"BE BIG IN YOUR COMMUNITY" CONTEST
2013 OFFICIAL RULES
CONTEST DESCRIPTION:
If you or someone you know has a Big Idea that will create positive change in your community, we invite you to submit your idea for consideration in the Clifford The Big Red Dog(r) "Be Big In Your Community" Contest.
SPONSOR: Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
ADMINISTRATOR:This contest is administered by the Points of Light & HandsOn Network, 600 Means St. NW, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30318.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: Purchase is NOT required to enter and will NOT increase your chances of winning.
ELIGIBILITY:
Contest open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.
Entries may be submitted by individuals or by team leaders. A "team" is any two or more people who consider themselves a team. Key elements in defining a team could include, but not be limited to: clubs, organizations, institutions, classrooms. For-profit corporations and other business entities, including without limitation partnerships and limited liability companies, are prohibited from entering as a team. Each member of the team must meet the eligibility requirements hereof. Children who enter with the assistance of a parent or guardian will be considered an individual. All entries, whether by individuals or by teams, will be included in one pool of entries for judging purposes; that is, individual and team entries will not be judged as separate groups. Individuals employed by or otherwise associated with Sponsor, Administrator or any organization or person participating in judging, their promotional partners, agencies, affiliates, members of their immediate families, persons living in the same household of these individuals are not eligible to enter or win. For clarification, unpaid volunteers for Points of Light & HandsOn Network are not considered "employees" for purposes of this Contest.
In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, the entry will be deemed submitted by the "Authorized Account Holder" of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry. Authorized Account Holder means the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.
By entering, entrants affirm that they have read and agree to comply with these Official Rules, and with respect to team entrants, that each member of the team has read and agrees to comply with these Official Rules. Entrants are expected to be available to participate in the implementation of their BE BIG project in time period following the awarding of the prize established by the HandsOn Network or its designated implementing entity, as described below. Subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
START AND END DATES:
TThe Contest begins 9:00:00 a.m. ET ("Eastern Time") on February 14, 2013 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. ET on June 23, 2013 ("Entry Period"). Online entries must be submitted by 11:59:59 pm ET on June 23, 2013 and mail-in entries and any mail-in supplementary materials must be postmarked by June 23, 2013 and received by June 26, 2013.
*Children under the age of 13 entering online must submit the information required for us to obtain parental/guardian consent by 11:59:59 p.m. ET on June 23, 2013, and must upload their complete entries by 11:59:59 on June 26, 2013, to be eligible.
Entries postmarked or received after these dates will not be accepted.
METHODS OF ENTRY:
There are two methods of entry:
Method #1: To enter online, visit www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest to complete the entry form.
Method #2: To enter by postal mail, submit a completed entry form by first class mail, with proper postage affixed to: Be Big In Your Community, C/O Points of Light & HandsOn Network, 600 Means St. NW, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30318. Internet Access is available for free at many public libraries. Entry forms may be printed from a PDF file available at: www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest. To receive an entry form by mail, send a request to: BEBIG@PointsofLight.org or Be Big In Your Community, C/O Points of Light & HandsOn Network, 600 Means St. NW, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30318.
Optional Supplementary Materials: Entrants are invited but not required to submit supplementary materials (video, photos, documents, drawings, etc.) explaining or supporting their entries. Supplementary materials may only be submitted by postal mail to Be Big In Your Community, C/O Points of Light Institute/ HandsOn Network, 600 Means St. NW, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30318, accompanied by either (a) your completed entry form submitted simultaneously with such supplementary materials or (b) with a print out of the confirmation page that appears upon completion of the online entry form.
An Entrant may submit more than one entry so long as each entry represents a separate and distinct proposal, is submitted separately, meets all entry requirements, and if submitted by mail, is submitted separately in its own mailing envelope. Each entry form must be filled out COMPLETELY, including the short answer questions in the entry form regarding the entrant's proposed project.
Personal information CANNOT be included in responses to the contest questions portion of the entry form, such as information that would enable someone to contact or locate the entrant online or offline (for example but without limitation, name, email address, street name, town, school name or address, park names/locations) or other personal information about the entrant. Sponsor reserves the right to delete any such information included in entries received or to reject those entries in their entirety.
Entries received that are not submitted on an official entry form (whether online or offline) will be disqualified.
Additionally, each entry must be in keeping with Clifford the Big Red Dog's Big Ideas and may not be offensive or inappropriate, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. Furthermore, an entry may not defame or invade the publicity or privacy rights of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise on any person's personal or property rights. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entry it deems to be offensive, inappropriate or not in keeping with Clifford the Big Red Dog's Big Ideas, in its sole discretion.
