April 26, 2021
Sandy High School
Sandy, OR: Vans Shoes has announced the top 50 schools for the Vans Custom Culture Contest, and Sandy High School is the only Oregon high school to make it in the top 50. Vans Custom Culture first launched in 2010, intending to bring to the forefront an awareness of the importance of arts education to the overall skill development of our students. Since 2010, Vans has invested over $1 million in high school art programs nationwide.
Having entered the contest for each of the past eight years, the stress of designing and painting the shoes is nothing unfamiliar to Mr. Shanklin's art students. "I really enjoyed being part of a project that has the ability to impact our school and the community. It was great being able to collaborate with my classmates and bring our creative minds together to give back to the community that fosters and advocates for artistic enrichment. "Says Cinthya Bautista, a third-year art student at Sandy High School.
Approximately 2,000 high schools enter the contest each year, and through an application/registration process involving designing shoe templates, Vans selects the top 250 schools. This year, Vans sent out two pairs of shoes to the 250 selected schools and gave them four weeks to create and design two different ideas for two themes: "Hometown Pride" and "Head in the Clouds." The participating schools then uploaded a photo of each themed shoe along with a five-hundred-word impact document on what they would do if they won the money. Vans then selected the top 50 schools based on overall creativity, originality, imagination of shoe design, and how effectively the Impact document adhered to the positive impact of winning $50,000.
PLEASE VOTE DAILY!
Voting takes place between April 26th and May 7th, which gives each of the 50 schools two weeks to get as many votes in as possible before voting closes. The top five schools will be awarded $15,000. At the final virtual ceremony, the top school is selected and awarded $50,000 for their art department to use for any supplies they might need.
To vote, go to https://customculture.vans.com/2021/login and choose Sandy High School. You may vote once per IP address per day, so be sure to come back to help Sandy High School win $50,000.