Winners Announced for Sixth Annual Adolescent Immunization Awareness Contest
Newark, NJ, April 30, 2018 – The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey (the Partnership), in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the winners for the sixth annual Protect Me With 3+ adolescent immunization awareness poster and video contest.
The winners and finalists in each category were honored at an awards ceremony and banquet held at The Conference Center at RWJ Hamilton Center for Health & Wellness on April 29, 2018. The top three winners in the poster and video categories received prizes and the opportunity for their artistic creations to be distributed during statewide immunization awareness activities.
Middle School Poster Contest Winners:
1st place: Jenna Birney from Franklin Elementary School
2nd place: Austin Garay from Franklin Elementary School
3rd place: Ava Butterline from Franklin Elementary School
High School Poster Contest Winners:
1st place: Arya Sasne from West Windsor – Plainsboro High School South
2nd place: Nicole Kye from Ridgewood High School
3rd place: Vic Petroni from Mahwah High School
Video Contest Winners:
1st place: Kerry Harper from Henry Hudson Regional School
2nd place: Spencer Friedman from Marlboro High School
3rd place: Stuti Mohan from Middlesex County Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences
Teachers and schools with the most eligible classroom submissions in each category were also acknowledged at the ceremony. The winning teachers and schools include:
- Venisha Jordan – Franklin Elementary, Rahway, NJ – Middle School Poster Category
- Denise DePalma – Orange High School, Orange, NJ – High School Poster Category
- William Werntz – Marlboro High School, Marlboro, NJ – Video Category
The Protect Me With 3+ contest raises awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate, and influenza (flu).
This year, we received more than 400 poster and video entries from middle school and high school students across the state. The winning creations can be viewed at https://protectmewith3.com/winners.
“The Protect Me With 3+ contest teaches young adults about the importance of vaccinations in a fun and creative way. Students are encouraged to express themselves artistically and collaborate with their peers,” said Ilise Zimmerman, President and CEO of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. “We received a record number of student submissions this year and look forward to engaging even more students and teachers in next year’s contest!”
“The Department of Health is excited to share these informative posters and videos at various health events to promote the importance of adolescent immunization,” said Dr. Tina Tan, State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health. “We’d like to thank all of the students and teachers who participated and helped to deliver our health message!”
New Jersey students in grades 5-8 were eligible to submit posters, while students in grades 9-12 were eligible to submit either posters or videos. The public voted for their favorite entries from March 26 through April 8, 2018.
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 (NJDOH). 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, please visit the New Jersey Department of Health’s website: http://www.nj.gov/health/cd/vpdp.shtml.