WINCHESTER, Ky. (LEX 18) — High school students in four Kentucky counties put the art in heart. It’s part of a heart art competition in partnership with local hospitals and the schools.
“For us it's become now one of those anchor moments of the year,” said Clark County Public Schools superintendent Dustin Howard. “Now our kids are talking about it throughout the school year planning for this, preparing for it.”
This is the third annual Heart Art Fair in connection with Clark County Public Schools and the Clark Regional Medical Center. The pulse in this competition has grown each year.
“Last year it was just packed out up front,” said Clark Regional CEO Matt Smith. “The idea is that we have the students bring, I think last year we had 50 pieces or so and we're expecting near that this year as well.”
The heart art pieces decorated hospital lobbies in Clark, Bourbon, Scott, and Woodford Counties to end February, which is heart month. Winners of the competition at each hospital earned $500 cash scholarships.
The ultimate goal, however, is to educate the community on heart health through a different sort of vessel.
“Sometimes it's most powerful when it comes from the mouth of our babes,” Howard said. “Experts can say it all day long, but if your child, or daughter, or son, grandchild looks at you and say, ‘hey, did you know you could be eating a little bit better?’ Those are the residual messaging and educational pieces that we feel like we fundamentally change our community.”
The hope is that these messages from these kids can cause healthy change. After all, the kids are the heartbeat of the community.
“We've worked really closely together to pour into our kids and make science fun again and have a place that they can come and be safe and learn,” Smith said. “I would say they're the heart what's behind this event.”
