Fairfax City resident and JMU student Brian Wilk receives a $200 prize for creating the winning image for Our Daily Bread and Food for Others' 2014 Complete the Circle FoodRaiser. Presenting him with the check are (from left): Kista Fleming, Vice President and Area Manager of United Bank, an event supporter; Our Daily Bread Executive Director Lisa Whetzel and Food for Others Volunteer and Operations Manager Nikki Clifford. Photo courtesy of Our Daily Bread
Fairfax-based charities Our Daily Bread (ODB) and Food for Others (FFO) have announced the winner of its third annual Complete the Circle Art Contest. Fairfax City resident and James Madison University student Brian Wilk’s design was chosen from a host of images submitted by community members as the design that hundreds of participants will turn into a “living picture,” photographed from high above by Art for the Sky’s Daniel Dancer on the practice field at Fairfax High School, on the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2014. The outer circle of the design will be created from food donations contributed by participants that day.
Our Daily Bread and Food for Others’ Complete the Circle Event and FoodRaiser seeks to raise awareness about hunger and need in our community, while also collecting food and funds to help struggling families in the Fairfax County area overcome financial hardship and put them on the path to self-sufficiency. Through ODB’s Food Bridge, Financial Assistance, Financial Literacy and Project BRIDGE programs and FFO’s food bank services, staff and volunteers work with individuals and families throughout the community to give them the tools they need to withstand a financial crisis while also helping them improve their future financial outlook.
ODB Executive Director Lisa Whetzel, FFO Volunteer and Operations Manager Nikki Clifford and Kista Fleming, Vice President and Area Manager for Complete the Circle supporting organization United Bank, awarded Wilk a $200 cash prize on July 29 after a panel of local judges selected his work from among a number of design concepts submitted by artists and community members of various ages and experience levels. The judges were Willow Bodman, Carmela Knepler and Jackie Garris. Wilk, 20, is a graduate of Fairfax High School and a junior at James Madison University, where he is majoring in graphic design.
Wilk said that as he developed his design, depicting a heart that is also an apple enveloping an outstretched hand that is offering a loaf of bread, he wanted it “to make people stop and think about world hunger. I also wanted it to prompt them to do their part to rectify the situation. I wanted everyone that purchased a shirt to look at it and truly feel like they could make a change.”
Our Daily Bread Executive Director Lisa Whetzel said, “Participating in Complete the Circle is a joyful way for community members to come together to be part of the solution to the very real problem of hunger and need in our midst. We welcome community members to join us that day and to start planning now to make the event even more meaningful by putting together a team of family, friends, coworkers or group members to participate that day and running a grocery card or food drive to help ‘Complete the Circle’ of giving and sharing.”
Food for Others Executive Director Roxanne Rice said, “This is a wonderful opportunity for individuals to volunteer their time and through a small donation, help lift up those in our community who are in need.”
Kista Fleming of United Bank said, “We pride ourselves in being a part of the community. We look forward to this year’s food collection and Complete the Circle FoodRaiser. United Bank celebrating 175 years of Banking Tradition.”
Our Daily Bread held its first Complete the Circle event in October 2011, and invited Food for Others to join in the event last year. The organizations’ goal for Complete the Circle 2014 is to gather 1,000 participants and raise $10,000 and 10,000 pounds of food to help needy individuals and families throughout the Fairfax County area. Participants will pay $5 to receive the official event T-shirt that will “color” the design created that day and bring grocery cards or pantry donations to assist clients of both organizations. Participants will also enjoy a family festival with live music, food, activities and entertainment. Our Daily Bread and Food for Others are seeking sponsors to underwrite the event and teams and individuals to participate. More information, including team and individual registration, is available at www.CompletetheCircleFX.org, or contact Jennifer Rose at develop@ODBFairfax.org or 703-273-8829 or Jessica Cogen at jcogen@foodforothers.org or 703-207-9173.
More information is available at www.ODBFairfax.org and www.foodforothers.org.