By Daily Press staff
Vincent Van Gogh would be proud of 10-year-old Jake Keller. With oil pastels, imagination and feelings of great compassion, the Santa Monica youth has created an award-winning piece for the ICAN Associates Annual Child Abuse Prevention Month poster contest.
Keller, a fifth grader at Summit View School in Santa Monica, was honored on Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. On April 28, there will be a special reception. The contest was open to students in grades four through six throughout Los Angeles County’s schools. Keller’s poster was chosen from thousands of entries.
At the ceremony, Keller will be awarded a prize, half of which he says he will donate to the Grossman Burn Unit. This is the second time Keller has donated to the facility, which specializes in the treatment of burn victims. Several years ago, after a fire that destroyed his home and injured his little brother, Leo, Keller took half of his savings and donated it to the hospital.
“I entered the contest because I wanted to stop child abuse so kids can stop getting hurt badly,” Keller said.
Keller’s compassion for children stems from his own struggles. Diagnosed with learning disabilities, he struggled in school, said his father, Michael Keller. After moving to California from New York in 2002, Keller found a new confidence through sports, determination and Summit View School, which specializes in children with learning differences.
Keller now is getting great grades, serves as co-captain of his basketball team and is president of his school, according to Michael Keller.
Michael Keller encouraged his son by reading him a 2002 Fortune magazine article that featured famous people who had grown up with learning disabilities. Four of the featured people were billionaires such as Richard Branson and Charles Schwab, who talked about how difficult their childhood and school days were.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 7, 2005. Read the original PDF.