New York, NY, - The HEAR ME Project has teamed up with Think MTV to launch the second annual National HIV/AIDS Story-Writing Competition for youth at-risk, with an impressive celebrity jury. Morgan Freeman is honorary chair of the panel which consists of Spike Lee, Scarlett Johansson, Forest Whitaker, Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order),Jasmine Guy (Dead Like Me), LeVar Burton (Star Trek), writer Jose Rivera (Motorcycle Diaries), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), playwright Charles OyamO Gordon and renowned HIV prevention specialist, Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott.

The story-writing competition invites young people ages 14 to 22 to send in original stories about vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. In addition to receiving a cash prize of $500, the winner’s story will be turned into a short educational film and distributed nationwide to schools, government agencies, community groups and youth serving organizations. The story may also be published in print and in online anthologies with other selected entries. Contest entry forms will be available at www.hearmeproject.org. The contest is open to all youth ages 14-22. The Call for Entries begins National HIV Testing Day, June 27, 2005, and the deadline for submissions is World AIDS Day, December 1, 2005. Stories must be between 3-5 pages (typed, double-spaced or neatly written) and will be accepted via postal mail. The winner will be announced on or about Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2005.

The contest was created to get young people thinking about their personal vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. Many young people are unaware that HIV and AIDS are significant threats. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), at least half of all HIV infections in the United States are among people under 25 and the majority of these young people are infected sexually. Minorities are hardest hit. The CDC reports that 84% of girls aged 13-19 with AIDS are African-American or Hispanic and 62% of boys aged 13-19 with AIDS are African-American or Hispanic.

"This competition is a fresh way to get young people thinking about their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. The celebrity support validates these kids and says, 'your life is important to us - protect it'," says Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Department Chair of the Center for Health Disparities at The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing.

The 2004 call for entries yielded nearly 400 stories from all over the country, as well as international responses from London, Nigeria, Zambia and Canada. Spike Lee, Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids), producer Elizabeth Avellan (Spy Kids), Jesse L. Martin, (Rent, Law and Order) Jeff Friedman (Academy Award Winner, Common Threads), Charles OyamO Gordon, Jasmine Guy, MTV VJ Quddus, and Dr. Loretta Jemmott picked the winning story belonging to 14-year-old Shawn C. Nabors of Brooklyn, NY. Nabors’ story will be filmed this summer and incorporated into CDC approved HIV prevention curricula that target junior and senior high school students.

The contest is presented by The HEAR ME Project a 501(c)(3) organization, and Think MTV and founding Sponsor, Select Media, Inc. Other Sponsors and collaborators include Abbott Laboratories, Baby Phat, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Community Connect (Asian Avenue, Black Planet and Mi Gente), M•A•C AIDS Fund, Mony, The New York Mercantile Exchange, Oxygen Media, Savoy Magazine, Scholastic Magazine, The Source Magazine, Urban Latino Magazine, VIBE Magazine, XXL Magazine, and the Center for Health Disparities at The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing.


For further information, contact Tyree Oredein at 212-941-2309 or visit www.hearmeproject.org.