1. INVITATION :
According to the American Psychological Association, Parents and caregivers are crucial for the proper healthy development of an individual as they provide their children with the essential life skills needed to live and succeed as members of our community. Family, the cornerstone of society, is responsible for the development of every new generation. However, individualism in today’s society appears to redefine familiar relationships, and at times, separate parents from their children.
Pilsen Wellness Center, Inc. and Reiyukai Active Care Team (REACT) Chicago are pleased to invite individuals ages 17 to 23 and residents of the State of Illinois to participate in the 2020 Letter to My ParentsTM Contest. The contest is aimed to build healthy familial relationships as well as promote improvement within the parent-child relationship.
2. PROCEDURE
In order to participate, any eligible contestant must first write a letter dedicated to his/her parent(s) or legal guardian based on their personal experience, then submit it to the Organizing Committee. There is no entry fee. All submitted letters for the Committee’s review will undergo multiple selection processes conducted by impartial community judges for transparency purposes in order to be select the best 10 (ten) letters that qualify for the Final Stage. The Final Stage consists of a presentation where the ten contestants will read their letters in front of a general audience as well as a panel of judges who will select three winners.
3. PRIZES
The ten contestants who presented their letters will win the following prizes. - A $50 Gift Certificate. - An opportunity to be published in both digital and printed formats. - A certificate of participation. - A year-long test prep course subscription courtesy of BenchPrep. Among the ten winners, TWO WINNERS will be selected by the group of distinguished judges eligible for the Trip to Japan as a part of “Reiyukai Japan Leadership Training Trip 2020” organized by Reiyukai America. The trip is scheduled to be organized between March 18th to 28th in 2020 with transportation and lodging expenses fees all sponsored by Pilsen Wellness Center. All participants must be capable of producing their passport upon request by the Organizing Committee to establish that they can travel abroad. At the moment of been selected as one of the ten winners, all participants must make necessary arrangements to be able to leave the country during the dates mentioned earlier. If the contestant cannot participate in the “Japan Leadership Training Trip 2020,” he/she will lose his/her prize and will be granted to the next eligible winner.(Please note the above trip dates may be changed by the organizing committee.) The Runner Up will receive a scholarship of $500. Additional prizes will be announced and provided on the date of the event!
4. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Any individual between the ages of 17 to 23 can submit a letter to participate in this Contest. All eligible participants must physically reside in the Cook County at the time of participation. Be aware that participants under the age of 18 must submit a Parental/Guardian Consent Form granting them permission to fully participate in the contest.
5. WRITING THE LETTER
All letters must be written with the positive intention of maintaining a healthy family relationship or as a way to improve the current family situation.
5.1 Guiding Questions
All contestants are asked to submit her/his work illustrating concrete examples from his/her personal family life—reflecting upon his/her familial relationships and interactions.
The participant may use one or more of the suggested guiding questions to compose his/her letter
- How have my parents’ experiences influenced or affected the person I am today?
- What do my parent(s) means to me?
- What are my thoughts about how we are as a family?
- What would I like to do for my parent(s)?
- How I can improve the overall relationships in my family?
5.2 Structure
The submitted letter must:
- Include the name(s) of the person(s) to whom the letter is addressed
- Describe one or more significant life experiences in your family.
- Include a proposal—either implicit or explicit, suggesting how to improve or maintain a positive relationship in the family. A proposal could be a new family tradition/behavior that a contestant would like to bring into his/her family in order to move forward from the time of his/her letter was written
5.3 Language
The participant may choose one or more languages currently used in the State of Illinois. If any other language besides English is used to compose a letter, the participant is then responsible for providing the English translation, which should be submitted to the event’s organizing committee along with his/her original letter.
5.4 Word Count
Each work submitted must not exceed more than 1000 words.
5.5 Content
Each participant must submit a letter that is clear, honest, sincere, completely written in one's own words, and based on his/her personal experiences. Letters based on fictitious events or happenings will not be accepted.
6. ENTRY INFORMATION
The participants may submit their work either through the official website, via email or certified US Mail.
6.1 Online Submission
Visit the following website and click on the Chicago contest logo!
6.2 E-Mail Submission
Send your email including the following:
1) Original Letter (Preferably in Microsoft Word docx format. DO NOT SEND AS GOOGLE DOC.)
2) Scan of your Photo ID such as passport, green-card, state ID or drivers license. DO NOT SEND SELFIES
4) If you are 17 years old, do not forget to include your Parental Consent Form signed by your parent/legal guardian. Registration Form and Parental Consent Form are downloadable from the website or you can request it via email.
6.3 Mail Submission
Send your certified letter including everything mentioned above in section 6.2 to: Paul Naranjo Corporate Compliance Director Pilsen Wellness Center, Inc. 2319 South Damen Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60608
7. STRUCTURE OF THE CONTEST
7.1 First Stage
Participants will be allowed to submit their letters starting on November 28th, 2019. - Participants will have until Friday, January 17, 2020 to submit their letters for this contest.
7.2 Semifinal Stage
The letters that have been submitted by the expected deadline will undergo a screening process by which the ten finalist letters that best reflect on the guiding questions will be selected by a group of community judges during the month of January 2020. Those contestants who are selected for final stage will be contacted by the Organizing Committee via email, phone or both and will be invited to attend the Final Presentation.
7.3 Final Stage
If selected, the ten winners will read aloud their submitted letters, without altering or modifying their content, at the Final Presentation. The Final Presentation will be held on Saturday, February 1st, 2020 in the morning at Pilsen Wellness Center, 2319 South Damen Avenue, 60608. If the letter was not written in English, there will be simultaneous translations will be available during the reading. The judges will then determine the award recipients. The judges will consist of people who are recognized for their moral and intellectual reliability and chosen by the organizing committee from the community stakeholders; their decisions will not be appealable.
8: TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By participating in the contest, each contestant will understand and agree to the following Terms and Conditions: - Each contestant must follow the above described guidelines. - There is zero tolerance for plagiarism. The use of any outside resource is allowed, but must be properly quoted within the text by the writer of the letter. - All submitted letters for this contest will not be returned to the author and will become property of the Letter to My ParentsTM Contest Organizing Committee. The author understands the possibility of the letter being published/presented at a later date to media outlets which include: newspapers, web pages, electronic mails, magazines; radio programs, television as well as any future community events organized by the Organizing Committee’s members. - Contestants from previous years may participate by submitting a different letter to the one previously created. - The Organizing Committee will not be responsible of any family issue that may arise as the result of the content expressed in the letters by their authors.
9: CONTACT
For any questions, you may contact the Organizing Committee via Phone:
Tomoko at (773) 837-5478 / Reiyukai Active Care Team
Paul Naranjo at (312) 521-3146 / Pilsen Wellness Center or Email: info@lettertomyparents.com
10: MISCELLANEOUS
Any unforeseen issue will be addressed by the Organizing Committee.
11: ORGANIZERS
Pilsen Wellness Center, IncREACT Chicago
12: SPONSORS
BenchPrep
13: SUPPORTERS
Durango Unido en Chicago Reiyukai America