News

Poster contest celebrates ‘Fair Housing’

April 15 is deadline; young students to win prizes

COVINGTON, Ky. – With April being “Fair Housing Month,” the City of Covington is co-sponsoring a poster contest for students in grades 1 through 5 to focus attention on the meaning of the words “fair housing.”

Six artists in two age categories will win prizes, with the two first-place posters featured on T-shirts.

The contest – “Fair Housing: More than Just Words” – is a call for posters that convey the message that it is illegal to discriminate against a person for reasons mentioned in Covington’s Fair Housing laws: race, ethnicity, national origin, color, creed, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, physical disability, age, familial status, and developmental disability.

“Awareness and understanding of what it means to live a discrimination-free life needs to start early,” said John Hammons, the City’s CDBG/HOME program coordinator for Neighborhood Services. “The poster contest is an opportunity to educate youth in the community on the problems relating to housing discrimination; to spur their thoughts, and, hopefully, further a dialogue on ways to solve the problem as expressed in their artwork.”

The Northern Kentucky Human Rights Commission is co-sponsoring the contest, which is open to all public, private, and home-schooled students within Covington, grades 1 through 5.

Students can submit one entry.

Details:

  • Entries must be received by 4:30 p.m. April 15 in the lobby of City Hall, 20 W. Pike St., Covington, KY 41011.
  • A first-, second- and third-place winner will be chosen in two categories: grades 1-3 and grades 4-5.
  • First place in each category wins a $250 prize pack and will be featured on a T-shirt. Second place wins a $100 prize pack, and third place wins a $50 price pack. 
  • All submitted posters will be displayed at City Hall during Fair Housing Month.
  • Winners will be notified by April 21, and prizes will be awarded at the Board of Commissioners meeting at 6 p.m. April 26.
  • All entries become the property of the City, and could be used in t-shirts, press releases, displays, and exhibits to promote fair housing in Covington.
  • Questions? Contact John Hammons at (859) 292-2105 or JHammons@covingtonky.gov

Poster contest rules:

  • Artwork must be hand-drawn horizontally on a poster measuring 8.5 x 11 inches.
  • Use “regular” paper, poster paper, poster board, or heavy hard stock paper only. No foam core boards.
  • These things are prohibited: Collages. Pasted or glued objects. 3D and computer-generated artwork. Corporate logos or brand names.
  • Use paint, magic markers, or crayons. Plain uncolored pencil is considered unfinished.
  • Posters must depict this year’s Fair Housing Month theme: “Fair Housing: More Than Just Words.”
  • No names are to be written on the front of the poster.
  • Each poster entry must be submitted with a registration form (neatly typed or printed) taped to the back of the poster in the upper right- hand corner. The form can be found HERE.
  • Posters that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.
  • Judges will consist of members of the City of Covington Neighborhood Services Department, Read Ready Covington, and the NKY Human Rights Commission. Criteria for judging: adherence to the theme, creativity, appeal, neatness, and reproducibility.

# # #