CCHD sponsoring local art contest

Calling all young artists!

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) — the anti-poverty organization of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — is sponsoring an art contest which focuses on the unaffordable housing crisis and Catholics’ response to poverty. The theme of the contest is “More Than a Roof.”

“The purpose (of the contest) is to give kids an opportunity to learn more about how we as Catholics can respond to these varied issues,” said Noah Poust, an intern at CCHD, who is putting the contest together locally. “In this case, the theme is “More Than a Roof” and so we are inviting them to learn more about how we can respond to people who struggle to find affordable housing.” 

The larger goal of the CCHD, Poust added, “is to put an end to poverty … by giving people a hand-up rather than just a handout through transformative works of social justice, in addition to just charitable works; to attack poverty at its roots in order to effect a more lasting change.”

The contest, which consists of three parts, is open to students in Catholic schools and faith-formation programs from Grades K-12. The first part involves bringing an awareness to the “reality of homelessness in our communities.” Students can use resources such as www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets, www.usccb.org/youthcontest, as well as information on the Catholic Charities Housing (www.cchoalbany.org) and the United Tenants of Albany (www.utalbanuy.org) websites.

Next there is a prayer component. Students should read the Bible passage from Luke 2: 1-7, have a discussion and answer questions. Instructions for how to answer the question vary from grades K-6 and 7-12. 

Lastly, create the artwork with the “More Than a Roof” theme and include the answers to the prayer question. Again, guidelines differ for the grades. Grades K-6 can refer to the website www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/erase-homelessness-lesson-plan, while grades 7-12 should refer again to the USCCB website.

Two students from each older age group and one student from each younger age group will be selected by art teachers in their schools or faith-formation programs to participate in the local contest. Students can also submit their art to Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, at the Pastoral Center in Albany by Feb. 14. The winners will be announced at a reception at the Empire State Plaza’s South Concourse on Feb. 27. Winners in grades 7-9 and 10-12 can then enter the national CCHD art contest.