Back in 2019, Craig & Mureda Kenyon were driving to Wales for their holiday with their two kids, then six-year-old Chrisell and four-year-old Frederick. On their way, they passed many traffic signs that were hard to read, because they were covered in dirt or slimy green moss.
Chrisell said that someone should start cleaning them to make them easier to read. Of this simple thought, the idea of ‘Brushing Beautiful’ was born.
‘Brushing Beautiful’ is the name that Chrissel decided to give her traffic sign cleaning project. The first sign that she cleaned was a street name sign near to their home and she hasn’t looked back since.
Chrissel, who is now eight was joined by her younger brother, Frederick, when he was five and over the last couple of years, they have cleaned over 200 road and traffic signs around Wirral.
Chrissel’s mum, Mureda told birkenhead.news, “I informed the Council of our intentions before we started. They were worried about our safety whilst cleaning signs.
“So, Chrisell used her pocket money to buy hi-viz vests. We report the broken and vandalised signs to the Council via their online link.
“Most of the signs we scout out ourselves. We regularly ask the public via the Brushing Beautiful Facebook page to let us know of dirty signs in their area.”
However, in August 2020, Chrisell fell off her scooter and broke her tibia in two places, suffering a spiral fracture that confined her to a wheelchair for a long time. She was in a full-length cast and she started her new school in a wheelchair last September.
This setback put the sign-cleaning on the back-burner for a while, but Chrissel got back to cleaning as soon as she could.
Throughout the pandemic, their cleaning has continued, but they can currently only get out for short periods and stay close to home as a part of their daily outdoor time.
Chrisell says that she enjoys cleaning signs because it’s a good feeling to give back to the community and making the roads safer. She said, “People stop and say “keep up the good work, you are doing a wonderful job” -someone stopped and gave us £5 after cleaning signs in New Brighton.”
Mum and dad say they “are very proud of Chrisell, she is very determined, generous, loves where she lives and likes to help others. Chrisell is also a great communicator and we hope she continues on this path into her adulthood.”