The Orange Shirt Day Society and a local company have partnered up for the 2020 Orange Shirt Societies Art Contest.
Tolko Industries will be sponsoring the contest that invites K to 12 students across Canada to develop an official design for Orange Shirt Day. Tolko will reward the winning student with $200 and pay for students and one parent airfare to meet Phyllis Webstad on Orange Shirt Day next year.
The announcement also marks the opening of the contest, which will be open until October 31.
Webstad, the founder and executive director of the Orange Shirt Society, said that they aren’t really looking for any specific when it comes to the design.
“We let out heart speak more than our minds,” she said. “Something that speaks to us, that is related to a survivor’s experience or the write up they give with the shirt and the meaning behind it.”
Last year 60 students submitted their designs for the t-shirt, won by Calgary Grade 9 student Jackson Eiteneier.
Webstad said to see students having an interest means they are learning the importance of residential schools.
“It means that they are learning about what happened to us in school, about what happened to residential school survivors in their families and learning about those children that never made it home,” she said.
Students can submit their designs to the Orange Shirt Society website.