Congratulations to all our 2014 winners!
When Bridget Cain got a call into the principal’s
office, she froze. “I didn’t know what I did wrong - I was so worried!” Bridget
recounted her story to the Director of Project SAFE, Shira Berkowitz and to
Project SAFE’s Associate Director of Special Programs, Yossi Sirote. When
Bridget found out that she was actually summoned to receive the news that she’d
won the Middle Division First Place Prize, a MacBook Air, for the Project SAFE
Ad Contest, she was elated!
Bridget was not alone in her excitement. Indeed, all
around the 3 participating schools: Magen David Yeshivah, The Yeshivah of
Flatbush, and Hillel Yeshiva, students were in abuzz in early April with talk
about the ads and the winners of the contest.
The contest began at the end of February, when The
SAFE Foundation’s Project SAFE invited 6th-12th graders
to compose a powerful and creative ad reflecting a message they had learned in
SAFE class. Topics were: substance abuse, addiction, gambling, internet safety,
healthy relationships, peer pressure, body image and self-esteem.
Twelfth
grader, Abie Tawil was the High School First Place Winner. He said that the ad he created on Photoshop was
inspired by a video he saw in SAFE class about the dangers of gambling. From
the video, he learned that at the end of the day, the odds are truly not in
your favor. Abie said, “I realized that people don’t realize the dangers
associated with gambling as much as they are aware of the problems connected to
other addictions. I felt that more
awareness was needed about this topic. When I found out that I won, I was
really excited, not just about winning the MacBook Air, which is awesome, but
also because my message came across, and because my attempt to spread this
awareness was a success. I was so happy that my hard work was appreciated and it
was for a worthy cause!”
One parent wrote to SAFE saying, “It
was really great to see my kids and their friends work on their ads for the
contest. All of the kids were scrambling before the deadline to spell out their
ideas. It was such a fantastic idea to have this contest, because it created
so much awareness.”
One
of the SAFE teachers said, “When we were going through the contest ads, one of
the winning entries sparked a lot of amazing on-the-spot conversation about
internet safety. This was another great benefit of the contest.”
He
continued, “I also noticed that students who usually don’t get involved in
projects were coming out of the woodwork to participate. It was great to see!”
In
addition to the two top winners, 6 Runners-up each won a $100 Amazon Gift Card
and ten students received Honorable Mention Certificates. All of these ads were
posted on SAFE’s blog, Facebook, and Instagram, with parents, students, and
onlookers enthusiastically liking and commenting on the posts, adding to the
contest hype.
Ads can also be seen on:
facebook.com/safe.fndtn,
Instagram.com/thesafefoundation
A special thank you to The Gindi
Family for sponsoring the contest in memory of their father and grandfather,
Sonny I. Gindi, a”h.
A version of this article was published in Image Magazine.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call our
confidential, toll-free hotline, 24/7 at 866-569-SAFE (7233).
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