CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey recently announced eight students from Southern West Virginia as the winners of the seventh Kids Kick Opioids contest.
This contest is to bring awareness to opioid prescription abuse while using creativity.
The regional winners are:
- Skylar Adkins of Duval PK-8 School in Lincoln County
- Lukas Jenkins and Shelby Worrell of Glenwood School in Mercer County
- Olivia Belcher of Montcalm Elementary School in Mercer County
- Jaci Mills of Spanishburg Elementary School in Mercer County
- Evee Matheny, Maci Marcum and Jace Collier of Lenore PK-8 School in Mingo County
“Drug abuse needlessly claims too many lives, and our hope is the entries from these artistic students will bring greater awareness and change, these entries really showcase the tremendous talent of our elementary and middle school participants. These artworks underscore the impact of the opioid epidemic on our young students. They are growing up in a time when drug abuse runs rampant. Our hope is their artwork will bring about greater awareness and a renewed commitment to change,” Attorney General Morrisey said.
Approximately 2,347 entries from 2,450 students at 66 middle and elementary schools across West Virginia were submitted and included drawings, poems and other designs to help raise awareness of this problem in the Mountain State.
The winning entry will appear in newspapers across the Mountain State as the Attorney General’s next public service announcement.
Kids Kick Opioids is a contest that not only brings awareness but is an initiative through which the Attorney General has used to help decrease West Virginia’s drug overdose death rate, which included many lawsuits from the drug as well.
