Lawrence Middle School student, Eliza Wirkijowski, won grand prize in Mrs. G’s TV & Appliances second annual “Paint Our Fridge Pink” contest.
Mrs. G’s challenged Mercer County middle and upper school students to create a design to raise awareness for breast cancer that would be painted on retired refrigerators. Wirjijowski and three other finalist gathered at the appliance store in October to paint their designs. An online voting process to determine the placement of the finalist ran through Nov. 9 .
Mrs. G’s owner Debbie Schaeffer and Arts Council of Princeton executive director Jeff Nathanson chose Wirkijowski’s artwork as the grand prize winner. Wirkijowski’s design illustrated the statistic “1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.” Mrs. G’s will award her $150.
“It was a hard decision to choose among such talented designs created by local students,” Schaeffer said. “When it came to making the final decision, Eliza’s use of the breast cancer statistic in addition to having a strong visual impact is what led us to choose her for grand prize.”
Cash prizes were awarded to a first runner-up, second runner-up and two honorable mention designs whose results were based solely on the online voting numbers. First runner-up was Hamilton High School West student Annastacia Jimenez, age 16. Second runner-up was Thomas Grover Middle School student Siddharth Muchhal, age 13. The honorable mentions were Reynolds Middle School student Skylar Bajek, age 12, and Princeton Day School student Charlotte Zaininger, age 16.
Both the grand prize and first Runner Up refrigerators will remain on display in the Mrs. G showroom in Lawrenceville and will be showcased at the annual Blue Point Grille Oyster Bowl in February, which is also a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen of Central and South Jersey. Mrs. G’s plans to donate $500 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Central & South Jersey.
