DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711160023

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   61 lines

STUDENT DESIGNS HOLIDAY CARD FOR FOOD AGENCY WITH BIG HEART

There's no Hallmark crown on the flip side of these cards.

But that's OK with the young artist who designed them.

That's because the artist himself is credited on the back of each one:

Original Art by Kevin Edward Randall, Age 9. James Hurst Elementary School, Portsmouth.

``It makes me feel good to see my artwork on cards,'' said Kevin, a fourth-grader. ``I've already sent some to my grandmother, my aunt and my mother's friends.''

About a month ago, Kevin and a few other James Hurst students were asked by their art teacher, Betty Kay, to come up with a holiday scene that could be used on cards being distributed by the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.

``I asked the students to try to think of a note card that would, without words, describe what the Foodbank does,'' Kay said.

Among the half-dozen entries, Kevin's artwork - which shows a picnic scene in the woods - was selected by a panel of judges at the Foodbank.

``I came up with the idea while watching TV and looking at coloring books,'' said Kevin, the youngest of five children in his family.

Kevin's father, Vernon Randall, said he wasn't at all surprised that his son's work was selected for the cards.

``It looked like something that he would sit down and take his time doing,'' Randall said. ``It really shows the season, and it says a lot about this time of year.''

Although Kevin likes to spend most of his free time drawing, his mother said she also encourages him to write.

``In order for him to get any drawing paper, he has to write me a story,'' Maria Randall said with a laugh. ``So that's his incentive.''

The Foodbank is promoting the cards as the ``perfect'' holiday gift. For each $10 contribution to the Foodbank in someone's honor, the agency will send an acknowledgment card with this inscription:

This holiday card is a gift that gives twice. A contribution has been made in your honor to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia to help feed our neighbors in need this holiday season.

``Kevin took this very seriously, and I think that shows in his artwork,'' Kay said. ``He realized the importance of what the Foodbank is and what it does.''

The agency printed 1,000 cards with the scene.

``We'll use 500 or more to send out as the card with the greeting inside, then we printed some that were just blank so we could use them for note cards throughout the year,'' said Linda C. Berger, Foodbank's director of development. ``And we'll print more if we have to.''

The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia serves as a clearinghouse for the distribution of donated food to those in need. According to the agency, 170,000 Hampton Roads residents are considered at risk for needing food assistance every year. ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN NAKAMURA photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Nine-year-old Kevin Edward Randall of Portsmouth designed the

holiday card that the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia will be

distributing to people who make holiday donations.

The foodbank chose Randall's artwork for its holiday greeting card.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu