Congratulations to Bellbrook High School’s Ember-Marie Day and Bellbrook Middle School’s Audrey Cronin for the award-winning artistry they submitted to the GEM Project Dayton Art Contest for Suicide Prevention. Day earned an Emerging Artist Award and Cronin won a Radiant Ruby Award.
GEM Project Dayton is dedicated to fighting suicide in the Dayton area. GEM stands for Goal: Everyone Matters with a focus to curb youth suicide through peer-to-peer education and support.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death of youth ages 10 to 24, and 5,200 youth die by suicide every single year.
The goal of GEM Project Dayton is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide by getting people to talk about these problems that have gone largely unaddressed.
The contest is for students grades 6 to 12 in the greater Dayton area. Artwork submitted to the contest was judged on artist’s statement, relevance to theme, impact, creativity and design and craftmanship. Winners received between $50 and $1,000.
The award was launched on Oct. 10, World Mental Health Day and submissions closed in January. The awards ceremony was held in late February.