14-Year-Old From Brooklyn Wins National HIV/AIDS Writing Competition For At-Risk Youth- With Judges Spike Lee, Jesse L. Martin, Robert Rodriguez and Spokespersons Jasmine Guy and MTV's Quddus
14 year old, Shawn C. Nabors from Brooklyn, New York is the winner of the Positively Negative, an HIV/AIDS National Story-Writing Competition for youth ages 14-22. Judges included Spike Lee, Jesse L. Martin, Robert Rodriguez, Jasmine Guy and MTV's Quddus. Nabor's story will be adapted into a screenplay and made into an HIV/AIDS educational film to be distributed nationwide to schools, health departments and other youth-serving organizations nationwide.
New York, NY (PRWEB) December 2, 2004 --Youth-At-Risk Write to Celebrity
Jurors, "Thank You For Hearing Me!"
Shawn C. Nabors, 14 of Brooklyn, NY,
is the winner of the Positively Negative, an HIV/AIDS National Story-Writing
Competition for youth ages 14-22. Nabors will receive a $500 cash prize and his
story will be adapted into a screenplay and made into an HIV/AIDS educational
film to be distributed nationwide to schools, health departments and other
youth-serving organizations nationwide.
The final round judging panel
included Spike Lee, Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids), producer Elizabeth Avellan (Spy
Kids), Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order), Jeff Friedman (Academy Award Winner,
Common Threads), playwright Charles OyamO Gordon, Jasmine Guy (Dead Like Me),
MTV VJ Quddus, and Dr. Loretta Jemmott (author/ HIV/AIDS Research Prevention
Specialist).
Many young people are unaware that HIV and AIDS are
significant threats in the U.S., and believe that HIV/AIDS is only a problem
overseas. 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 ages 13-19 with AIDS are African-American
or Hispanic and 62% of boys ages 13-19 with AIDS are African-American or
Hispanic.
"HIV and AIDS affect everybody. Kids feel invincible. This
contest helped kids realize they are vulnerable," says actress and writer
Jasmine Guy, a contest spokesperson.
The call for entries yielded nearly
400 stories from all over the country, as well as international responses from
London, Nigeria, Zambia and Canada. Young people also reached out from prison to
share their thoughts. There were stories entered about incest, rape, drug
addiction, spousal and child abuse, and other heart-rending issues that will
find a voice in a print compilation.
The contest is Select Media's first
annual competition in collaboration with The HEAR ME Project, a nonprofit 501c3
organization. The contest was created to get young people thinking about their
own personal vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and to give them a chance to have their
voices and stories heard in a meaningful context. Many entrants wrote letters
directly to the celebrity judges thanking them for "hearing me".
"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, Professor and Director of the Center for Health Disparities at the
University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing.
The runners up are Alex
Adams, 19 (Cincinnati, OH); Jody-Ann Cross, 20 (Huntington Station, NY); Brian
Delguidice, 16 (San Leadnro, CA); Karla Kimble, 20 (Moreno Valley, CA); KC
Ligon, 18 (Ardmore, OK); Shavon Meyers, 20 (Brooklyn, NY); Jessica Prince, 15
(Philadelphia, PA); Ladie Odyessy Samuel, 21 (Lithonia, GA); Tim Seto, 20
(Brooklyn, NY), and Xandra Carroll, 17 (Littleton, CO) who gets a special
mention for her story about, HIV and AIDS in Africa.
Select Media has
been publishing and producing award-winning, research-based curricula and films
on critical health issues since 1988. Three of Select Media's curricula,
co-authored by Drs. John and Loretta Jemmott, have been selected by the CDC for
the prestigious and competitive "Programs That Work" Curriculum Award; Select
Media's library includes, Nicole's Choice, Sex, Drugs & HIV and The Subject
Is: HIV among other award-winning educational films.
For further
information, contact Tyree Oredein at 212-941-2309 or visit www.selectmedia.org.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb184628.htm