Rules & Eligibility Guidelines
2018 National Veterans Day Poster & Poem Contest
Sponsored by Paralyzed Veterans of America
Contest Guidelines
I. Contest Theme and Criteria
The theme for this year’s National Veterans Day Poster and Poem Contest is: “Help Our Veterans Be UnstoppABLE in Your Community.” Participants should draw a poster or write a poem showing or telling how they can help make their community more accessible for veterans who use wheelchairs. Posters must include the visual/image of a wheelchair and poems must reference the use of a wheelchair.Students in grades 1-4 are eligible to enter the poster contest and students in grades 5-8 are eligible to enter the poem contest.
II. Contest Deadline
All poster and poem entries must be submitted by 5:00 PM EST Monday, October 29, 2018. See submission guidelines below.Grade category winners and Grand Prize winners will be announced on Friday, November 9, 2018 via Paralyzed Veterans of America’s Facebook Page and via press release. Entries not meeting the deadline or guidelines above will be automatically disqualified.
III. Contest Grade Categories
This year’s contest will be evaluated in the following grade-related categories and four category winners will be determined as follows:
1st – 2nd Grade – Poster
3rd – 4th Grade – Poster
5th – 6th Grade – Poem
7th – 8th Grade – Poem
IV. Poster and Poem Submission Guidelines
- Poster (1st– 4th Grades)
- Poem (5th–8th Grades)*
* Poems must be in English, and the maximum word count is 75 words or less.
All posters and poems must be the work of only one child, consisting of the child’s own words, thoughts, and creativity.
All poster and poem entries must be submitted by 5:00 PM EST Monday, October 29, 2018 to https://paralyzedveterans.wufoo.com/forms/pva-veterans-day-national-poster-poem-form/
Submission process for entries:
- submitted in either a .PDF or .JPG format
- labeled as lastname_firstname_grade
- all files must be combined into one .zip file and uploaded to https://paralyzedveterans.wufoo.com/forms/pva-veterans-day-national-poster-poem-form/
Note: Upon submission, all posters and poems will become the property of Paralyzed Veterans of America, which reserves the right to reproduce submissions, and will not be returned. By submitting their entries, contest entrants voluntarily assign all intellectual property rights in their creations to Paralyzed Veterans of America.
V. Eligibility
The contest is open to students living in the United States in Grades 1–8 who are enrolled in public and private schools, and home-schooled students.
VI. Judging
All submissions will be posted to a Facebook album. Winners will be determined by voting on Facebook. Voting will commence at noon EST Tuesday, October 30, 2018 and end at noon EST, Monday, November 5, 2018. All prize winners, including grade category winners, will be determined by the poster and poem that receives the most votes/“likes” on Facebook*.
*A Facebook account is not needed to participate, but voters must have an account to “vote”/like an entry.
*Names of students entering the contest will not be shared on Facebook as part of the voting process. Only the names of winners will be announced.
*Photos will be shuffled in their respective Facebook photo albums weekly.
Voters will be encouraged to vote using the following criteria: expression of the theme, content of artwork style and/or writing, and creativity of artwork and/or writing.
VII. Awards
- Each participant will receive a certificate of merit
- Grade category winners will be awarded plaques
- The Grand Prize* winner of the Poem category and the Grand Prize winner of the Poster category will each win a trip to the 2019 National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Louisville, Kentucky, co-presented each year by Paralyzed Veterans of America. Grand Prize winners will also have their winning entries featured on Paralyzed Veterans of America’s website and in PN magazine (Paraplegia News).
*Grand Prize consists of 2 roundtrip tickets per child (winner plus one parent or guardian), and 2 nights hotel accommodations.
Note: Paralyzed Veterans of America assumes no responsibility for poster and poem submissions. Winning entrants agree that Paralyzed Veterans of America has the right to use, without further permission and/or compensation, their drawings and/or poems for promotion of Veterans Day, or any other related use. The submissions will not be returned. Previous Grand Prize Winners and Category winners are not eligible for prizes.
VIII. Miscellaneous
This contest and eligibility for becoming a winner will be void where prohibited.
Address of Sponsor of the Contest – Paralyzed Veterans of America is located at 801 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006.
Official contest rules – These are the official rules (“Official Contest Rules”) for the Paralyzed Veterans of America’s Poster and Poem Contest.
Agreement to Abide By Official Contest Rules – Each eligible person who enters the contest is a “Contestant”. By entering the contest, contestant hereby fully and unconditionally agrees that such entry constitutes the Contestant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of the Official Contest Rules. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. Paralyzed Veterans of America reserves the right to change the Contest Rules at any time preceding or during the contest without prior consent or notice.
Publicity – acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for Paralyzed Veterans of America to use the prize winner’s name, hometown, photograph, testimonial or other likeness and/or prize information or personal exposition (and/or any edited portion thereof) for promotional, advertising and/or publicity purposes in any media, now or hereafter known throughout the world in perpetuity, without compensation or notice to, or further consent of the prize winner to the extent permitted by law.
Release – Except where prohibited, each contestant agrees to release and hold harmless the Paralyzed Veterans of America and its officers, directors, employees and agents (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the contest or receipt or use of any prize.
Limitations of Liability – Except where prohibited, each contestant agrees that the released parties are not responsible for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by contestants or printing errors; (b) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the contest; (c) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the contest or the processing of entries; or (d) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from contestant participation in the contest or receipt of any prize.
For questions or concerns, please email: posterpoem@pva.org
