CALL FOR ART

ArtWorks is now accepting art for our 2nd Annual "I'm Worth It" Poster Contest. This year's theme is "Breathe Well". Your new artwork should creatively visualize how living free of commercial tobacco can help everyone breathe well. Show the community the impact living tobacco-free can have on your life, those around you, and the air we all breathe. You must be a RESOURCE/Avivo participant to enter. The deadline to enter the contest is Friday, October 6th at 3 PM. Email Jes Reyes at jreyes@resource-mn.org to collect submission materials. Art can be no bigger than 11x14 and no smaller than 5x7. All work must be flat and on paper. Images must be positive and uplifting.

RESOURCE/Avivo is committed to improving the health and well-being for the people we serve and the staff who work here by embedding wellness into our organizational culture. 

One step we will take is to spend the next year preparing to become a tobacco-free organization on July 30, 2018. This poster contest will help inspire our communities to think about the impacts of smoking and the benefits of tobacco-free environments through a participant poster contest.

Why a poster contest?

Poster contests provide educational opportunities for individuals to express their personal voice and convey their ideas regarding social, health, or cultural issues. The competitive nature of contests offers an incentive and chance to be recognized for their creative and meaningful contributions. Organizing a poster contest invites us to think about the given topic, aims to create conversation, and ultimately raises awareness.


*Tobacco refers specifically to the use of manufactured, commercial tobacco products, and not to the sacred, medicinal and traditional use of tobacco by American Indians and other groups.


Poster Contest Guidelines:

· Please follow the Breathe Well theme of the poster. You do not need to be a current or past tobacco* user to enter.

· Explore the idea of how not using tobacco can strengthen our breathing and overall lives. Posters must depict positive and uplifting messages.

· Poster submissions cannot be larger than 11x14 and no smaller than 5x7. All submissions must be completed on paper and completely flat. Any weight of paper is permitted.

· You can submit up to two entries. Complete a form for each submission.

· Paperclip your submission forms to your art. Make sure your form is complete.

· Posters must be the original design and creation of the entrant. Computer graphics and photography may be used, but the work must be submitted on paper. No digital submissions will be accepted.

· Posters may be made individually or in teams. The maximum number per team is three. Prizes for teams will be split up equally among each other.

· Only winners will be notified personally by mail or phone of prize status on or before October 15, 2017. Prizes will be disbursed in the form of gift cards and may take up to 60 days to receive.

· The poster cannot identify you personally.

· If creating a poster made by collage, material on posters must be affixed securely.

· The best way to submit the poster is flat, between two taped sheets of cardboard. Do not submit posters rolled in a tube. Be sure posters are not wrapped so securely that opening becomes a challenge. Do not use duct tape or large amounts of tape.

· Your submission grants RESOURCE/Avivo the ability to print and feature your image in its publications, including on its website.

· All entries become the property of RESOURCE/Avivo and may exhibit during ArtWorks Winter Market (December 2017) and other possible presentations.

· Posters need to be submitted to Jes Reyes at ArtWorks before or on October 6, 2017. Submissions can be mailed or dropped off in person to 1825 Chicago Ave South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404. If a large group of individuals are submitting from one RESOURCE/Avivo site, pick up/drop off can be arranged. A submissions point person at various sites may be arranged. To coordinate, send questions to jreyes@resource-mn.org or (612) 752-8282.

· You must be a participant of RESOURCE/Avivo to enter. There is no entry fee.


“I’m Worth It” Campaign—Benefits of a Living a Life Free of Commercial Tobacco*

Eliminating or reducing tobacco use is one of the best things one can do to improve overall health. Tobacco-free is also good for everyone around you, too! With that in mind, use the following information to inspire your poster:

The health benefits start right away:

· Your chances of having cancer, heart attacks, heart disease, stroke and other diseases goes down

· You are less likely to be sick; you’ll have fewer infections including flu, cold, pneumonia

· You will breathe easier and cough less; you will reduce your risk of developing some lung diseases (like COPD)

· You will reduce your risk for infertility if you are woman of childbearing age; also, women who stop smoking during pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low-birth-weight baby


· Your skin will look healthier & you’ll look more youthful

· Your teeth and fingernails won’t be stained


Your lifestyle will change!


· You’ll have more money to spend

· You can spend more time with your family or doing things you love

· You won’t have to worry about when you can smoke next or where you can or can’t smoke

· Your food will taste better

· Your clothes and hair will smell better

· Your car and home won’t smell like smoke

· You will be able to smell food, flowers, and other things better

· You will feel a sense of freedom!


You also benefit the health of those around you:

· Protecting your friends and family from the harmful effects of your secondhand smoke

· Protect babies and kids from increased risk of SIDS, respiratory problems, and toxic chemicals

· Make the air you share with your loved ones clean and easy to breathe!

· Your children will be healthier

· Your pets will be healthier

· You will share in your family and friends’ lives, successes, and special moments


Helpful Link: https://www.quitplan.com/thinking-about-quitting/why-to-quit/reasons-to-quit.html