Feb. 2, 2010
Two Phoenix students won a nationwide poster contest sponsored by the Housing America campaign and the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). Youth associated with affordable housing and community development programs nationwide submitted posters based on the theme "What Home Means to Me."
The local winners are Karen Guzman, a junior at Metro Tech High School, and David Avila, a sixth grader at the Back-to-Basics Charter School. Karen and David reside in the city’s public housing. Both of their posters will be included in the 2010 Housing America calendar. Each student will receive a $100 savings bond and their posters will be displayed on Capitol Hill in the spring.
"NAHRO’s Housing America’s poster contest has offered Phoenix youth an opportunity to describe what home means to them in a creative art form," said Kim Dorney, city of Phoenix Housing Department director. "The quality of the posters entered showed the depth of the children's interest and concern in their home."
City staff visited various public housing sites and brought art supplies. The students had two hours to draw a poster using crayons, colored pencils, glue and glitter. Karen and David’s posters were chosen from among 150 entrants. Four winners from each category (K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grades) were chosen to appear in the 2010 Housing America calendar.
The posters were judged by a panel consisting of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official, a representative from the National Association of Realtors (a Housing America partner) and a local art teacher.
The Housing America Campaign is a coalition of public, private and nonprofit advocacy groups to raise awareness of the need for, and importance of, housing and community development programs. NAHRO is a professional membership organization comprised of 22,500 housing and community development agencies and officials throughout the United States that administers a variety of affordable housing and community development programs at the state and local levels.
Media Contact:
| Marcie Colpas | 602-262-6164 |