Enter the 2013 FYSB Mural Contest – Empower Youth and Brighten Your Space

Want to engage youth in a creative activity that helps them take ownership of their space? Enter your young people in the Family and Youth Services Bureau's Runaway and Homeless Youth Mural Contest. You could win the materials for youth to paint a mural in your program.

That’s just what happened to the Colorado Rural Collaborative Youth Leadership Team, which provided the 2012 winning entry. Their mural design combined tiles from nine different youth-serving agencies into one powerful composition reminding viewers that “November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month.”

This November, youth representatives from the winning team will talk about their mural and how it represents their programs at the 2012 National Runaway and Homeless Youth Grantee Conference in Indianapolis, IN. 

To Apply

Applicants must be grantees of FYSB’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Program. Please submit the following:

• a rough sketch of the mural design
• a one- to two-page write-up detailing the meaning of your mural and the youth-driven creative process
• a release form allowing NCFY to publish your entry on our site

A panel of FYSB staff and youth will judge the drawings based on the meaningfulness and creativity of the design and the extent to which Positive Youth Development was used in the process. The winning agency will be given a gift card to cover the purchase of art supplies. Canvas can be used if the winning facility prefers for paint not to be applied on their walls directly.

Looking for guidance as you prepare your 2013 application? Entries from last year’s second and third place winners are also featured on the NCFY website.

Materials are due to ncfy@acf.hhs.gov by 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, January 25, 2013. Please live chat or call us at (301) 608-8098 if you have questions.