A Special Message to All 2008 Speak New Words Entrants
Published on 13 Nov 2008 Return to view other storiesThis year’s Speak New Words contest has generated 200 outstanding videos from entrants across the country. The theme, “Change = 13 Traits” was indeed timely, as we all have witnessed the historic event of Barrack Obama being elected the 44th President of the United States. We thank everyone who entered and want to encourage each entrant to utilize their video as a catalyst for bringing change to their individual communities.
As a non-profit organization, the American Students’ Fund (ASF) is experiencing what many charities are now facing across the country. The current economic crisis has greatly affected our ability to raise funds necessary to maintain and expand our cause. However, with a prudent watch on expenditures, we are confident that the ASF will weather the economic storm that is impacting so many organizations.
Because of this, we are cutting our costs associated with the contest by eliminating the public voting phase for this year’s contest. The expenses associated with the set-up and monitoring of the public phase are high, as it necessitates contracting the services of an independent technical specialist who continually monitors the public voting. Rather than decrease the prize amounts, we feel this is the best way we can conserve funds through this challenging economic period.
A panel of judges has carefully reviewed all the entries and the ten finalists in each category will soon be posted on our channel as well as at our website. A first place prize ($5,000), a second place prize ($1,000), and a third place prize ($500) will be awarded to the top three winners in each age category. Although there are no cash prizes beyond these, an additional seven videos will be posted for each age category and identified as those videos receiving the distinction of “Honorable Mention.” All finalists will receive a certificate as well as an official Speak New Words tee-shirt.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of the Speak New Words video contest and the American Students’ Fund.
Cheers to All!
The Speak New Words Team
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