River Parishes Hospital held its 12th annual Young At Art Reception in the River Parishes Hospital Medical Pavilion. Monthly art winners from December 2012 through November 2013 and their families were invited to attend. Each winner was recognized and three overall winners were announced.

Tammy Waltz, community relations coordinator at River Parishes Hospital, welcomed everyone to the reception and explained why the hospital decided to implement this community program.

“We started this program to be able to invite our young adults to visit the hospital in hopes of lessening their fear of being in a hospital,” said Waltz. “When we started the program, we never dreamed it would take off the way it did and still be this successful 12 years later. Our calendar fills up quickly every year. Our teachers and students are always excited to be able to display their artwork, and we consistently receive compliments on the pictures from patients and visitors.”

She explained that the program is designed for students in grades pre-K through sixth. Two classes are featured each month. Every student who participates receives a goody bag from the hospital. Community judges are solicited to select one picture from each class that they feel stands out from the rest. Winners are then presented with a blue ribbon from the hospital and additional prizes from the Louisiana Federal Credit Union.

Waltz introduced and welcomed Kim Bourgeois, business development coordinator at the Louisiana Federal Credit Union, which partnered with the hospital in 2013 to provide the program. Each month, the winning students are presented with a $20 savings certificate from the Credit Union.

“We feel that arts in the schools are very important, so we were excited to get involved with this program,” said Bourgeois. “We also wanted to instill in our young adults the importance of saving money, which is why we help them get started with opening their own savings account. We also have several other rewards programs that we offer to students for maintaining good grades.”

Waltz announced each monthly winner and presented him/her with a monogrammed frame from the hospital and a tote bag from the Credit Union. She then turned the microphone over to Bourgeois who announced the three overall winners. The third-place winner was Adriana Jimenez, a student at East St. John Elementary School. She received a third-place ribbon and a $25 savings certificate. Second place went to Farrah Pate, a student at Harry Hurst Middle School. She won a second-place ribbon and $50 savings certificate. The first-place winner was Jaiya Lumar, a student at Gramercy Elementary School. She won a first-place ribbon and a $75 savings certificate.

Afterwards, all attendees were invited to play holiday games for prizes. Waltz invited everyone to visit the Young At Art display in the hospital to see if they could select the winners that would be announced for December.