Staff Reports
Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County is distributing 8,000 postcards across the community through Thursday as part of the annual Shine On campaign to celebrate United Nations International Youth Day.
The purpose of the campaign is to encourage community members to write a special message on the postcards and share them with young people in their life.
The council distributed 1,500 postcards at the Bartholomew County School Supply Assistance Program backpack distribution and will be handing them out from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today at the Columbus Farmers Market in downtown Columbus behind Columbus City Hall.
The public may also pick up postcards from any one of a number of distribution sites across the community including Foundation for Youth, Columbus Visitors Center, Bartholomew County Library, Viewpoint Books, 411 Gallery, kidscommons, United Way of Bartholomew County and the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. administration building.
While the tradition of the Shine On postcards is to highlight youth day, this year also marks the special milestone of the city and county bicentennial, which is highlighted in the artwork.
Those participating in the campaign may also celebrate by posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #ShineOn2021.
The postcards were created by student artists in seventh grade through high school. The artwork selected for the postcards was created by artists Ellie Jones, Grace Whaley, Taylor Henson and Emersyn Motsko, each creating original artwork based on their interpretation of “Shine On” and the theme “Common Ground” for the bicentennial.
Jones is in the seventh grade at St. Peter’s Lutheran School. She enjoys competitive cheerleading and swimming. She is also involved in St. Peter’s Youth Ministry. Ellie’s favorite thing about participating in the Shine On campaign was the encouragement she got from her parents.
Whaley is a senior at Columbus North High School. She is a food service employee at Columbus Regional Health. She is interesting in pursuing an education in the real estate industry after graduation. Grace’s favorite thing about participating in Shine On was getting to design digital art and create something with a lot of meaning.
Henson is a freshman at Jennings County High School. In her free time, Taylor loves to draw, paint, help others, and hang out with her friends. Taylor’s favorite part about participating in the 2021 Shine On Postcard Campaign was getting the chance to express herself and put her ideas on a piece of paper.
Motsko is a senior at Carmel High School. Some of her interests and hobbies include art and animals. Her artwork represents the Columbus Area Bicentennial in the way that all of the people in the drawing are doing different activities.
