HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2006 South Bend Weed & Seed Alliance to Present Student Art Contest O��p[]T8 B�fY
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Office of the Mayor
Media Release
Friday, April 21,2006
Contact: Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855, or
876-1564
Mark Dollinger, Weed& Seed Coordinator, 235-7619
South Bend Weed & Seed Alliance to Present Student Art Contest
Winners at Ceremony
The South Bend Weed& Seed Alliance (SBWSA) in conjunction with the
Community Policing Committee (COP)will unveil the winning designs of their third
billboard contest at a ceremony to be held on Saturday,April 22, 2006 from 11:00 A.M.
until 1:00 P.M. at the South Bend Police Department's Auditorium Classroom. The
theme for this year's student art contest is "Stop Gun Violence in Our Neighborhoods".
Students from Washington High School were asked to design a billboard
centered around the theme. Ultimately, sixty-three entries from all grade levels were
submitted for the contest. Many of the students who participated in the contest live in the
Weed & Seed area. Ms. Ann Hamilton, Art teacher at Washington, who encouraged her
students to participate stated, "the exercise was good for students because it challenged
them to think about how art affects us and the decisions we make in our lives on a daily
basis, and that art is not always used to decorate,but to sometimes communicate".
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The top five winners are Hugo Garza, Luis Salinas,Brittany Grubbs, Corey Parchman,
and Brandon Weller. Judging was based on artistic design and messages that best
depicted the theme. The artwork currently is displayed on billboards at the following
locations: 1830 S. Olive (s/o Indiana), 3105 W. Sample (s/o Dundee), 3116 Western
Ave., Sheridan Street, and Olive, n/o Western Ave.
One of the winners,Luis Salinas, a freshman at Washington, stated that he
thought"it was a good experience and that friends and neighbors felt a sense of hope
from viewing something good in their neighborhood." He further said his "mother was
very excited and proud of him".
In addition to having their artwork displayed on billboards,the five top winner's
work will be featured on easels at the ceremony and the top two winners will receive
$100 Hobby Lobby gift certificates for art supplies. All other participants will receive an
award ribbon and their artwork will be displayed at the awards ceremony as well.
Over 360 students K-12 grade levels have participated in the contests over the
past three years. The first contest theme dealt with graffiti and the second one was
centered on peer pressure. "Our youth are our future and the Weed & Seed projects
afford them opportunities to share their talents with the community at-large while helping
to increase pride in their neighborhoods," stated Mayor Luecke.
The Weed& Seed program is a federally sponsored community-based strategy
whose purpose is to "weed out"negative and"seed in"positive influences in our
neighborhoods. The Weed& Seed Alliance has been involved in numerous projects such
as Community Policing,After School Safe Haven programs, Safe Neighborhoods, Anti-
Gang Task Force, Senior Citizens Security, VIP Patrols, Graffiti Removal and
Neighborhood Restoration.
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