WILLMAR — Dozens of busy paintbrushes made quick work of what would otherwise be an insurmountable task Wednesday morning at Woodland Centers in Willmar.

Over the course of three days this week, helpers will continually flow into the parking lot of the mental health, substance use and crisis support services center to lend their eyes and paintbrushes in creating an 80-foot mural.

New London-based artist Kristin Allen provided the mural outline, which was divided into numerous small sections for attendees to paint in certain color-coded areas.

According to Woodland Centers Director of Community Impact Kim Madsen, this has been a project multiple years in the making. Wednesday marked the first of three painting sessions, with the next session scheduled for August and the last for September. Once complete, the 80-foot mural will hang on a wall outside Woodland Centers.

People continued to swing by for anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour to lend their artistic talents to the cause throughout the day. According to Madsen, that was the whole point behind a community mural.

"The whole idea is to build connection," Madsen said. " It's really exciting to see this project come to fruition."

With Woodland Centers serving six additional counties outside of Kandiyohi County, Madsen said she would like to do something similar in those locations to build upon the 80-foot mural as soon as next year if all goes to plan.

The next full day of painting for the mural will take place at Woodland Centers on Aug. 24, while the third and final gathering will occur Sept. 14. Both days will feature open hours from 10 a.m. through 7 p.m.

"We really encourage families and friends to come take part in this," she said. "We want this to be a truly community mural."