Released by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office …
$34,000 in cash prizes available for students and schools for winning videos highlighting substance abuse prevention
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, First Lady Casey DeSantis officially launched “The Facts. Your Future.” website with guidelines for how Florida middle and high school students can begin posting entries in the video competition with $34,000 in cash prizes for both the winning students and their schools. These student-created videos are intended to create peer-to-peer awareness related to substance abuse and its impact on their future. Video entries are due April 27, 2020.
“The Facts. Your Future.” campaign is part of First Lady DeSantis’ Hope for Healing Florida initiative. Through assemblies, evidence-based strategies, and FAQs, “The Facts. Your Future.” campaign aims to provide Florida’s youth with the facts surrounding substance abuse and how it negatively impacts their lives.
“This campaign is about giving our children the facts they need to make well-informed, educated decisions about their futures,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “The video competition aims to empower our kids to realize that their voice and vision can have a real impact on influencing how their peers and their communities think about the decisions they make.”
“The Department of Education is proud to partner with First Lady Casey DeSantis to announce the video competition as part of ‘The Facts. Your Future.’ campaign,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran. “It is my hope that this campaign will bring awareness to substance abuse and students will take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the video contest. I am looking forward to seeing the submissions and announcing the winners.”
The videos will be reviewed by a panel of judges from the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Cash prizes are available for both middle and high school students and their schools:
- 1st Place Students and Schools: $5,000 & $5,000 each
- 2nd Place Students and Schools: $2,500 & $2,500 each
- 3rd Place Students and Schools: $1,000 & $1,000 each
Video Contest Guidelines:
- Competition is open to all Florida middle and high school students
- Video must be student created
- Video can be submitted by one student or a group of students from the same school
- Must have a clear theme of “These are the facts. This is your future.” Using concepts of empowerment, peer support, and substance abuse awareness
- Video should be no longer than 90 seconds
For more information about “The Facts. Your Future.” campaign and complete information about the video contest and required consent forms, visit www.fldoe.org/thefactsyourfuture. The deadline for video submissions is 8:00 p.m. EST on April 27, 2020.