None of Sponsor or Administrator is responsible for technical failures in entry transmission, or for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, illegible, mutilated or postage due mail. Proof of mailing and/or online submission does not constitute proof of delivery and/or receipt. Incomplete entries and those otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules are subject to disqualification at the sole discretion of Sponsor. No mechanically reproduced submissions allowed. Once submitted, all submissions including all optional supplementary materials (and all rights therein) become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned.
All submissions from entrants and/or their parents/legal guardians will be retained in accordance with Scholastic’s record retention policies for the Contest (for all entries: at least one year following selection of the winner; for winners, at least three years). Any personal information collected via online entry will also be subject to Scholastic’s Privacy Policy.
PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN PERMISSION FOR ENTRANTS UNDER 13:
Entrants under the age of 13 at time of entry will be asked to provide an email address for a parent or legal guardian in addition to the child’s email address. These email addresses will be used to:
- Obtain permission from the child's parent/guardian for the child to enter the contest.
- If parental/guardian permission is given for the child to enter, to notify the child that he/she is permitted to upload an entry and to provide instructions on how to do so; to confirm to the child that his/ her entry has been successfully uploaded and received by Scholastic, to notify the parent/guardian and the child if the he/she is selected as a potential winner and to provide instructions on next steps for prize fulfillment.
- If permission is denied, or if the parent/guardian does not respond, the child’s information will be deleted after 5 days.
Sponsor will select one (1) grand prize winner and five (5) first place winners from among the eligible entries received. The submissions will be evaluated by a panel of representatives of the Sponsor and Administrator based on the following criteria:
- Feasibility (30%): Can the proposed Big Idea realistically be accomplished with available resources?
- Creativity (30%): Does it demonstrate a creative approach to problem-solving?
- Sustainability (20%): Does this Big Idea have the potential to be an ongoing project?
- Impact (20%): Will it have a meaningful impact on the relevant community or issue identified by the entrant?
The six (6) winners selected will be notified by telephone and/or mail on or about August 17, 2013. All decisions of the Sponsor regarding the Be Big In Your Community contest are final and binding on all participants.
AWARDS:
Each Be Big In Your Community winning entry will be honored with a community grant from The Be Big Fund to help bring his or her idea to life and a certificate acknowledging his or her Be Big Idea. The Be Big Fund was established by Sponsor and is administered and managed by the Points of Light Institute / HandsOn Network. Its mission is to raise awareness of the Be Big ideas and how their application can help make the world a better place, to engage the public in taking action on Be Big ideas in their personal, school, business and community lives, to recognize Be Big actions in various forms - and to provide resources for parents, teachers and others to use in the character education of our children and our communities.
One (1) Grand Prize Winner - One entry will be honored with a $5,000 community grant.
Five (5) First Place Winners - Five entries will be honored with a $1,000 community grants (one grant per first place winner).
GRANT DISTRIBUTION
The Points of Light Institute / HandsOn Network will award and administer the community grants awarded in connection with the winners’ projects. Administrator will provide grant management support and technical assistance in connection with the winners’ projects as follows:
- Grand Prize Winner: Grant check for the winner’s project will be awarded to the entity designated as per the process described above. Points of Light Institute (POL), a 501(c)(3), will administer all grants to each of the winners. Unless mutually agreed upon in advance by Scholastic, POL and the Contest winner, POL will distribute the Grand Prize and First Place prize grants in the Be Big! Contest winners’ name to a 501(c)(3)non-profit or accredited school of the winner’s choice and as identified in the completed winner workbook. Grant management support and technical assistance will also be provided. The winner will be required to submit a satisfactory project plan and budget to Administrator before the grant money will be disbursed to the designated entity. Administrator will also provide winner with volunteer management resources, including a part-time volunteer mentor to provide ongoing support for a period of three (3) months commencing on October 1, 2013. Administrator will also provide the winner with a "Be Big" self-organizing toolkit and a resource guide. Winner will also receive periodic invitations to applicable HandsOn Network trainings and local affiliate volunteer leader orientations during such 3-month period. In addition, POL will host a project planning teleconference between the winner and the designated entity to provide specific assistance in implementing the winning Big Idea. Grand Prize Winners will be required to submit a grant report outlining their activities, expenses, and provide pictures within thirty (30) days of completion of the winner’s project to ensure the grant was spent in accordance with the Official Rules.
- First Place Winners:Grant checks for the winners’ projects will be awarded to the entity designated as per the process described above. Points of Light Institute, a 501(c)(3), will administer all grants to each of the winners. Unless mutually agreed upon in advance by Scholastic, POL and the Contest winner, POL will distribute the Grand Prize and First Place prize grants in the Be Big! Contest winners’ name to a 501(c)(3)non-profit or accredited school of the winner’s choice and as identified in the completed winner workbook. Grant management support and technical assistance will also be provided. The winners will be required to submit a satisfactory project plan and budget to Administrator before the grant money will be disbursed to the designated entities. Administrator will also provide winners with the volunteer management resources, including a part-time volunteer mentor to provide ongoing support for a period of three (3) months commencing on October 1, 2013. Administrator will also provide winners with a "Be Big" self-organizing toolkit and a resource guide. Winners will also receive periodic invitations to applicable HandsOn Network trainings and local affiliate volunteer leader orientations during such 3-month period. In addition, POL will host a project planning teleconference between each winner and the applicable designated entity to provide specific assistance in implementing the winner’s winning Big Idea. First Place Winners will be required to submit a grant report outlining their activities, expenses, and provide pictures within thirty (30) days of completion of the winner’s project to ensure the grant was spent in accordance with the Official Rules.
