April 29th, 2020 – 11:20 AM
Rome City Schools Press Release-
Rome High School senior Savannah Lovell won the 2020 Family Resource Center (FRC) Poetry Competition in the special award category for family-oriented poetry. Her poem, titled “I Know,” is a personal poem about some of the experiences and challenges her family has faced.
According to school counselor April Eidson, who invited Rome High students to participate in the contest, Lovell responded quickly with her entry. Eidson has known Lovell since she was a freshman and says that Savannah has always enjoyed writing and other creative endeavors.
“She is such a bright, creative student,” Eidson says. “She’s always been a great writer and always been artistic.” Eidson thinks that Lovell’s poem spoke to the FRC judges because of its personal perspective and focus on family.
The goal of the poetry competition is to raise awareness and support for the FRC and its operations in Rome and Floyd County. In 1991, the Rome Exchange Club established the center in response to the national organization’s commitment to the prevention of child abuse.
The FRC works to prevent child abuse and neglect in the community. Its goals are to increase child safety, social support, parenting skills, and problem-solving in parents. Six parent aides provide in-home services to families to make these increases.
In the past two years, the FRC has provided services to 275 children in 130 families. According to contest information, 47% of these children were under six years old, and the annual family income was lower than $35,000 for 89% of the families.
The FRC’s annual poetry competition seeks to “raise awareness of the problem of child abuse and neglect and to thereby build/gain support for its prevention,” according to the center.
Anyone living, working or attending college in Floyd County may enter poetry in one of the contest’s three categories: general (age 19+), youth (age 16-18), and the special award for poetry about family.
The center awards first, second and third place prizes in the general and youth categories.
According to contest guidelines, Lovell’s prize for winning the special award category is a meal for her family at a local restaurant that supports the FRC. Eidson says that Lovell was very excited to win the contest. “This could be a stepping stone to more of her poetry getting published or encourage her to continue her writing,” Eidson says. “I think that she’s going to be successful in whatever she puts her mind to.”