Black Women for Positive Change (BW4PC), a national, volunteer civic organization recently sponsored the first “On 2nd Thought” Essay Contest at the Neighborhood Academy, in Pittsburgh. High school juniors and seniors wrote original essays to compete for prizes based on “On 2nd Thought,” a youth violence prevention film produced by BW4PC.
The cash prizes and certificates were presented to Neighborhood Academy students by Diane Powell, essay contest chair, and Latara Jones, essay contest coordinator. Winners of the Essay Contest were: First Place: Cydney J.C. Francis—$150 cash prize; Second Place: Brittany Williams—$100 cash prize; and Third Place: Derrick Clark—$50.
“Over the past two years, we have shown the ‘On 2nd Thought’ film to hundreds of youth in Pittsburgh to encourage discussion about violence prevention. We’re glad students at the Neighborhood Academy competed in the Essay Competition and shared their thoughts about the film’s message. We appreciate the support of the Academy and their teacher, Jennifer Kane,” said Powell, Outreach Co-Chair, BW4PC East Coast Region.
In a joint statement, BW4PC National Co-Chairs Stephanie Myers, PhD, and Virginia delegate Daun S. Hester said, “We believe it is important to help young people understand they should think twice and have ‘2nd Thoughts’ before engaging in violence. BW4PC is producing socially responsible media tools for schools, civic organizations and local governments to help youth learn how to weigh options before engaging in violence and ruining their lives, and the lives of others.”
