Sixth-grader Erin Powers of Hamilton Township is about to become a household name. Her artwork featuring the line “Healthy Kids Means Healthy World!” was selected by popular vote as the winner of the Hamilton Area YMCA’s “Create the Cover” contest and will be featured on the Y’s December Program Brochure. The Y brochure is sent to 60,000 households throughout the Hamilton area.
“Create the Cover” was launched in the summer of 2014 and open to children throughout the community. Participants were asked to draw a picture of what the Y means to them. Three entries that best reflected the Y’s core areas of focus – youth development, healthy living and social responsibility – were selected as finalists by a committee of Y staff. The community voted on the finalists at the Hamilton Area YMCA’s table at Septemberfest. Over 200 votes were cast.
Erin Powers’ artwork was the overwhelming winner. Erin, a sixth grader at Reynolds Elementary School, learned about the contest while participating in the Hamilton Area YMCA’s Summer Camp program. An aspiring actress, Erin enjoys art and cites her mother as her role model. Her inspiration for the slogan “Healthy Kids Means Healthy World” was drawn from examples she saw at the Y’s JKR Branch.
“We were overwhelmed by the response we received to the Create the Cover contest in its first year,” said Hamilton Area YMCA CEO Jim Fell. “The kids in the Y community did a great job showing what the organization does to promote youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. We are very proud of the impact we have on families in the Hamilton area and proud of young people like Erin who make the Y community what it is.”
The December Program Brochure will be mailed to 60,000 households later this year. It contains descriptions and schedules for nearly 150 programs available to community members of all ages and abilities through the Y.