Two Philadelphia companies are teaming up to encourage teenagers to think and write clearly in the digital realm — with the admonishment that “good stories are about far more than cute pet or baby photos” — in a one-day challenge on Friday, November 14.
VUID, a Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania portfolio company, and Mighty Writers are running the $1,000 Spotlight Special Contest for #nopics.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, young writers are invited to post a poem or story to VUID's Spotlight app while including the hashtag #nopics in the post body (no photos allowed). There will be three winners: $500 to the judges’ favorite post; $250 to the post with the most “likes”; and $250 to the post by a Mighty Writer with the most likes.
Mighty Writers offers free writing classes to Philadelphia students ages 7 to 17.
“At Mighty Writers, we're always looking for new and innovative ways to spark a love of writing in children and teens,” says Rachel Loeper, the program's education director. “The Spotlight app has ignited a few of our students, who have been posting their pictures and stories, and even sharing information about programs they're participating in at Mighty Writers.”
The Spotlight app is VUID’s first product. The company is also developing the VUID #, a unique mobile ID number that allows users to log in to everything safely and securely. VUID numbers range from one to ten billion, so everyone on Earth could have a number. (More numbers will be made available once the global population exceeds 10 billion.)
For tomorrow, though, VUID is setting its sights on something much smaller.
“We're honored to partner with a nationally recognized organization that runs one of Philadelphia's most sought-after programs for youth,” enthuses VUID CEO Kevin Brophy. “Mighty Writers teaches Philadelphia kids and teens to think and write with clarity so that they can achieve success at school, at work and in life. This is very similar to our mission at Spotlight, which is to provide an amazing contest experience that rewards people for sharing their best stories, thoughts, poems and song lyrics.”
Source: Karen Meidlinger, VUID
Writer: Elise Vider