Athens Elementary School students who want to flex their creative muscles are invited to participate in a T-shirt design contest for an upcoming March of Dimes event.

The idea is the brainchild of Kristy Reith, who became involved with the annual March for Babies after her son Jacob was born premature in 2010. He weighed only 2.5 pounds at birth, but is now a healthy 6-year-old at Brookhill Elementary School.

Reith and her husband also have a 9-year-old and a 2-year-old, but she has also suffered three miscarriages. Those experiences led her to form a March for Babies team, Baby Jake Buddies.

Each year the team creates a T-shirt for team members and sells extras to raise funds for March of Dimes. This year, Reith approached officials with Athens City Schools regarding a collaboration between the team and all children from kindergarten age through fourth grade.

Reith and her team of judges will narrow all entries to one finalist from each of the system’s four elementary schools — Brookhill, Cowart, Julian Newman and Athens. Reith said her children are disqualified from entering the contest, but would act as judges.

“We’ll have to turn the (artwork) over so they can’t see the names written on them,” she said.

Rules for the contest have been distributed to teachers at the elementary schools and participation is strictly voluntary. Students have until Feb. 28 to submit their artwork.

The winning design will be chosen for the T-shirt and will appear on all other promotional materials related to the March for Babies event. She hopes to have the winner selected by March 10 because T-shirts must be sent to the printer by the first week of April. The names of the three finalists and their ages will also be printed on the shirts.

The overall winner will receive a free T-shirt and will be invited to walk with the team. The 3-mile March for Babies is set for Saturday, April 22, at 971 John Wright Drive, Huntsville. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the walk starts at 9.

For more on Reith’s experiences and Baby Jake Buddies, click here.