MHS Art Buddies

MHS Art Department Wins Prize During Blue Ribbon Buddy Campaign

LPS Communications

March 24, 2023

The MacArthur High School (MHS) Art department received a prize after being invited to participate in the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Southwest Oklahoma Blue Ribbon Buddy Campaign.
 
At the beginning of the spring semester, the MHS Art Department was invited by the CASA of Southwest Oklahoma to participate in the campaign. Every year they invite art programs from around the region to paint one or two of the “buddies”, which are wooden cutouts of children. Those “buddies” are sponsored by businesses or individuals and displayed to help raise awareness in April for Child Abuse Prevention month. 
 
“After receiving the letter, I presented the opportunity to MacArthur’s Art Club and asked if it was something they would be interested in doing,” said MHS Art and Ceramics teacher Jacqueline Harmon. “Their answer was a resounding ‘YES!’ and they brainstormed ideas for the buddies, painted them, and then we sent them back to CASA and crossed our fingers that we would win.”
 
The winners were decided by vote so the Art Club spread the word all over the school and MHS showed up in a big way, taking advantage of the social media accounts, sending out an email campaign to the staff, and passing out physical flyers to make sure everyone knew to vote on the CASA’s website. When the voting finished, the winning boy and girl “buddy” each won $250 prizes and MacArthur Art won both!
 
“When we found out that we won, we were thrilled,” added Harmon. “Art supplies are expensive so receiving awards like that helps us keep our art program going.” It was a lot of hard work and a learning experience for them, but they pulled through and had a lot of fun creating their buddies.”
 
In addition to the prize money, Harmon stated that having the Art Club members see the efforts of their creativity be appreciated and celebrated is a boost of their growing talents and abilities. They were proud to share them with a good cause like the Blue Ribbon Buddy Campaign. It also helped them see how their hard work can benefit others.