KMART - 'ART OF GIVING'

For release: 28 August 2009

Students Encouraged To Submit 'Art Of Giving' Entries

...and be in the running to win a share of $25,000

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There is still time for primary school students to enter Kmart's first ever art of giving competition, which offers a total of $25,000 cash for winning schools.

The competition invites students to draw, paint a picture or make a collage that represents the spirit of giving to them. The national winning artwork will be used to promote Kmart's 2009 Wishing Tree appeal.

"Young people have clearly warmed to the theme of giving and some of the entries we have already received are fantastic, but there may well be schools that have not yet entered, which could benefit from the prize money and which may have a good chance of winning provided they don't let our deadline of Monday 31 August slip by," said Kmart NZ Manager, Sue Smith.

"Kmart developed this competition because we wanted to give back to the community and show our support for local schools and their students," said Sue.

Inspired by the annual Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal, the competition is intended to get children thinking about what 'giving' actually means.

Two schools from the North Island(with upper and lower age category winners) and two schools from the South Island (with upper and lower age category winners) will each receive $2,500 cash. One of these schools will also become the New Zealand winner and receive additional $10,000 cash.

Parents, students and teachers will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite artwork online, adding another $2,500 in prize money for the two schools winning the People's Choice Awards.

Schools aren't the only winners in the competition. The winning New Zealand student with the best artwork overall will receive an 8GB iPod touch, while the upper age category winners of the North & South Island competition and the People's Choice Award will win an Apple 8GB iPod nano. The lower age category winners of the North & South Island competition and People's Choice Award will win a Nintendo DS Lite.

Entries are open in two age categories (5-9 year olds and 10-12 year olds) and must be prepared by individuals currently attending a New Zealand primary school. Artworks can be prepared on any medium (such as paper, card or canvas) and should be in either A4, A3 or A2 size.

The competition closes on Monday 31 August.

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