News Youth Speak Out Aconym

Youth speak out against bullying and negative name calling
in eighth annual essay, acronym and video contest
To hear 10-year-old Jason Chen of Alameda, California tell it, the name calling word dork no longer has any power to hurt someone since he turned it into the positive acronym, Dynamic Outstanding Rad Kid winning Hey U.G.L.Y. – Unique Gifted Lovable You’s acronym contest last year.

2011 marks the nonprofit’s eighth annual Acronym and Essay contests where students vie for $500 U.S. Saving Bond first prizes.

The Acronym Contest asks students to create positive acronyms for the words Dork, Loser, Hate, Racism, or Stupid while the Essay Contest asks youth to share their wisdom about “Why Having Positive Self-Esteem Can Stamp Out Bullying. New to the contest roster, by this leader in the field of bullying prevention, is a Video Contest asking youth, aged 7 to 19 to create a short film about why bullying is not cool. First prize for this contest is a video camera package.

Deadline for submissions for all three contests are May 31, 2011 and rules and regulations can be found at: http://contestandprizes.org

The panel of judges who graciously donate their time to judge these important contests are comprised of: Lisa Barron, freelance writer for People magazine; Rieva Lesonsky, former editorial director of Entrepreneur magazine; Sharon Dettmer, freelance writer for South Bend Tribune; Paul DeCeglie, writer for Pattaya Today; Rick Erwin, adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College at Notre and director of the award-winning film, “Things You Should Know Before Entering the Hospital:” Laurie Wink, freelance journalist; and Jill Zimmerman Rutledge, M.S.W., LCSW a psychotherapist who has worked with adolescent for over twenty years and is author of: Dealing With The Stuff That Makes Life Tough. The video contest will be judged by filmmakers.

The contests are made possible through the generous support by Dean Klassman, of Klassman Financial, one of the nation’s leading financial advisors.

Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping teens and tweens with self-esteem and empathy-building programs to empower them to be part of the solution to societal ills like bullying. (U.G.L.Y. is an acronym for Unique Gifted Lovable You.) The Hey U.G.L.Y. message has reached over 650,000 students through their Empathy Learning Activity Plans (ELAPs), website, radio show and work with schools, community organizations and youth development professionals.

Complete details can be found on contests