Students decorate grocery bags

The next time you go to the grocery store, you might come home with more than just fruits and vegetables but perhaps with a piece of art.

Throughout the month of April, the Johnson County Community Partnership for Protecting Children will sell 600 reusable grocery bags decorated by local art students in the Iowa City Community School District at local Hy-Vee and Fareway grocery stores. The goal of the project is to raise awareness for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, said CPPC coordinator and Johnson County Community Projects specialist LaTasha Massey. Bags will be sold for $2 each to cover the cost of the bags, she said.

The bag project is a new endeavor by the organization and the totes will serve as a portable, reusable community education piece, Massey said. Students in grades K-6 drew pictures of something they need to feel safe in a community, she said.

Some students drew warm coats in wintertime, Massey said. Others drew homes or plates of food. Some are in different languages, she said.

"Eighty percent of child abuse is child neglect, so we wanted to do a community education piece ... that came from looking at the eight key things the Department of Human Services looks at when looking at child neglect," she said. "(The students') interpretations of what they need to be safe and healthy to turn into a functional adult are really awesome."

The purpose of the project, Massey said, is for children to remind adults of the important things they need to meet their needs. She said she hopes the number of children being abused under denial of critical care will decrease.

Lisa Hildebrand, ICCSD art coordinator and art teacher at Van Allen Elementary, said she is happy that every elementary school in the district is participating in the project.

"This was a wonderful opportunity for art classes to participate in with the CPPC," she said. "Students were able to see a connection with their artwork and the community."

Both Massey and Hildebrand hope to continue the project in future years.

"We've been working on this since October, so it's great to see (the results)," Massey said. "If it goes over really well this year, we will do it next year."