North Carolina Big Sweep design contest for students K-12. Deadline for entries is Oct. 15. Winner to be announced Nov. 1. Winner receives $100 and design may be used on official Big Sweep T-shirts and other printed materials.

1. Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Judy Bolin, N.C. Big Sweep president (1-800-27-sweep or 919-269-9380)
Think your child is talented?
Here’s a chance to get statewide recognition
It’s time for North Carolina Big Sweep’s annual design contest, and students from all across the
state are being challenged to enter.
The winning artist will receive $100, Artist of the Year recognition, and a sample of the poster,
brochure, and T-shirt for his or her portfolio.
“North Carolina has some of the most artistically talented students in the nation, and we can’t
wait to see the creative entries this year,” said Judy Bolin, NC Big Sweep president.
All entries will be judged on message, originality, educational value and attractiveness. Because
the message should focus on Big Sweep’s mission of a litter-free environment and the cleanup, the
contest provides not only an artistic challenge but also an educational opportunity for students to learn
about the harmful effects of debris and ways to prevent litter. Previous winning designs can be viewed
on the storefront page of www.ncbigsweep.org.
The contest is open to all North Carolina students in kindergarten through grade 12. Home
school students will be classified as either elementary, middle school, or high school. Judges will select
the best elementary, middle school, and high school entries, and then they will determine the top Artist
of the Year award. The three school-level semi-finalists will receive a personalized certificate of
achievement.
Entries should be submitted on 8 ½ x 11” unlined white paper with the student’s name, age,
school name, address and phone number on the back of the artwork. Students should not use lead pencil
and use no more than three colors on their design. Entries should be sent to North Carolina Big Sweep,
P.O. Box 126, Zebulon, NC 27597-0126 before the contest deadline on Oct. 15, 2012. A special
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Think your child is talented?
reception for the winning artist is planned during the week of Nov. 1, where the winner will be presented
with $100 and the 2013 Artist of the Year recognition.
As the competition for 2013 design begins, Big Sweep is recognizing Kendall Quick, the 2012
design winner. Quick, a Mount Pleasant High School student, received $100 and a new title, 2012 North
Carolina Big Sweep Artist of the Year. Just like this year’s contest for the 2013 design, the contest was
open to all North Carolina students in grades kindergarten through 12. Entries poured in from all across
the state. The competition was so tight that the judges had trouble selecting one winner, Bolin said.
“One of our goals in this contest was to get the students to think about litter and what we should
do about it. Quick came up with a creative way to express it,” Bolin said.
Quick’s inspired design features the “I” in Big Sweep as an active broom.
The slogan, “Help keep NC litter free!” is included in the one of the puffs created by the broom.
North Carolina Big Sweep, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is a litter-free
environment, was founded in 1987 as Beach Sweep, a coastal cleanup with 1,000 volunteers. It
expanded inland in 1989 to become Big Sweep, the nation’s first statewide waterway cleanup. In 2002,
its mission grew to include not only litter-free waters but our whole environment.
These cleanups are important because litter can last hundreds of years in our environment.
Before it decomposes, litter can hurt our economy. Businesses refuse to locate to an area if it is too
trashy. Tourists won’t linger in trashy areas, they won’t spend money, and they won’t return with their
friends. Litter is also a human health hazard, when it contaminates our water supply as it decomposes.
It’s deadly to wildlife that eat or become entangled in litter, and once entangled, wildlife often attract
other wildlife to the same hazard.
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NORTH CAROLINA BIG SWEEP STATEWIDE HEADQUARTERS
P.O. Box 126, Zebulon, NC 27597 E-mail ncbigsweep@bellsouth.net
Phone (800) 27-sweep or (919) 269-9380 Fax (919) 269-9382 Website www.ncbigsweep.org

3. Contest Deadline is Oct. 15, 2012. The winning entry will be announced no later than Nov. 1,
2012. The Artist with the best design will receive $100, and the winning design may be used on
T-shirts and other printed materials advertising the 2013 North Carolina Big Sweep annual
statewide cleanup.
CONTEST GUIDELINES:
 All students in grades K-12 are eligible. A student from elementary, middle and
high school will be recognized, but only one student from K-12 will be a
winner.
 Use only unlined 8½ x 11 white paper.
 Put your name, age, school name, address and phone number on the back of
your artwork.
 DON’T USE PENCIL! Use no more than three (3) colors on the design.
 Do your own work; computer generated designs must not be copyrighted.
 Only one submission per person.
 Mail your entry to:
North Carolina Big Sweep
P.O. Box 126
Zebulon, NC 27597-0126
All entries become property of North Carolina Big Sweep and will not be returned.
Designs will be judged on: (1) Message, (2) Educational Value, (3) Originality, (4) Attractiveness.
North Carolina Big Sweep is an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is litter-free
environment. Founded in 1987 by Dr. Lundie Spence of NC State University’s Sea Grant College
Program, Big Sweep is best known for its annual cleanup. Last year, over 16,000 Big Sweep
volunteers retrieved almost 400,000 pounds of debris in North Carolina. This annual statewide
cleanup is important because litter is not only ugly but it also hurts our economy, contaminates our
water supply, attracts disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents, and is harmful to wildlife. For
more information, visit www.ncbigsweep.org