The Fourth Annual Protect Me With 3+ Poster and Video Contest Offers Unique Opportunity to Engage Middle School and High School Students and Parents on Key Vaccinations

Newark, NJ, October 20, 2015 – The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the launch of the fourth annual Protect Me With 3+ poster and video contest. The contest challenges youth in middle and high schools throughout New Jersey to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations: tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate and flu vaccines. New Jersey teachers are encouraged to make the Protect Me With 3+ contest a class project.

“The Protect Me With 3+ contest allows us to engage New Jersey youth, their parents and teachers while offering an opportunity to raise public health awareness,” commented Ilise Zimmerman, Executive Director of Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. “Young people are showing interest in preventing diseases and taking care of their own health.”

In its fourth year, Protect Me With 3+ has expanded to include a poster option for high school students. Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the video and two poster categories. The winning entries also have a chance to be distributed during statewide immunization awareness activities. Prizes will also be awarded to the classrooms with the most eligible submissions in each of the three categories.

To participate, youth must submit a video up to 30 seconds long or a hand drawn poster integrating key facts about one adolescent vaccine by February 4, 2016. The top five finalists in each of the three categories will be posted on www.protectmewith3.com for public voting in February. The winners will be announced at an award ceremony in March.

“Vaccinating pre-teens and teens is a great way for the younger generation to understand that vaccines are one of the best ways to stay healthy,” said Deputy Commissioner Dr. Arturo Brito. “It’s crucial for adolescents to be up-to-date on their vaccinations, so make sure to take advantage of health check-ups, sports, or camp physicals to ensure all of the recommended vaccines have been received.”

Information regarding eligibility, video and poster submission guidelines and contest rules can be found at https://protectmewith3.com.

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: http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/imm.shtml.