KDMF PSA contest will award $1,000 to winner

The very first public service announcements aired during WWII. Decades later they continue to serve as powerful reminders to the public. Since 2003 the KDMF has held an annual writing contest, and for the past four years AAA Northeast has joined forces with the KDMF as corporate sponsor of the contest with a top prize of $1,000. This year the nonprofit that raises awareness about the dangers of drinking and distracted driving wants to put a new twist on the contes

This year they are asking high school students to get smart with their smart phones and create a thirty second Public Service Announcement (“PSA”) that could air on TV and social media.

“We want to change with the times and most every student has access to a smartphone and knows how to shoot video and edit,” states KDMF President Joel Chase. “Many commercials are now being shot with smart phones and we thought this would be a great way to change things up and get students excited to be part of the contest.”

The KDMF will ask members of the local media to make final selections and are asking students to create a 30 second positive video that reminds motorists to drive responsibly.

The KDMF has produced a series of PSA’s that include former NBA player Chris Herren, URI Basketball Coach Dan Hurley, Providence College Basketball Coach Ed Cooley, and Middle Weight Boxing Champion Peter Manfredo. Those PSAs aired hundreds of times on WPRI, WJAR, MTV, HGTV and Lifetime, as well as on the jumbotrons at Providence College and URI basketball games. The KDMF is hoping to get the winner’s PSA on TV and it will also be used on its website and social media.

The rules will be posted on the Katie DeCubellis Memorial website. In order for the PSAs to possibly air on TV they need to be shot on a smart phone or other device that shoots in high definition. The KDMF has purchased the rights to a specific piece of music that students need to use if they choose to have music in the PSA. An Mp3 link will be made available at the KDMF website. All PSAs must end with the KDMF logo that can be downloaded from the KDMF website. Anyone appearing in the PSA must sign a release form that can also be down loaded at the KDMF website. The creators of the PSA must submit the release form with their entry packet. The finished PSA video can be sent through https://www.wetransfer.com/ to the email address of joel@jchaselaw.com. Participants should clearly label their video submission including contact information and should also send their submission and release forms to joel@jchaselaw.com.

In November, the KDMF will send out announcements to every high school and post on their social media the start of the contest. The deadline for entries is March 30, 2017. A ceremony will be held Monday, May 22 at 7pm at the Warwick Mall to announce this year’s winners. Television reporter/WPRO radio anchor and children’s book author Laura Clarizio will emcee the event.

The KDMF and AAA Northeast will present monetary awards to the three top winners and those receiving Honorable Mention. Additionally, professionally created posters with the winners’ names and PSA title will remain on display at the mall during the week following the ceremony. For more information about the contest and annual scholarships that the KDMF awards visit the Foundation’s website at www.kdmf.org. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.