** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org **
Here are details about a writing contest for young people aged 14-22
who have a story (real or fictional) to tell about HIV/AIDS. Anita
===
The HEAR ME Project, in conjunction with Think MTV, presents the
POSITIVELY NEGATIVE HIV/AIDS Story-Writing Competition for
Youth-At-Risk. The winner gets $500 and their story gets adapted into
an HIV prevention education film to be distributed nationwide to
organizations like yours. For more details visit
http://www.hearmeproject.org.
For more information call Tyree Oredein, MPH at 212-941-2309 or email
[log in to unmask]
Visit http://www.cdcnpin.org for HIV, STD, TB prevention resources
available to you at no cost. At http://www.cdcnpin.org you can search
for funding opportunities, free prevention materials, get the latest
prevention news and learn about current events in the field of HIV,
STD and TB prevention.
===
Contact: Tyree Oredein at 212-941-2309
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman & Scarlett Johansson
Join the HEAR ME Project's 2005 National HIV/AIDS Story Writing Competition
for At-Risk Youth Ages 14-22 as Final Round Jury. Think MTV Signs on
as Project Partner.
New York, NY, June 27, 2005- The HEAR ME Project has teamed up with
Think MTV to launch the second annual National HIV/AIDS Story-Writing
Competition for youth at-risk, with an impressive celebrity jury.
Morgan Freeman is honorary chair of the panel which consists of Spike
Lee, Scarlett Johansson, Forest Whitaker, Jesse L. Martin (Law &
Order), Jasmine Guy (Dead Like Me), LeVar Burton (Star Trek), writer
Jose Rivera (Motorcycle Diaries), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), playwright
Charles OyamO Gordon and renowned HIV prevention specialist, Dr.
Loretta Sweet Jemmott.
The story-writing competition invites young people ages 14 to 22 to
send in original stories about vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. In
addition to receiving a cash prize of $500, the winner's story will
be turned into a short educational film and distributed nationwide to
schools, government agencies, community groups and youth serving
organizations. The story may also be published in print and in online
anthologies with other selected entries. Contest entry forms will be
available at www.hearmeproject.org. The contest is open to all youth
ages 14-22. The Call for Entries begins National HIV Testing Day,
June 27, 2005, and the deadline for submissions is World AIDS Day,
December 1, 2005. Stories must be between 3-5 pages (typed,
double-spaced or neatly written) and will be accepted via postal
mail. The winner will be announced on or about Valentine's Day,
February 14, 2005.
The contest was created to get young people thinking about their
personal vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. Many young people are unaware
that HIV and AIDS are significant threats. However, according to the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), at least half of all HIV
infections in the United States are among people under 25 and the
majority of these young people are infected sexually. Minorities are
hardest hit. The CDC reports that 84% of girls aged 13-19 with AIDS
are African-American or Hispanic and 62% of boys aged 13-19 with AIDS
are
African-American or Hispanic.
"This competition is a fresh way to get young people thinking about
their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. The celebrity support validates
these kids and says, 'your life is important to us - protect it',"
says Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Department Chair of the Center for
Health Disparities at The University of Pennsylvania's School of
Nursing.
The 2004 call for entries yielded nearly 400 stories from all over
the country, as well as international responses from London, Nigeria,
Zambia and Canada. Spike Lee, Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids),
producer Elizabeth Avellan (Spy Kids), Jesse L. Martin, (Rent, Law
and Order) Jeff Friedman (Academy Award Winner, Common Threads),
Charles OyamO Gordon, Jasmine Guy, MTV VJ Quddus, and Dr. Loretta
Jemmott picked the winning story belonging to 14-year-old Shawn C.
Nabors of Brooklyn, NY. Nabors' story will be filmed this summer and
incorporated into CDC approved HIV prevention curricula that target
junior and senior high school students.
The contest is presented by The HEAR ME Project a 501(c)(3)
organization, Think MTV, and founding Sponsor, Select Media, Inc.
Other Sponsors and collaborators include Abbott Laboratories, Baby
Phat, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Community Connect (Asian Avenue, Black
Planet and Mi Gente), M*A*C AIDS Fund, Mony, The New York Mercantile
Exchange, Oxygen Media, Savoy Magazine, Scholastic Magazine, The
Source Magazine, Urban Latino Magazine, VIBE Magazine, XXL Magazine,
and the Center for Health Disparities at The University of
Pennsylvania's School of Nursing.
For further information, contact Tyree Oredein at 212-941-2309 or
visit www.hearmeproject.org.
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Anita H. Makuluni * Madison WI * [log in to unmask]
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