New York, NY - June 1, 2006 – Twelve New York City schoolchildren were recognized for their educational Asthma posters last night during Health Plus’s 5th Annual Asthma Poster Contest awards ceremony at Shea Stadium.  In an awards ceremony held at Shea’s Director’s Room and attended by several Mets bigwigs and players, the top three prize-winning young artists were given gift certificates, while all twelve– each an elementary school student from New York City public schools – received citations and goody bags and will have their posters displayed at Health Plus offices across the five boroughs and featured in the 2007 Department of Transportation (DOT)/Health Plus calendar.

First place winner, Desiree Vargas, a fourth-grader from P.S. 169 in Brooklyn, spoke at the ceremony upon receiving her award. Other winners included 2nd place Patrick Limage (P.S. 172, Brooklyn) and 3rd place Robert Costello (P.S.169, Brooklyn). Nine other students from schools across the city received honorable mention.

At the awards ceremony, which took place before the game, the students were also given a chance to pose for photos with new Mets outfielder Endy Chavez, who coincidentally hit the winning run later that evening in a dramatic 13th inning play.

After the ceremony, the children, their parents, and administrators joined Health Plus Executive Director Tom Early and staff as their guests at an exciting Mets v. Arizona Diamondbacks game.

Students from throughout the city were asked to create posters that made the connection between asthma and air quality.  The theme was: “Don’t let asthma keep you down. Stand up for clean air.” The posters were chosen for their creativity, beauty, and informational message.  Students depicted a broad range of messages in their art pertaining to asthma.  Some focused on the disease’s triggers, such as pollution, smoke, cars, and roaches.  Other posters had messages encouraging people to overcome the disease.

The judges for the contest, representatives from Health Plus, the DOT, the Department of Education, the Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center, the American Lung Association, and the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, decided the twelve best posters of 115 entries early last month.

“Health Plus is proud to put this event together and partner with these great organizations to promote combating and managing asthma,” says Tom Early, Executive Director for Health Plus, one of New York City’s premier providers of free and affordable healthcare to children and adults.  “This effort will not only encourage young artists, but it will educate many people about a disease that affects this city drastically. Our company offers a number of great programs to help families fight asthma. But this annual poster awards ceremony is certainly the most fun. Especially,”
adds the avid Mets fan, “with this chance to watch the Mets beat the Diamondbacks in extra innings!”