Children’s Art for Stroke Awareness

1.  Reason for the Contest:

Every year in the United States, 2.6 million people have a brain injury.  This could be as a result of a stroke, tumor, trauma, or other cause. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to a part of the brain is blocked off, either from bleeding or an embolus, or blood clot, usually coming from the heart or blood vessels in the neck.

Of the 795, 000 people who have a stroke, nearly 140,000 will die.  To put it in other terms, one person in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies every 4 minutes from a stroke.

Individuals who survive must face life with permanent changes, including impaired mobility and memory, speech and learning deficits.Although strokes tend to occur in those of advanced age, they can still occur at any age.  In 2009, 34% of people hospitalized for stroke were less than 65 years old (source CDC). After someone has a stroke, they have a short hospitalization and are discharged to rehabilitation or sent home.  A person is left with disabilities then by themselves are isolating, and are often given little resources or left to develop new routines without support in the community.

In Portland, the Northwest Brain Network was founded on the principals of providing resources, a community support system, and soundboard for individuals whose lives have been drastically altered by a stroke or other brain injury.  The directives of the network include:

• Online website connecting members with stroke ambassadors and other community support and providing community support.
• Information and virtual and physical seminars about health and wellness to reduce the risk of future strokes (about 185,000 strokes a year are in people who have had a previous stroke).
• Updates on community events and seminars for stroke advocacy, education, and support.
• Community music therapy with the Backstrokes led by Anne Tillinghast (a Co-founder of the Northwest Brain Network) and Keith Parkhurst, musicians and stroke advocates.

2.  Goal of the Art Contest: 

With so many people at risk for strokes each year, families, including children and grandchildren, are faced with the adjustment that their loved may no longer be able to communicate or participate in the same way as before.

1. We are looking for Children’s Art that centers on Stroke Awareness and Advocacy.

2. We would like to use the art in the information that we provide to patients that have been hospitalized for an acute stroke and to the community regarding the Northwest Brain Network. This art might be uplifting or convey a message of support for a person who is just beginning to grapple with the “new normal” and the uphill battle with recovery after stroke.

3. We would like to prepare folders for persons hospitalized for an acute stroke, and a small booklet of art would be a welcome form for them to receive. We additionally have released a book Nanna After the Stroke, which will be included in the a packet that we will provide patients.

3. Questions for Children to Ask before they begin to prepare for this Contest:

• As part of this contest, Your Health Forum encourages children to talk to their parents or a family member who may have had a stroke and learn about their story.  When did it occur?  What were the results of the stroke?  How have they recovered?  How did it shape their life?

• As part of the preparation for this contest, a child may choose to wear a glove on one hand for a day.  The goal would be NOT to use that ARM for the entire day, so that they can gain a better understanding of challenges a person who has a stroke must face, when they discover that they are unable to use an arm.

• Next, the child can develop an art piece that shares an important written and illustrated message of hope, or communicates to others what happens with a stroke. A child is free to decide on what art to submit with the goal of raising stroke awareness and delivering a message of hope to a survivor.

3.  How to Submit the Art for the Contest:

• Your Health Forum and Northwest Brain Network will be accepting art submissions from now until the end of September

• Art can be made using any media

• Age group 5-17 years old

• Send a high definition photo your artwork to us though yhfcirino@gmail.com

4.  Deadline:  Extended to October 26th

Awards:

•      First Place selection will receive $250

•      Second Place selection will receive $100

•      Third Place selection will receive $50

•      YHF will select several “Mentions” based on creativity and effort – The top 7 selected will receive a free copy of the book “Nanna After the Stroke“

•      All participants will receive a certificate of participation

Consent to Submit and Use Photo of Art:

• By submitting a photo of your art, the artist and their parent consents that the photo may be used for advertisement, literature, and other media outlets by Your Health Forum and The Northwest Brain Network.

• Any profits generated by the photo of the art will be used by the above companies toward their mission.

• The artist may be asked to provide the actual art piece for an exhibit or gallery

Gallery of Children’s Art for Stroke Awareness

Children Art Contest for Stroke Awareness: Submission #1 Parthi Jain, Age 12.

Children Art Contest for Stroke Awareness Submission #2: Deepshikha Class 6, India

Now get your pens, crayons, markers, and paintbrushes out and start drawing!

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