(Photo credit: Ryan Hollaway/Miami-Dade County)
The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust recently honored four Miami-Dade County Public School students with prizes for submitting winning artwork and essays as part of the Trust’s annual “Homeless Awareness and Sensitivity Poster and Essay Contest.”
This year’s contest, a partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Project UP-START Homeless Education Program, resulted in the submission of approximately 200 entries from 20 different elementary, middle and high schools, as well as afterschool programs through Miami-Dade County parks. The contest is designed to get students to think about homelessness and how to address it.
“The kids get it,” said Ronald L. Book, chair of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. “The way to end homelessness is through housing and by helping others less fortunate. I’m always astonished at how these themes are translated into artwork and essays and this year was no exception.”
The student winners are:
Essay contest (for high school students only): Terrence Nickerson, 12th grade at Miami Jackson Senior High School;
High School Poster Contest: Carla Bouza, 12th grade at Miami Beach Senior High School;
Middle School Poster Contest: Amayah Novela, eighth grade at Eugenia B. Thomas, and
Elementary School Poster Contest: Ana Domingo, fifth grade at Oliver Hoover Elementary School in The Hammocks. Winning students receive a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and their supporting teachers and/or administrators at the winning schools receive a Kindle Fire. Six honorable mentions were selected and one runner up; those winners will receive Target gift cards.
For more information regarding the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, visit www.homelesstrust.org.
