Edmonds girl wins 2015 Poison Prevention Week Poster Contest

Maia's winning poster
Maia’s winning poster

For the second straight year, a Holy Rosary student from Edmonds has won the Washington State Poison Prevention Week poster contest. And four other Holy Rosary students were named runners-up in the contest.

Maia Seeley, 10, will be awarded $500 and her poster will be featured as the Washington Poison Center’s 2015 Poison Prevention Week poster. It will also be displayed at several branches of Umpqua Bank, the contest’s sponsor. In addition, Maia will be honored during a March 17 assembly at Holy Rosary that will also include a visit by poison prevention ambassador Mr. Yuk.

Poison Prevention Week is focused on educating the public about poisonings, which are the leading cause of accidental death in Washington State. Maia’s brightly colored poster demonstrates how to use Yuk stickers to protect family members from accidental poisoning and encourages everyone to be aware of potential poison dangers.

The four Holy Rosary students named as runners-up were Claudia Cano,11; Taylor O’Brien, 11; Ashlyn Rucker, 9 and Tyler Bailey, 10, all from Edmonds. The other regional runners-up were Arabelle Wright, 10, of Spokane and Nadia Eid, 9 of Yakima. Each of the runners-up receives $100, courtesy of Umpqua Bank.

What’s the secret to Holy Rosary’s success? Terri Suzuki, Washington Poison Control’s Development Director, notes that the K-8 school has a volunteer, Annette Colobong, who provides “really good poison prevention education.”

“Our judging is totally blind,” Suzuki explained via email. “In both the first round and final round, the judges don’t get to see the children’s names, ages or where they are from. It just worked out this way!”

Last year’s winner was Edmonds 11-year-old Cecilia Wroblewski, also a Holy Rosary student.

Maia’s winning poster, and the posters of the six runners up, will also be featured on the Washington Poison Center’s website and on the poison center’s Facebook page. The staff at the Washington Poison Center invites every resident in the state to celebrate Poison Prevention Week March 15-21, 2015 by programming the free poison center number into their cell phones (1-800-222-1222), getting rid of old medications, poison proofing their home, and requesting a “Yuk Pak” by calling the toll-free number.

If you are concerned that a poisoning may have occurred, immediately call your Poison Center’s 24/7 hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Calling from a Washington state phone number will connect you to one of the Washington Poison Center’s specially-trained pharmacists, nurses or poison specialists. Poison help is always free and confidential. Services are available for non-English speakers, and those with hearing problems can call 711 for the Washington Relay service.

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