Paralyzed Veterans of America Awards Top Honors to Students from Texas and Connecticut for its National Veterans Day Poster and Poem Contest

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) proudly announces the winners of its 13^th annual Veterans Day Poster and Poem Contest: second-grader Janie Kim from Frances E. Norton Elementary School in Allen, Texas has won the grand prize in the poster category, and eighth-grader Kendall Schenck, from Captain Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, Connecticut is the grand prize winner in the poem category.

Paralyzed Veterans will host the students and a family member or guardian in Washington, DC, tomorrow, where they will attend the Veterans Day National Ceremony at Arlington Cemetery, and receive their awards later that day at Paralyzed Veterans' annual Veterans Day reception. Their grand prize winning entries, along with category finalists for each grade will also be featured on Paralyzed Veterans' website.

"We congratulate Janie and Kendall on winning this year's Veterans Day Poster and Poem contest and thank all of this year's participants for showing their support for veterans by entering the contest," said Al Kovach Jr., national president of Paralyzed Veterans. "This contest is our way to engage the nation's youth in understanding what it means to be a veteran. It's almost overwhelming to see the amount of entries we get each year, and it makes me proud to know just how many of your country's youth understand the sacrifices of our veterans and their families."

This year's contest theme celebrates Paralyzed Veterans' 70 years of service. Participants in the Poster Contest were asked to design a poster that incorporated the number 70, and creatively depicts what seven decades of service to America's veterans means to them. Participants in the Poem Contest were asked to write a poem that includes seven ways to honor veterans. The poster contest was open to students in grades 1-4, and the poem contest to students in grades 5-8.

Paralyzed Veterans launched the nationwide contest 13 years ago to involve school children in celebration of Veterans Day and to promote greater awareness of America's 26 million veterans and the sacrifices they have made to ensure the freedoms our country enjoys.  As an additional way to bring Veterans Day to classrooms, Paralyzed Veterans also has Veterans Day educational resources and activities for teachers. The Teacher Resources page can be found at www.pva.org/teacherresources.

To learn more about the contest and view this year's winning entries, visit www.pva.org/posterpoem.

Paralyzed Veterans of America is the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated solely for the benefit and representation of veterans with spinal cord injury or disease. For 70 years, we have ensured that veterans have received the benefits earned through their service to our nation; monitored their care in VA spinal cord injury units; and funded research and education in the search for a cure and improved care for individuals with paralysis.

As a partner for life, Paralyzed Veterans also develops training and career services, works to ensure accessibility in public buildings and spaces, provides health and rehabilitation opportunities through sports and recreation and advocates for veterans and all people with disabilities. With more than 70 offices and 34 chapters, Paralyzed Veterans serves veterans, their families and their caregivers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. (pva.org)

SOURCE Paralyzed Veterans of America

Related Links

http://www.pva.org