly that you can use these public spaces."
One of Gómez’s event ideas would use some space right under our feet. She says she wants to use money from her project grant to make a sidewalk downtown a canvas for "Macon for Everyone, Macon Para Todos" street art.
Gómez painted or drew art and games on the sidewalks in her community in Colombia. Now she's ready to bring that activity to Macon.
"Being an immigrant, you sometimes can feel that you are facing many challenges and sometimes obstacles,” she said. “But this opportunity makes me feel more confident about me and also makes me feel happy about the fact that I can bring the community together."
Gómez said the first Macon for Everyone, Macon para todos public event at Cotton Avenue Square will be in the first week of December.