GACS Teen Wins Gwinnett Great Days of Service T-Shirt Contest

The Gwinnett Great Days of Service conducted its 5th annual T-shirt design contest, which was opened to all Gwinnett County youth ages 8-14 this past summer.

Students were invited to design the T-shirt based on this year’s theme “Make a Difference Every Day.”

Greater Atlanta Christian School student, Tia Chavis, age 13, entered the contest when she heard about it at her mom’s job at Primerica during the “take your child to work day.”

Her artwork was submitted and selected as the winner of the 2014 Gwinnett Great Days of Service T-shirt design contest and her art will be featured on thousands of T-shirts worn by this year’s Gwinnett Great Days of Service volunteers on October 24th & 25th.

Proud mom, Cindee Chavis shared, “Tia is truly a blessing and I am so proud of her! She says she is not an artist, so designing a T-shirt for an organization we strongly support was a wonderful way for her to step outside of her comfort zone and encourage kids her age to do something she is passionate about, to volunteer and give back.”

Tia’s entry was favored out of several entries that were submitted through various outlets.

When asked why she decided to enter the contest, Tia said, “I feel it is important to give back and you don’t have to be an adult to show you care. You can be someone as young as me. I enjoy helping people who are less fortunate because it is the Godly way.”

In addition to winning the contest, Tia also received a certificate of participation and a gift certificate to an art class donated by Painting with a Twist in Lawrenceville.

“This is the 5th year the youth have participated in the design contest for the Gwinnett Great Days of Service T-shirts. It’s another great way to get students involved and pumped up about giving back to their communities”, says Jennifer Hendrickson, co-chair of the 2014 Gwinnett Great Days of Service. “This year’s theme is Make a Difference Every Day and the design had to center around that theme. We are proud of all of the youth who participated in this year’s art contest. It was a very tough decision, but Tia’s design captured the theme of what we were trying to portray in the simplest way!”

Gwinnett Great Days of Service is an annual event that promotes volunteerism across the county. It draws tens of thousands of volunteers each year to give back to their communities through community service projects and sponsorship. Last year more than 90,000 participants, contributed more than 300,000 hours to over 400 projects in the two day event.

Gwinnett Great Days of Service will take place on Friday, October 24th and Saturday, October 25th. For more information, visit: www.gwinnettgreatdaysofservice.org and you can register to volunteer at www.volunteergwinnett.net!

The Gwinnett Great Days of Service is in partnership with the United Way of Greater Atlanta and Volunteer Gwinnett. The event is sponsored by Primerica, Gwinnett Medical Center, Buck Jones Nursery, Nordson Corporation, Dave n Buster’s, Frank Circelli & Emily Brantley, Eastside Medical Center, Andersen, Tate & Carr, P.C, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Power, The Myers Group, GCPS Foundation, Partner Tech, Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, WEG Electric Corp, Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia & Stevie B’s Pizza.

The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the health and human service needs of everyone in Gwinnett County, Georgia. It does so through collaborative community planning, applied research, community education, membership diversity, consensus building, advocacy, and innovation.

— Submitted by Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services

(Photo: Tia Chavis, winner of 2014 Gwinnett Great Days of Service T-shirt design contest)