NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the finalists for the fifth annual Protect Me With 3+ immunization awareness contest. The creative work of the finalists – five middle school posters, five high school posters and five videos – are now showcased at www.protectmewith3.com, where public voting will begin on March 20th.
Public voting will take place for two weeks. The public can vote up to once a day until the ballot is closed on April 2nd at 11:59 PM EST. Voting is open to both adults and students. The top three posters and videos in each category will be presented at an awards ceremony to be held on April 23rd.
In its fifth year, Protect Me With 3+ challenges New Jersey youth in middle and high school to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations: tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate and flu vaccines. Last year the contest had over 200 entries from students across New Jersey.
This year, the contest received almost 400 poster and video entries from middle school and high school students across the state. "The Partnership is excited to announce that we received a record-breaking volume of quality submissions this year. I encourage you to go to protectmewith3.com and identify the posters and videos you think deliver our public health message most effectively. Your voice matters," explains Ilise Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ.
Teachers across New Jersey also incorporated the Protect Me With 3+ contest into their curriculums by making it a class project. "It is very encouraging to see teachers using this contest as an opportunity to educate their students about the importance of adolescent immunization," states State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner Dr. Tina Tan from the New Jersey Department of Health.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the video and two poster categories. The winning entries will also be distributed during statewide immunization awareness activities. Prizes for the classrooms with the most eligible submissions in each category will also be awarded.
The finalists for this year's contest include:
Middle School Poster Category:
- Jaheim Best from Paterson Public School 25
- Evonne Chiang from Union Township Middle School
- Madden Langdon from Indian Mills Memorial School
- Arya Sasne from Thomas Grover Middle School
- Meredith Waropay from Indian Mills Memorial School
High School Poster Category:
- Patricia Cenit from Bergen County Technical High School
- Sarah Eveland from Hanover Park High School
- Camryn Fontana from Bergen County Technical High School
- D’Asia Simpson from Atlantic County Institute of Technology
- Michelle Thieu from Atlantic County Institute of Technology
Video Category:
- Karlo Cruz from Academy of Allied Health and Science
- Zayna Bajwa from Academy of Allied Health and Science
- Jessica David from Academy of Allied Health and Science
- Spencer Friedman from Marlboro High School
- Shannon McGavin from Henry Hudson Regional School
To vote, visit: www.protectmewith3.com/vote.
To view previous winners' entries, visit: http://protectmewith3.com/winners/.
About the Partnership
The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH). Its mission is to improve the health of women, children, and families. The Partnership has more than 20 years of experience mounting community-based, consumer-friendly and culturally competent educational programs to parents, caregivers, pregnant women and individuals of child-bearing age. For more information visit, http://partnershipmch.org.
To learn more about vaccinations, visit the New Jersey Department of Health’s website, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/imm.shtml.
