Emma Hutchison-Deehr and her mother, Beth Hutchison, display Emma’s drawing on the 2015-16 Richland County Children Services calendar.
When Emma Hutchison-Deehr sat down to draw her entry for the Richland County Children Services 2015-16 calendar she knew exactly what her subject would be.
“I drew my family. They make me feel safe,” she said.
Emma, 9, a fourth-grader at Malabar Intermediate School, was at Woodland Elementary School last year when she learned that she was one of 12 third-graders in the county whose art would grace the calendar.
The theme of the second-annual calendar contest was “Be a hero to a child.”
Emma’s drawing includes an orange cloud which says “Thank you for being my hero.” It is featured on the September page; coincidentally, her mother’s birthday is Sept. 1.
“I’m very proud of Emma,” said Beth Hutchison, a food service employee at Malabar. “Her grandpa is an architect. I think she got some of her art ability from him.”
Carl Hunnell, communications supervisor for Children Services, said the calendar contest was open to all third-graders in Richland County. While not all schools participated, the agency received many drawings.
“We spread them all out and the staff reviewed them carefully,” Hunnell said. “We narrowed them down, then narrowed them down again until we felt that we had the 12 that best represented our theme.”
Emma’s received a $25 gift card from Children Services but her fortunes didn’t end with the calendar. Her drawing also graced invitations to Children Services’ annual foster parent appreciation dinner in May.
“Emma’s drawing included several members of her extended family. We thought it was perfect for the foster parent dinner invitations,” Hunnell said.
Although Emma’s family is not a foster family, she and her mother attended the dinner at the invitation of the agency.
“I love drawing,” Emma said. “I really love art.”
Her favorite subjects at school? “I love them all.”