Time to GET CREATIVE and SPEAK OUT about the #1 KILLER of YOUNG PEOPLE
WIN A SHARE OF $27,000!
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Contest
The Create Real Impact Contest calls on students, ages 14-22, to showcase their positive solutions and strategies to stop the #1 killer of young people–car crashes caused by reckless and distracted driving.
Students submit one entry into one of two categories: Video or Graphic Design. Get local community champions involved, such as your local first responder agencies and elected officials, for another chance to win in the Community Champions Bonus Points category.
The High School Campaign invites schools, classrooms, or student groups to showcase creative SOLUTIONS to the very real problem of distracted driving. Create a 30-second PSA video, design graphics, and post on social media platforms to empower your community to help put a stop to reckless and distracted driving!
We can’t wait to see your creative and positive solutions and strategies for ending distracted driving and how you get your community involved in helping to stop preventable car crashes!
CONTEST DATES
Contest Opens: October 16, 2024, at 12:01 AM (ET)
Contest Closes: April 15, 2025, at 5:00 PM (ET)
Student Video and Graphic Design
High School Campaign
Bring Impact Teen Drivers evidence-based teen programs to your school at no cost. Contact us to learn more about ITD!
SCHEDULE YOUR SCHOOL PRESENTATION
About
The Create Real Impact Contest is your chance to make a positive difference in your community and help stop reckless and distracted driving! Join Impact Teen Drivers (ITD) in our mission to stop the number one killer of teens–car crashes.
High School Campaign Category: A group of high school students, working with a teacher or advisor, are eligible to win an educational grant for their school by creating a positive campaign to share with their school and the wider community about putting a stop to reckless and distracted driving. Win up to $10,000 for your school! The campaign must include at least one :30 PSA video and demonstrate social media engagement through multiple posts. ONLY TEACHERS, SCHOOL-APPROVED MENTORS OR ADVISORS, OR ADMINISTRATORS MAY REGISTER THEIR HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN CATEGORY.
High School Campaign Category Prizes
$10,000, $5,000, and $2,500
Video and Graphic Design Category: Individual students may enter one :30 video PSA OR one graphic design into the Create Real Impact Contest for a chance to win an educational grant for themselves!
Video Category Prizes
$1,000, $500, and $250
Graphic Design Category Prizes
$1,000, $500, and $250
Community Champions Bonus Points Category: Individual students who have submitted a video or a graphic design can compete to win additional educational grant money by working with local community champions, such as first responders and elected officials, to post their entry or official ITD content to the community champion’s official social media platform or newsletter.
Community Champions Bonus Points Category Prizes
$1,500, $1,000, and $500
Positive Community Norming
Amplify the positive behaviors and beliefs of drivers and passengers that are already taking place, rather than focusing solely on risky behaviors. Check out ITD’s Positive Community Norming Posters for examples.
Expand the Messaging
ITD encourages participants to go beyond addressing just phone-use; behind the wheel distractions include texting and talking on the phone, but also applying make-up, messing around with friends, adjusting the GPS or radio/shuffling the playlist, eating or drinking, or anything that takes your attention away from the task of driving!
Safety First, and Keep It Positive
Focus on showcasing POSITIVE SOLUTIONS, not just the problems of reckless and distracted driving in your content. All videos, graphic designs, and social media posts must show safety features being used, including seat belts. Please do not show crash scenes, blood, or other scare tactics.
FAQs
Video and Graphic Design FAQs
When does the contest begin and end?
The contest is open from October 16, 2024, at 12:01 PM (Eastern Time) to April 15, 2025, at 5:00 P.M. (Eastern Time). Schools need to register by March 25, 2025 11:59 P.M. (ET) to participate.
Can I enter the same entry from last year/last contest?
No. Entries must be unique and original for every contest. Please use your previous entry as an inspiration to make something new- maybe try a new focus or a new category!
I’m not sure if I am eligible to enter this contest. Who is eligible?
The awards in this category are open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia of DACA recipients between the ages of 14 and 22 years. Entrants must be enrolled as full-time students in an accredited educational institution (secondary middle/high school, trade school, college, or university).
CRI Contest awards in the category of High School Campaign are open to high schools who are registered with the US Department of Education and are physically located in the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia.
How do I register for this contest?
Register for the contest following the directions on the Registration tab. Only individual students need to make an account. Teachers/mentors/advisors working on a high school social media campaign do NOT need to make an account but will still need to register for the contest.
Can I enter more than one category or more than one entry?
There is only 1 entry per person, per contest allowed. The entry must be either a Video or a Graphic Design. If you are a student working with a teacher/advisor/mentor for the High School Social Media Campaign category, you ARE eligible to compete as an individual student as well, in either the Video or the Graphic Design category.
Can my friend and I collaborate on our entry, and both win the award?
You can collaborate on your entry! However, it’s important to keep in mind that the entry should be registered under one person’s name, and it cannot be submitted again under the other person’s name. If your entry is chosen as a prize winner, the grant check will be made out to the name it was registered under and it will be up to both of you to decide how to fairly split the award. Impact Teen Drivers does not split awards and will not award entries registered under more than one name.
How does the Community Champions Bonus Points category work? I am entering as an individual student.
ITD loves to see students activating their community with positive traffic safety messages! You will reach out to organizations and elected officials to ask them to share your Video or Graphic Design entry on their official social media or communication account. Posts made by individuals on personal accounts are NOT accepted. You can choose to ask them to share ITD approved content from the SpeakUp4Safety.org website.
