13 pediatric kidney patients hope to become the cover artist for 2019 American Kidney Fund calendar

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, May 01, 2018 -- Thirteen young kidney patients from across the country are lighting up their social networks asking friends and family to help put their artwork on the cover of the American Kidney Fund’s (AKF) 2019 calendar.

The 13 are finalists in AKF’s 23rd annual Calendar Kids Art Contest, and the cover art will be selected through online voting. All 13 winners receive a gift card and will have their art published in the calendar, which will be available for purchase in October. Each young artist who entered the contest lives with kidney disease.

The artwork that gets the most votes in AKF’s online contest will appear on the cover, and the young artist will also win a trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at AKF’s annual gala, The Hope Affair, on October 3. Online voting to select the cover art is underway on AKF’s website and will continue until May 15.

The winners of the Calendar Kids Art Contest, whose artwork will appear in the 2019 AKF calendar, are:

• Faith Bailey, 13, of Carrolton, Missouri: “Dancing My Way Through Dialysis”
• Dylan Conteras, 15, of Philadelphia: “New and Bold”
• Jocelyn DeLeon-Sanic, 3, Trenton, New Jersey: “Bunnies”
• Manuel Gutierrez, 16, Houston: “Planting Hope”
• Cynthia Melchor, 15, Van Nuys, California: “Kidney Love”
• De'Nahri Middleton, age 7, of Jackson, Mississippi: “Kidneyman: Gives Us Magic Water to Save Our Kidneys”
• Isabelle Moore, 16, Louisville, Colorado: “Day at the beach”
• Mariolis Ramos, 15, Camden, New Jersey: “Dancing Kidneys”
• Darrianne Richardson, 16, Renton, Washington: “Celebrate Life”
• Amelia Rowniewski, 12, Wallington, New Jersey: “Aim High”
• Grace Utter, 16, Cherry Valley, New York: “My Inspiration”
• Zoe Walker, 6, Seattle: “Butterfly Town - Beautiful!”
•  Isaac Wyckoff, 10, of Vancouver, Washington: “In Good Hands”

“Each year we are inspired by the entries we receive in our Calendar Kids Art Contest and by each child’s story,” said LaVarne A. Burton, president and CEO of the American Kidney Fund. “Through their art, these young artists can teach us all something about keeping a positive outlook, even in the face of living with kidney disease.”

Since 1995, the AKF Calendar Kids Art Contest has provided an opportunity for pediatric kidney patients to express themselves through artwork and to receive national recognition. Distributed nationwide, AKF’s calendar helps raise awareness of kidney disease and the importance of prevention and early detection It is estimated that each year, 1 in 65,000 children in the United States have kidney failure, which can only be treated by dialysis or transplantation.

The 2019 calendars will be available for purchase through AKF’s website beginning in October. For more information about the Calendar Kids Art Contest and other AKF programs for children, visit KidneyFund.org.

About the American Kidney Fund

As the nation’s leading nonprofit working on behalf of the 30 million Americans with kidney disease, the American Kidney Fund is dedicated to ensuring that every kidney patient has access to health care, and that every person at risk for kidney disease is empowered to prevent it. AKF provides a complete spectrum of programs and services: prevention outreach, top-rated health educational resources, and direct financial assistance enabling 1 in 5 U.S. dialysis patients to access lifesaving medical care, including dialysis and transplantation. AKF holds the highest ratings from the nation’s charity watchdog groups, including Charity Navigator, which includes AKF on its “top 10” list of nonprofits with the longest track records of outstanding stewardship of the donated dollar, and GuideStar, which has awarded AKF its Platinum Seal of Transparency.

For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.   

Alice Andors
American Kidney Fund
240-292-7053
[email protected]