14-Year-Old From Brooklyn Wins National HIV/AIDS Writing Competition For At-Risk Youth- With Judges Spike Lee, Jesse L. Martin, Robert Rodriguez and Spokespersons Jasmine Guy and MTV's Quddus

14 year old, Shawn C. Nabors from Brooklyn, New York is the winner of the Positively Negative, an HIV/AIDS National Story-Writing Competition for youth ages 14-22. Judges included Spike Lee, Jesse L. Martin, Robert Rodriguez, Jasmine Guy and MTV's Quddus. Nabor's story will be adapted into a screenplay and made into an HIV/AIDS educational film to be distributed nationwide to schools, health departments and other youth-serving organizations nationwide.

New York, NY (PRWEB) December 2, 2004 --Youth-At-Risk Write to Celebrity Jurors, "Thank You For Hearing Me!"

Shawn C. Nabors, 14 of Brooklyn, NY, is the winner of the Positively Negative, an HIV/AIDS National Story-Writing Competition for youth ages 14-22. Nabors will receive a $500 cash prize and his story will be adapted into a screenplay and made into an HIV/AIDS educational film to be distributed nationwide to schools, health departments and other youth-serving organizations nationwide.

The final round judging panel included Spike Lee, Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids), producer Elizabeth Avellan (Spy Kids), Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order), Jeff Friedman (Academy Award Winner, Common Threads), playwright Charles OyamO Gordon, Jasmine Guy (Dead Like Me), MTV VJ Quddus, and Dr. Loretta Jemmott (author/ HIV/AIDS Research Prevention Specialist).

Many young people are unaware that HIV and AIDS are significant threats in the U.S., and believe that HIV/AIDS is only a problem overseas. 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 ages 13-19 with AIDS are African-American or Hispanic and 62% of boys ages 13-19 with AIDS are African-American or Hispanic.

"HIV and AIDS affect everybody. Kids feel invincible. This contest helped kids realize they are vulnerable," says actress and writer Jasmine Guy, a contest spokesperson.

The call for entries yielded nearly 400 stories from all over the country, as well as international responses from London, Nigeria, Zambia and Canada. Young people also reached out from prison to share their thoughts. There were stories entered about incest, rape, drug addiction, spousal and child abuse, and other heart-rending issues that will find a voice in a print compilation.

The contest is Select Media's first annual competition in collaboration with The HEAR ME Project, a nonprofit 501c3 organization. The contest was created to get young people thinking about their own personal vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and to give them a chance to have their voices and stories heard in a meaningful context. Many entrants wrote letters directly to the celebrity judges thanking them for "hearing me".

"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, Professor and Director of the Center for Health Disparities at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing.

The runners up are Alex Adams, 19 (Cincinnati, OH); Jody-Ann Cross, 20 (Huntington Station, NY); Brian Delguidice, 16 (San Leadnro, CA); Karla Kimble, 20 (Moreno Valley, CA); KC Ligon, 18 (Ardmore, OK); Shavon Meyers, 20 (Brooklyn, NY); Jessica Prince, 15 (Philadelphia, PA); Ladie Odyessy Samuel, 21 (Lithonia, GA); Tim Seto, 20 (Brooklyn, NY), and Xandra Carroll, 17 (Littleton, CO) who gets a special mention for her story about, HIV and AIDS in Africa.

Select Media has been publishing and producing award-winning, research-based curricula and films on critical health issues since 1988. Three of Select Media's curricula, co-authored by Drs. John and Loretta Jemmott, have been selected by the CDC for the prestigious and competitive "Programs That Work" Curriculum Award; Select Media's library includes, Nicole's Choice, Sex, Drugs & HIV and The Subject Is: HIV among other award-winning educational films.

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

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