GREENSBORO — Two weeks remain for artists to submit a design for the cover of Greensboro Urban Ministry’s 2024 Honor Card, which is a major funding source for the agency that provides a community safety net.
The contest is open to professional and amateur artists 16 and older who are current residents of Guilford County.
The winner will receive a $3,500 stipend and gain exposure from their work getting into the hands of thousands of people every year. Greensboro Urban Ministry provides programs and services for the hungry and homeless.
“The art contest is an opportunity for local artists in the community to share their talents and help us raise funds which provide resources for the most vulnerable in our community to regain stability and hope,” said Brian Hahne, the organization’s CEO.
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Honor cards provide a gift to the organization in someone’s honor and go on sale in the fall to coincide with the major end-of-the-year holidays. Each year, an artist paints a special winter scene for the holiday season that conveys a message of hope. The design should have a general appeal regardless of faith or ethnicity.
Urban Ministry has raised more than $6 million from its annual honor card over the past 41 years and gets 100 percent of the sales. The card was introduced in 1987, and artist Bill Mangum got involved the next year and created most of the covers over the next 35 years.
One of the state’s best-known artists, Mangum often paired the picturesque and subtly poignant.
Take the cover of the 2004 card, featuring a late-night stroll through a neighborhood glittering with lights and covered in snow. Some art lovers consider it a masterpiece on its own, based on sales of the print. The man in the painting, though, isn’t on his way home.
Actually, he has no home or decent shoes to walk in.
People who donate at least $5 get a card to keep or to send to family or friends informing them a donation has been made in their honor. The average donation ends up being about $11.
Artists are encouraged to create an original design in color and upload an image of their drawing or painting to the Urban Ministry website, www.greensborourbanministry.org, before 5 p.m. on April 26.
Those involved with Greensboro Urban Ministry and other nonprofits who produce honor cards say they are key to continuing the work they do, especially in a tough economy.
With more people out of work and asking for help with food, utility assistance or a new start, Urban Ministry officials want the cards to be must-haves on holiday shopping lists.
More information is available on the Greensboro Urban Ministry’s website: www.greensborourbanministry.org.