The designated implementing entity (POL) will provide the grant management services described above. Winners will be responsible for their own expenses in traveling to any Administrator meetings or other events. In conjunction with the winners, the designated implementing entity will establish the schedule for the implementation of the winning Be Big In Your Community projects and the budget for how the grant money will be used.
100% of the grant funds will be used towards implementing the relevant Be Big In Your Community entry. After the community grants have been awarded, Sponsor will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by the HandsOn Network affiliate or local designee and/or any winner in implementation of the winning projects. Sponsor makes no representation that any grant awarded hereunder will be sufficient to complete implementation of any Be Big In Your Community project or that the goals of any Be Big In Your Community entry will be achieved. Taxes on prizes (if any) are the sole responsibility of the prizewinners and their families.
WINNER LIST:
After October 15, 2013, Winners will be posted online at (http://www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest). To receive a list of Winners (available after October 15, 2013,) send a self addressed stamped envelope to "Be Big in Your Community Contest" c/o Points of Light & HandsOn Network, 600 Means St. NW, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30318.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Each entrant agrees that Sponsor, Administrator, their affiliates and their respective officers, directors, agents, and employees ("Released Entities"), will have no liability or responsibility for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind, including but not limited to death, injuries, damages or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with this Contest, the participation in any Contest-related activity including without limitation activities involved in implementing any prizes, or while preparing for, participating in, and/or traveling to any award-related activity, and they will be held harmless against any claims of liability arising directly or indirectly from the prizes awarded. None of the Released Entities is responsible for the implementation of any award, or the delay or prevention of any award due to travel cancellations, delays or interruption due to weather, natural disaster, acts of war or terrorism or similar causes. By entering, participants warrant that their entries, including without limitation any supplementary materials, are their original work, entrant is the sole and exclusive owner thereof, and that the Released Entities' use of any materials submitted will not violate any rights of any other person or entity, including, without limitation, any copyright rights, rights of privacy or rights of publicity. Participants further agree to indemnify and hold the Released Entities harmless from any claims arising from use by any of the Released Entities of participants' submissions.
If the administration or integrity of the Contest is compromised or corrupted at any time, the Sponsor reserves the right to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Contest. Sponsor and its agencies shall not be liable for any injury or damage to an entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from entering the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to select winners from eligible entries received as of the termination date. Without limitation of any other rights or remedies available to Sponsor, any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest will be ineligible for prizes.
Except where prohibited, acceptance of a prize shall constitute and signify an winner's consent to the use of his/her biographical information and likeness (as further detailed in the Affidavit) for any lawful purpose in any media, including online, in perpetuity without further notice or compensation. One or more winners may also be asked to attend and participate in media and/or public relations events (the "Media Events") designated by Sponsor and/or requested by various media outlets. Upon Sponsor's request, and subject to winner's availability, each winner agrees to participate in such Media Events without any further compensation. Sponsor shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to choose the winners it wishes to participate in such Media Events. By accepting the prize, all winners, whether or not chosen to participate in such Media Events, agree to release Released Entities, and hold each of them harmless, from any claims relating to their selection, non-selection, participation or non-participation in any Media Events.
Winners and, if applicable, their parents/legal guardians may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release ("Affidavit") within ten (10) days of notification. None of the Released Entities shall be liable for unsuccessful efforts to notify an winner. If a potential winner and, if applicable, his/her parent/legal guardian do not sign and return the Affidavit within ten (10) days of notification, or if the potential winner does not meet the eligibility requirements or other qualification criteria set forth herein, Sponsor reserves the right to select an alternate winner. If the potential winner is a team, the team leader will be required to provide a list of all team members and a signed Affidavit from each member of the team. No substitutions, transfers, or assignments of prizes or awards are allowed, except by the Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a prize or award (or portion thereof) of comparable or greater value, in its sole discretion. If any potential winning team or winning team member fails to comply with all requirements as set forth in these Official Rules or refuses or is unavailable to accept a prize, Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify such potential winning team or team member and, at its sole discretion, award the prize to another winner. After Sponsor's reasonable attempt to award prizes, any unclaimed prizes will remain in the Be Big Fund to fund future Be Big programs and to advance the Be Big Fund's mission.
