By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor
Two local school children are among five winners of Save the Children’s Valentine’s Day art contest, and will be flying to New York to meet actress and Save the Children ambassador Julianne Moore.
Emily Sharp, 7, and Angel Rains, 10, both of Whitley County, will have their artwork grace the cover of Valentine’s Day cards sold to benefit Save the Children.
The five designs were produced by kids and selected by kids through a 2009 children’s art contest. Students in pre-K through 12th grade submitted art through their schools and then voted online for their favorites in December to select winning designs in five age categories.
Other winning artists were from Texas, Hawaii and Washington.
Each winner will receive a $500 savings bond and will fly with a member of their family to New York at the end of this month to meet with Moore.
The contest was themed “Uniting a Generation” and was supported by the American Federation of Teachers, which created a set of lesson plans for teachers to help students learn about childhood poverty in the U.S. and values such as loyalty and compassion.
Emily, a first grader at Whitley Central Primary, took those lessons and incorporated them into her card design.
“I drew three hearts and they were holding hands, and I put ‘hand in hand’ on the top,” Emily said. “...My teacher did a lesson on respect, unity and loyalty and I just figured those were some pretty special words and I thought that would maybe help me win.”
On her first trip to New York, Emily is most excited about meeting Julianne Moore, whom she remembers for her role in “Jurassic Park.”
Tania Sharp said her daughter told her of her Valentine’s Day card design when the children first drew them in November. Tania said her daughter told her at that time, “The winner gets to go to New York City and I think you may as well get ready because mine was pretty good.”
Last Tuesday, Tania said she learned Emily’s drawing had won. The family was asked if she was “mature enough to come to New York and be on The Today Show,” although plans for a Today Show appearance have not yet been finalized.
Whitley Central Intermediate fourth grader Angel Rains, 10, won in her category and will also be flying to New York.
“I was so excited, it was just amazing,” her mother Kathy Rains said. “We have never flown before, this is going to be our first time... It’s just amazing, it’s just something we could only dream of.”
Angel, who wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, said she’s most excited about the plane trip. She wasn’t sure what she would get to see while in the Big Apple.
Kathy thanked gifted and talented coordinator Vivian Cotterell for her help in organizing the art contest.
“I’m just very thankful for the Whitley County School District, they’ve just been amazing with our children,” Kathy said.
The families will be flown to New York Jan. 26-28.
The Valentine’s Day Art project, which is spearheaded by Moore, is part of a larger effort to raise awareness among kids about the child poverty crisis and empower them to end it.
“There are no better or more credible advocates for kids than kids themselves,” Moore stated in a press release.
A limited-edition boxed set of 25 Valentine’s Day cards that feature children’s winning artwork is available for order now at savethechildren.org/valentine for a donation of $20 to benefit Save the Children’s U.S. education and health programs for kids in living poverty.
