Celebrating 10 Years of the RESPECT Contest

Oct 14, 2025

For the tenth consecutive year, Arnold & Itkin LLP proudly hosted the RESPECT Contest, a competition that challenges fifth graders across the Houston area to reflect on what "respect" means—and to express that understanding through art and writing. What began as a small initiative to spark classroom discussion has become one of the Arnold & Itkin Foundation's most meaningful annual traditions, shaping how young students think about empathy, fairness, and kindness in everyday life.

A Decade of Teaching Respect Through Action

Each year, students are asked to define "respect" in two sentences or less and to illustrate that definition with a drawing. The exercise may sound simple, but its impact runs deep: by turning an abstract virtue into something personal, students begin to connect the idea of respect to their own choices and relationships.

The contest also links creativity to real-world giving. Winners don't just receive individual recognition—they help direct donations from Arnold & Itkin to their schools and to the charities that matter most to them. This year, those gifts totaled more than $50,750 in combined support for local education and community causes.

Supporting Schools Across Houston

The 2025 RESPECT Contest included students from four Houston-area districts: Pasadena, Deer Park, La Porte, and Galena Park ISDs. From each district, winners were selected and celebrated for their thoughtfulness, creativity, and compassion.

Among the schools recognized were:

Bayshore Elementary
Bobby Shaw Middle School
Deepwater Elementary
Deer Park Elementary
DeZavala Middle School
Havard Elementary
Heritage Elementary
Galena Park Elementary
La Porte Elementary
Melillo Middle School
Millstead Middle School
North Shore Elementary
Purple Sage Elementary
Rizzuto Elementary
San Jacinto Elementary

Each of these campuses received direct contributions to further student programs and classroom enrichment. In many cases, students chose to support causes close to their hearts—demonstrating that even young people have a powerful instinct for empathy and community service.

Their selected charities included:

Houston Food Bank
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Project Joy & Hope (Pasadena, TX)
Pasadena Animal Shelter
Susan G. Komen Foundation
Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project
The Houston Humane Society
Kids' Meals, Inc.
Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Alliance
Wesley Community Center
International Rett Syndrome Foundation
Ray of Light – Light of Christ Church La Porte
Jane Around the World

Through their choices, students highlighted causes that fight hunger, protect animals, expand access to healthcare, and provide hope to families in need.

Why We Started the RESPECT Contest

Arnold & Itkin began the RESPECT Contest with a simple belief: justice starts with empathy. When children learn to view respect not as politeness but as a commitment to understanding and fairness, they begin to see the world through the same lens that drives our work in the courtroom.

By investing in young minds, the firm hopes to nurture a generation that values compassion as the foundation for leadership and justice. For a decade now, the RESPECT Contest has been a space where students teach all of us what dignity, kindness, and community look like when put into practice.

As Arnold & Itkin celebrates this ten-year milestone, the firm remains deeply grateful to the teachers, parents, and students who make the RESPECT Contest possible each year—and to the young artists and writers whose words remind us that respect, at its core, is an action.