FPWR Video Competition Seeks to Raise Awareness, Research Funds for PWS

The Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR) is hosting a video competition to help spread awareness of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and raise funds for research.

The FPWR is seeking inspiring stories from the PWS community in the form of short videos, of one-to-five minutes in length. Possible categories include “Inspiration,” “PWS Education/Awareness,” and “Fundraising for PWS Research.”

The award categories are “The Popular Choice,” “The Blockbuster,” and “The FPWR Favorite.” The winner in each category will receive free registration to the 2021 FPWR Family Conference, valued at $225.

The video that receives the highest number of views will win the popular choice prize. The blockbuster award will go to the video that receives the most “votes,” as measured in terms of fundraising. Each dollar raised counts as one vote. Each video will have a donation page to collect votes, and participants are asked to share those pages during the voting period.

The FPWR Favorite will be selected by the foundation’s own team.

Submissions are open now and will close at midnight on Sept. 25. Voting will run from Oct. 5 through 14, ending at 3 p.m. PT.

Videos entered in the competition may be used in future foundation promotions to help spread awareness and educate others about PWS and to gather funding for research. The foundation also hopes to use the videos to help improve the well-being of those with the genetic disease.

The FPWR helps fund several projects, including basic research and clinical trials, and features a grant program open twice a year.

To shoot the videos using a smartphone, the foundation suggests holding the device horizontally for the best effect. Other tips are offered on the video competition website, to include advice on how to minimize sound interference, optimize lighting, and ensure a steady image.

Any music used in the videos must either be royalty-free or have permission for use from the owner(s), the FPWR said.

The foundation’s website also offers several examples of past videos to help inspire participants. These examples include tributes to the challenges and joys of raising children with PWS, one family’s personal fundraising challenge, and the advice that parents would give themselves if they could revisit the moment they learned of their child’s diagnosis.

Contest participants must be 18 years or older and have permission to feature all of the people who appear in their video.

Go here to find an entry form.