Can I be a Community Champion Bonus points winner and a grand prize winner?
Yes! Community Champion Bonus Points winners are solely determined by community engagement. Our panel of judges solely determines the Grand Prize winners.
I received a rejection email and want to re-submit a new entry/I made a spelling error and want to edit my entry.
If your entry has been rejected for edits, an ITD team member will be in touch by email with more information on how to correct the issue. Please send your updated entry directly back to that ITD team member, and they will upload it for you. If you need to resubmit your entry for a reason such as a typo, please email [email protected]. Everything must be re-submitted before the end of the contest.
How will the campaign entries be judged?
All categories will be judged using a multi-factored scoring rubric, provided in the Judging for Winners section of the Create Real Impact Contest Rules and Guidelines 2024-25.pdf download.
When will the winners be announced?
Winners will be announced no later than May 1, 2025.
High School Campaign FAQs
How does the Community Champions Bonus Points category work for the high school category?
High schools participating in the Social Media Campaign category are NOT eligible for Community Champions Bonus Points. That category is reserved for individual students participating in Video or Graphic Design.
What is Positive Community Norming and how can we use it in our entry?
Positive Community Norming is an approach to changing attitudes and behaviors that focuses on the positive behaviors already taking place in a community. So, in your entry, instead of saying “All teens text and drive, but you shouldn’t!” a more effective approach would be to use the CDC statistic that 61% of teens don’t text while driving! In reality, most students make the safe choice, and we can encourage more teens to join the crowd!
How many students can participate in the contest high school category?
This is up to the teacher or advisor. There is no minimum or maximum number of students required.
When can we begin to work on our campaign?
Once you receive confirmation that your school is registered and eligible to enter the contest, your team can begin the action planning portion of the project. Start researching the topic, decide the roles and responsibilities of the student team members, and start reaching out to other community groups to partner with you.
We are registering our school for the high school social media campaign. Do I also need to make an account on the website?
No! Only individual students competing in the Video and Graphic Design categories need to make an account on the website.
What happens after a teacher or advisor registers?
Teachers/advisors/mentors will receive an email from Impact Teen Drivers to confirm registration and eligibility to enter the contest. It is the responsibility of the teacher/advisor to contact Impact Teen Drivers at [email protected] if they have not received confirmation of registration within three (3) business days.
How do I know if my students and I are eligible to enter the contest?
Please see the Official Rules to see who is eligible to enter this contest. Teachers or advisors will be able to work with high school students from traditional public, charter, private, and other approved high schools that are recognized and can be verified by the appropriate state’s Department of Education. Other public agencies (e.g., first responders and health professionals) may partner with a verifiable school and will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
How do teachers or advisors submit the highlight video and social media campaign?
The publicly viewable YouTube link for the highlight video and the publicly viewable Google Drive folder with social media campaign components must be submitted via [email protected] on or before the closing date of the Create Real Impact contest: April 15, 2025, by 5:00 P.M. (ET).
Past Winner Profiles
Rules
- Register and make an account. You will choose either “Video Category” or “Graphic Design Category” in the Registration section below and load the appropriate form.
- Complete the Registration Form. All required fields (marked with an asterisk) must be filled in at the time of registration. The non-required fields can be completed up to the last day of registration.
- Upload your entry (optional), either your Graphic Design or a YouTube link to your Video. You can create an account and submit your entry at the same time or return later until the contest closes.
- Remember, your entry must be original for this contest period and you may enter either a Video or a Graphic Design.
- Get your community involved! Participate in the Community Champions Bonus Points category for another chance to win. More information on the Community Champions Bonus Points category is in the Official Rules.
- Your entry will be approved within 72 hours of submission. After approval, your entry will be publicly viewable, and you’ll be able to share your entry!
- If your entry needs edits or does not meet the contest requirements, an Impact Teen Drivers staff member will get in contact with you.
- Contest closes April 15, 2025, at 5:00 PM (ET), so all entries and any Community Champions Bonus Points information/pictures/screenshots must be submitted by that time.
Only teachers or school-approved advisors or mentors may register a high school for the high school social media campaign contest.
- Register your high school no later than April 10, 2024, 11:59 P.M. (ET).
- Teachers, advisors, and mentors will receive an email from Impact Teen Drivers to confirm eligibility for the contest within three business days of registration. If you do not receive an email confirming your registration within three business days, please email [email protected].
- Start the campaign action planning process with your students. Your social media campaign must include:
- At least one 30-second PSA video
- At least five social media posts
- A press release you share with at least one local news outlet or community information organization
- Make sure your project meets ALL requirements for your category. Requirements are listed in the Create Real Impact Contest Participation Agreement, Submission Guidelines, and Scoring Rubric. Of course, you will have already read those once before reaching this step. Go ahead and reread the Rules and the Agreement, Guidelines, and Rubric anyway!
- While extremely dangerous and highly illegal, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving is NOT the focus of this contest. Entries focused on drinking alcohol or using drugs and driving WILL NOT be accepted.
- Implement your campaign, including distributing your press release to a local news outlet or community information organization. Keep proof that your press release was shared. Your highlight video should show how your local community was engaged and involved!
- Email a publicly viewable YouTube link to your highlight video and a publicly viewable Google Drive folder with your campaign components by the contest closing date, April 25, 2024, at 5:00 P.M. (ET) to [email protected].
