Quick, name three charities/organizations that you think would be most likely to sponsor a “Youth Wildlife Art Contest” that gives money and scholarships to young, talented art students.
If you said Sierra Club, PETA, or Greenpeace, you’d be wrong on all counts. In fact, the sponsor of the event is the NRA. Now, I know that might be confusing for some people, especially those who suffer under the delusion that the NRA is an evil organization dedicated to training children to become vicious gun murderers.
Anyway, this is the 20th year for the NRA Youth Wildlife Contest; this year they received the most entries that they have received in the history of the event. The rules are simply stated:
Contest entries could portray any North American game bird or animal that may be legally hunted or trapped. Endangered species and non-game animals, such as eagles and snakes, were not eligible subjects.
The winner for this year in the grades 10-12 category was Monica Burtley, who last year won the Best in Show for grades 6-9.
Now, while I don’t think that this will have any effects on the people that truly believe that the NRA is evil, those are not the people I’m writing for. For the people in the middle – this is what the NRA is actually about. It’s not about giving guns to children, or flooding our cities with weapons, or any of the hyperbole that you might hear.
It is about education, safety, and conservation.
Oh crap, a first grader can draw better than me.
Here’s the link to all the winners.
These kids are seriously good. The winner of the 1-3 graders is my favorite.