Happy Hands Dispenser Design Contest

Deb Group has launched the Happy Hands Dispenser Design Contest to engage students in promoting proper hand hygiene through creativity. Pre-registration is now open, and the contest invites students to design a unique soap or sanitizer dispenser that will help raise awareness about handwashing and healthy habits at school.

The contest offers meaningful rewards for both students and schools. Each category winner—elementary, middle and high school—will receive a $200 gift card, and the winning student’s school will receive a $500 donation. In addition, Deb Group will provide free custom printing of the winning designs on up to 500 manual Deb soap or sanitizer dispensers for use at the winning students’ schools.

Schools can pre-register online through October 2, 2016 at info.debgroup.com/happyhands. For more information about Deb Group, see Deb Group.

The Happy Hands program not only supports artistic expression, but also reinforces essential health education. “It is vital for children to understand the importance of proper hand hygiene,” said Isabelle Faivre, Vice President of Marketing, Deb North America. As part of the contest, Deb Group will provide teachers with clear, age-appropriate hand hygiene resources—posters and other learning materials designed to make handwashing education simple and engaging throughout the school year.

The contest is open to all students in grades kindergarten through 12. Designs will be judged based on visual appeal, overall composition, creativity and distinctive design elements. Entrants should focus on originality and clarity of message, keeping in mind that the final artwork will be printed on a functional dispenser that will be used by many students and staff.

Selection and voting follow a multi-stage process. Representatives from Healthy Schools Campaign will review submissions and help select 10 finalists in each category. From January 16, 2017 through February 19, the public will be invited to vote for their favorite finalist designs. The designs receiving the most votes in each category will be announced on March 1, 2017.

Rochelle Davis, CEO and President of Healthy Schools Campaign, praised the initiative: “We appreciate Deb Group’s support of our Green Clean Schools program and applaud them for developing the Healthy Hands contest to educate students about the importance of hand hygiene at school and home. The contest will teach students proper hand hygiene techniques early on, which will help them establish lifelong hand washing habits.”

Educators signing up for the contest should expect to receive a kit of supporting materials to help guide classroom activities related to the design project. These resources aim to make the subject of hand hygiene accessible and fun, reinforcing key techniques such as proper handwashing duration and when to use soap or sanitizer. Teachers are encouraged to integrate the contest into art, health or science lessons to create a cross-curricular learning experience.

To submit strong entries, students should consider bold, simple designs that communicate a clear hand hygiene message and reproduce well at scale. Since the winning artwork will be printed on dispensers, high-contrast colors, readable shapes, and memorable motifs often perform well in public voting. Entries are evaluated on artistic merit as well as how effectively they encourage good hygiene behavior among peers.

Additional contest details will be announced on October 3. For questions or further information, contact Christina Alvarez by email at [email protected] or by phone at 214-720-5943.

The Happy Hands Dispenser Design Contest combines creativity, community involvement and public health education, giving students a tangible way to promote hand hygiene at school while potentially seeing their artwork used across their campus.