I am beyond excited to have been asked to be a guest judge for the Gilda's Club Seattle 2016 Teen Writing Contest!
And what exactly is the Gilda's Club Seattle Teen Writing Contest?
In 2006, Gilda's Club created a writing contest for teens in Washington State affected by cancer. Students are invited to submit essays of 500-2,000 words about their experience with cancer, whether through their own diagnosis or that of a loved one or friend. Since the contest began, they've received more than 1,800 essays and have handed out more than $100,000 in cash prizes!
The contest deadline for all submissions this year, is March 20th -- and finalists will be narrowed down the following week. From there, all judges will be reading each of the final submits and voting on the winners!
In addition to being asked to guest judge, I'm thrilled that (if the timing permits) I'll also be handing out autographed hardback copies of SUMMER OF SLOANE to all of the winners at the awards ceremony on May 15th!
For those of you that aren't familiar with Gilda's Club:
Gilda's Club Mission
The mission of Gilda's Club is to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone. Gilda's Club offers a community based program of social, emotional and educational support for men, women, teens and children living with cancer along with their families and friends. Programs are offered in Seattle and throughout the State with collaborating partners in varied locations such as hospitals, community centers and schools. Services are provided free of charge, eliminating financial barriers to participation.
Glida's Club Story
Gilda's Club is named in honor of Gilda Radner, who, when describing the emotional and social support she received when she had cancer, called for such places of participation, education, hope and friendship to be made available for people with cancer and their families and friends everywhere. The New York flagship facility, with its International Training Center, opened in June of 1995.
Gilda's Club Seattle officially opened its red doors on March 7th 2002. We now have over 2500 members and are always growing. We welcome all those touched by cancer to come and join us.