Essay contest only open to youth
By Contributor
Are you under 29-years-old? Want to win $150? Or maybe you are a budding writer….if so check out this contest sponsored by the Youth Peer Mentors of the Baby’s Best chance program.
Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of developmental and physical birth defects. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price — in mental and physical deficiencies — for his or her entire life. Yet many pregnant women do drink alcohol.
To bring awareness to this serious condition, youth are invited to join in the contest to win $150 in prize money.
Y-Shift (Youth Advisory Committee of the Phoenix foundation) and the Youth Peer Mentors of the Baby’s Best Chance Program at the Glanville Center are putting on a youth essay writing contest to create awareness on FASD.
FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) is a disorder that is caused by a mother consuming alcohol while she is pregnant. When a mother consumes any amount of alcohol while pregnant, she is putting her child at risk.
“It is very important that we make not only youth, but everybody, aware of the impacts of consuming alcohol during pregnancy,” explained Kayla Hahn, one of the contest organizers. “The Youth Peer Mentors wrote a grant application to the Y-SHIFT requesting financial support for the project and were granted $500.”
This money will be used for the prizes and other funds from Boundary Family and Individual Services Society will be used for honorariums for the youth organizing the project and other project costs.
By making people aware of this disorder and its effects, the youth are hoping to decrease the percentage of FASD affected babies born to Boundary moms.
Winning essays will be published on the Boundary Sentinel and other media outlets. Each winner will receive a CASH PRIZE of $150.00.
The winning essays will be divided into age categories of 13-15, 16-20, and 21-29 years. Essays have to be a maximum of 400 words and they can be dropped off at the Glanville Center or emailed to cynthia.garnett@bfiss.org by Apr. 30.
For more information please contact Cynthia Garnett @ 1-250-442-5355 local (123).
