Art of Donation Holiday Card Contest Winners Inspired by the Gift of Life
December 12, 2016 – (Tampa, Florida) – Two hundred sixty one unique pieces of artwork were submitted to LifeLink® of Florida by high school students in Hillsborough, Lee, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Highlands, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties for the Third Annual “Art of Donation” Holiday Card Contest. From these, five designs were chosen to adorn holiday cards for LifeLink®, which will be shared with donor family members, transplant recipients, community partners and the public during the 2017 holiday season.
“The number of submissions we received from students this year was amazing,” said Liz Lehr, Executive Director for LifeLink of Florida. “There are gifted young artists all around us and we are thrilled so many of them took the time to participate in LifeLink’s art contest this year. These images will surely inspire hope to everyone who receives our holiday cards.”
First thru third place winners were chosen, along with two special recognition prizes for “Community Choice” and “Facebook Favorite.” Paola Velez-Miranda, East Bay High School (Hillsborough County), took first prize; Abigail Bennett, Manatee High School (Manatee County), took second; and third place was claimed by Shalissa Luciano, Alonso High School (Hillsborough County). Judging for first, second and third place was done by a panel of community partners and LifeLink leadership and prizes were a $400, $300 and $200 Visa gift card respectively. The Community Choice winner was Grace Meseke, Hernando High School (Hernando County) and the Facebook favorite winner was Janet Kell, Plant City High School (Hillsborough County). Both of these students received a $100 Visa gift card and were chosen by LifeLink volunteers and employees, and others within the donation community, or the number of “likes” the piece received on Facebook. All of the winners, and nearly all the entries, incorporated the themes of selfless giving and kindness into their designs. The winning pieces can be viewed at www.LifeLinkFoundation.org/ArtOfDonation.
More than 120,000 people across the nation, and more than 5,000 in Florida, await a lifesaving organ transplant. Hundreds of thousands more could benefit from tissue donation each year. Please consider registering your decision to save lives on Florida’s organ and tissue donor registry today, by visiting www.DonateLifeFlorida.org on the web, or while visiting your local tax collector office where driver licenses are issued. Contact LifeLink of Florida for more information at (800) 262-5775.
LifeLink of Florida is the non-profit, federally designated community service organization which facilitates organ and tissue donation in fifteen counties in west and southwest Florida, and Martin County on the east coast. We have been serving this community for more than 30 years, and during that time we have worked with scores of families whose loved ones saved lives.
