For 2019, PWP restarted its tradition to hold a writing contest within the Westhill Schools to determine additional organizations to receive our charitable funds. The response was over 200 submitted entries and five additional recipients of funds. We would like to thank each and every person who took the time to submit an entry and almost overwhelm us with heartfelt stories of causes near and dear to your heart. The Future Educators Club of America at Westhill High School judged the contest. Choosing the winners was a very difficult task and we would like to congratulate the following people and bring attention to their winning causes:

Walberta Park School classroom winning entry- Miss Klee’s kindergarten class (image, upper right) advocating for Misfits Animal Rescue and Sanctuary.

Walberta Park school individual student winning entry- Elliott Kalinowski (image, middle), a first grader in Mrs. Vercillo’s class advocating for the ALS Association Upstate New York chapter in her uncle Joe’s memory.

Cherry Road School student winning entry- Fourth grader Zoe Zuckerman (image, lower left) advocating for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society in honor of her aunt.

Onondaga Middle School student winning entry- Iris Markham, an eigth grader, (image, upper left) advocating for Susan G. Komen Upstate New York in honor of her mother.

Westhill High School student winning entry- Eleventh grader Jenna Gere (image, lower right) advocating for Donate Life America, in her friend Riley Thayer’s memory.

The winners and their causes were all recognized on race day. You can read their very special writing contest entries to learn more about their personal connections to their causes within this .pdf.

Thanks again to everyone that participated in or helped with this portion of Paint Westvale Purple for 2019!