Preemie Power Photo and Essay Contest

Last year, families from 46 states in the U.S. and 5 Canadian provinces shared photos and stories of their precious children by participating in the Third Annual Preemie Power Photo/Essay Contest garnering 22,800 votes and 56,000 Website visits. Check out our finalists and winners! Connect with our Preemie Power blog to be inspired by all the amazing children and their unique stories and share with fellow parents on our Preemie Power Facebook community. Read all about the 2012 Preemie Power Contest when we announced the winners on PreemieBabies101.

Held each fall, the Fourth Annual Preemie Power Photo/Essay Contest will be here before you know it! We can’t wait to see photos of your precious children and hear their stories of hope! Preemie Power is open to all NICU babies whether they are in the NICU now or graduated long ago.

How Does This Work?

Visit the photo/essay site or visit it through our Facebook page. (Next open date is fall 2013)
Choose a current picture of your child. Photos do not have to be professional.
Complete a short application and respond to the super hero questions to tell your story. Entries will be accepted starting at 8 a.m. CT on Monday, September 30, 2013 and close just before voting begins at 12 noon CT on Friday, October 18, 2013.
Share your child’s entry with friends and family.
Vote. It’s FREE to vote, you can vote once a day starting Friday, October 18, 2013 through November 1, 2013 at 12 noon CT (every 24 hours from the time of your last vote), and personal information is not requested from voters.
Have fun! Share hope! Be inspired by your Super Hero child/ren. Winners will be announced one day after World Prematurity Day, Monday, November 18, 2013.
Win! We will offer prizes in 5 age categories, a grandprize winner, a special award for the entrant who has the most votes, and a staff favorite that isn’t based on votes. We believe that everyone who participates is a winner, and we will make every effort to include as many stories on our Preemie Power blog & Preemie Power Facebook page as we can to share hope and inspiration with future families.

Why Play?

New in 2013 – Hand to Hold is recruiting volunteer Preemie Power Alumni Parents to help us spread the word about the contest and support those who enter the contest. It’s a Win-win! If you’re interested in being involved, contact Contest Administrator Amy Carr.

Hand to Hold’s Preemie Power campaign serves to raise awareness of the effects of premature birth on the community and the needs of families that extend far beyond the hospital doors. In addition to providing hope to fellow NICU families, fabulous prizes will be awarded. We’ve also expanded the prize categories this year so more children can be recognized!

Preemie of the Year award in 5 age categories (0-6 months, 7-12 months, 1+ to 3 years, 3+ to 5 years, 5+ years) with first prize winners receiving gifts valued at $150 and Preemie Power souvenirs. Second and third place finalists will also receive Preemie Power souvenirs.
Overall Preemie of the Year award, the winner will be chosen from the top winners in each of the 5 age categories and receive a grand prize.
The Thundering Thurston award for the entry across all categories who receives the most votes will receive a framed photo/essay entry and a gloworm.
Staff Favorite award to be selected by Hand to Hold’s founder Kelli Kelley and staff. This category will be based on the creativity of super hero name, creativity of super hero-themed essay/story and emotional impact. This award will not be based on votes.

Prizes

Neotech - 25 Years Making a Difference Logo The overall winner in 2012 received the Neotech “Making a Difference” Trip of a Lifetime to Disneyland, a family trip to Disneyland sponsored by our friends at Neotech. The trip included air fare, four-day stay at the Residence Inn, rental car and Disney Tickets park hopper.

The winners and second and third place finalists in each age category received a prize package of lesser value. The prize packages vary based on the child’s current age. In previous contest, the oldest winners (twins!) each received a bike, while younger children received age-appropriate gift packages from toy and children’s clothing stores. An award not based on votes — the Staff Favorite Award — received a prize package. 2012 prize package contributors and underwriters included BABYBJÖRN, Dr. Sue Hall, Hyatt Regency Austin, Monkey Mat, Morgan’s Wonderland and Neotech. If you’d like to contribute a prize for 2013, contact Kelli Kelley.

2011 prize packages were graciously donated or underwritten by A Maggie Film, Austin’s Park, Baby Blanket Music, Baby Sense, Marty Barnes, Brand Builders Company, Brooke West Photography, Carousel Designs, Fisher-Price, Kokopax, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, Mystery Inc., NurturMe, Pediped, Tracy Tenpenny Design, and other generous donors.

