Racine student's sanitizer design wins award

RACINE, Wis. - Nowadays, hand sanitizer is everywhere, but there's a local school that'll soon have dispensers with a very unique design.  

It's been a year full of hand washing and sanitizing amid the coronavirus pandemic, and a Racine sixth-grader is getting recognized for his creativity.  

"I drew the world sick because of everything the world is going on right now because of COVID and everything," said Wilfred Ortiz.

Ortiz, a Gifford School student won the S.C. Johnson Happy Hands Contest for grades 6-12.  Over 800 students from across the country submitted designs promoting the importance of handwashing at school.  

"We were really attracted to your design because of the planet Earth and showing the temperature, and the space features the sanitizer," said Cheryl Dillner, SC Johnson.

Submissions were evaluated for creativity, design elements and visual appeal before public votes were cast for the finalists.  

After a month of drafting, Ortiz submitted his winning design, inspired by the worldwide pandemic.

"Since it’s for sanitizer, I drew sanitizer chasing COVID or bacteria," he said.

His design will be custom printed on 1,000 S.C. Johnson manual soap and sanitizer dispensers placed throughout Gifford School, something Ortiz said is hard to believe.  

"It’s going to be cool knowing I’m the one that drew it," said Ortiz.

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"We’ve got a lot of hand sanitizers right now and a lot of soap dispensers so this will be a good opportunity to replace some of those and showcase some of his work," said Bret Olson, Gifford principal.

Ortiz received a $300 gift card and a $1,000 donation to the school.