Important Dates

We are accepting entries to the contest beginning 8 am CT Monday, September 1 through 11:59 am CT Friday, October 18, 2013. If you played last year, please join us again this year if you wish.
Public voting begins Friday October 18, 2013 at noon CT and concludes November 1, 2013 at noon CT.
Finalists in five age categories (0-6 months, 7-12 months, 1+ to 3 years, 3+ to 5 years, 5+ years) will be chosen November 1, 2013 to advance to the final round. Celebrity judges will determine winners based on creativity of super hero name, creativity of super hero-themed essay/story and emotional impact.
The contestant receiving the most overall votes will receive the Thundering Thurston Award in memory of Thurston Mossholder, Preemie Power Winner 2010.
A judge will also determine from among the winners in each age category an Overall Winner who will receive a grand prize.
The Staff Favorite award will be given to winning entry judged to be the most creative and impactful by Hand to Hold Founder Kelli Kelley and staff. It is not based on votes.
Winners will be announced online the day after World Prematurity Day, on Monday, November 18, 2013.
Read the detailed rules from last year.

Who Are the Judges?

Our thanks to the 2012 judges:

Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc, FAAP, is currently the medical director of the Simulation Center at Texas Children’s Hospital and is an assistant professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology at both Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas. She and her husband Bill Klein are featured on The Little Couple, a docu-drama that follows Dr. Arnold’s personal and professional life. Originally from Orlando, Dr. Arnold completed her undergraduate work at the University of Miami, her medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and a Master’s of Science in Medical Education from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Arnold is certified in pediatric and neonatal medicine.

Maureen Doolan Boyle, executive director of New York-based Mothers of Super Twins, an organization she founded after the birth of her triplets to support and educate the parents of triplets, quadruplets and more–before and after their births.

Matthew Dowd, is the father of three adult boys and a nine-year-old daughter, Josephine, who was a twin born premature at 23 weeks gestation. She spent nine months in the NICU. Her identical twin sister, Nicole, passed away after spending two months in the NICU. Matthew is the founding partner of ViaNovo and is an ABC News and Bloombergy Analyst and appears regularly on television and radio. Though Matthew is now an Independent, he served as the Chief strategist on two winning reelection efforts for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and for President George W. Bush, as well as on the staffs of a Democratic US Senator and two Democratic Congressmen. He was a founding partner of Public Strategies, Inc. and co-author of a New York Times bestseller, Applebee’s America. He serves on the Board of Seton Healthcare System and has worked as an adviser for numerous foundations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bono’s One Campaign.

Sue L. Hall, MD, is a neonatologist in private practice with Pediatrix Medical Group and medical director of a busy NICU in Topeka, Kansas. An advocate for preemie parents, she is also the author of For the Love of Babies: to increase awareness and understanding of the very serious issues faced by premature and other sick babies as well as the emotional struggles faced by their parents. She previously spent 16-years with UCLA’s pediatric residency program as an attending neonatologist. She received her MD from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, her MSW from Boston University, and BA from Stanford University.

Laura A. Jana, MD, FAAP, is a pediatrician/parenting expert, national health communicator and proud mother of three. She is co-author of award-winning parenting books, Heading Home with Your Newborn (AAP 2^nd Ed, 2010) and Food Fights (AAP, 2^nd Ed 2012) as well as three children’s books, including one focused on early childhood development called Amazing Me, It’s Busy Being Three! (CDC 2012, Learn the Signs. Act Early Campaign). See her blog and parenting information on Practical Parenting.

Donna J. Ryan, MSN, RN is Project Manager at Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) where she currently coordinates two studies funded by the National Institute of Health. One study, Decision-making For Infants with Complex Life-Threatening Conditions, examines the trajectory of decision making for infants with complex life-threatening conditions (CLTCs) and the factors influencing parents’ decision making from birth or diagnosis until 12 months following study enrollment or 6 months following the infant’s death. Ms. Ryan also has been a Clinical Instructor for the ABSN Program at DUSON and worked over 20 years as a clinical nurse in the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) at Duke University Medical Center. Ms. Ryan sits on several committees at the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), and has been the NANN representative on the steering committee for the National Premature Infant Healthcare Coalition (NPIHC). She also works with NANN to coordinate the parent reviews of the Discharge Pathway Module which is currently in progress. Ms. Ryan received an Associate in Nursing Degree from Tompkins-Cortland Community College in Dryden, NY, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Science in Nursing from Duke University and is currently in the Doctor of Nursing (DNP) program at DUSON.