Guest Author - T. Lynn Adam
Recently I approached my newspaper editor with an idea for a series of articles featuring teenage entrepreneurs. He loved the idea and gave me a green light. Since then I've met and interviewed some amazing teenagers in my area. One article featured a young man who was certified by Microsoft and Dell as a repairman before he left junior high. Still a teenager, he now owns his own computer company and holds a six-star rating for customer satisfaction with a national monitoring company. Another article featured a young girl suffering from celiac disease. She designs, makes and sells wonderful jewelry. I've talked to dog walkers, cookie entrepreneurs and more. Always I've been amazed at the courage, insight, and positive attitudes these young people display.
So when Anne Bradshaw--who had no idea of my progressing newspaper series--contacted me about her upcoming "Spotlight the Youth" contest, I felt immediate interest. I knew her timing was not a 'mere' coincidence. (A wonderful member once told me, 'there are no coincidences in the life of a righteous person.' Not that I claim to be one of those 'righteous' people but I know God's hand is much closer in our lives than we realize.)
Anne is the author of the soon-to-be-released-book "Please, No Zits and Other Short Stories". She's been writing for and about young people for twenty years. I called Anne to find out more about her contest and she readily shared her passion for the youth.
"Young people are amazing," she said. "They're refreshing and energizing."
Anne taught seminary and Sunday School for many years and has also been involved with the Young Women's program. After spending countless hours listening to young people talk, she decided to write fun and exciting fiction to help them handle their problems.
"The stories are not preachy," Anne explained. "I love how the Savior used interesting and often gripping parables. I hope my work follows that direction in a way that appeals to our modern-day teens."
When Anne decided to find another way to praise today's youth, she came up with her "Spotlight the Youth" contest. (It's featured on her blog site). As a prize to the winner, she would give away a copy of her upcoming book.
So Anne posted the rules to her contest. What Anne didn't expect was the sudden influx of wonderful people who started asking her if they could donate prizes to the contest so more could win. Anne was thrilled. She had not contacted a single person about donating prizes. Rather, each benefactor read about her contest and felt so strongly about the importance of what she was doing that they contacted her, offering what they had to the contest.
"It's been incredible," Anne said. "People have been donating wonderful prizes and I couldn't be more grateful. It shows how much love for our young people really is out there despite what we hear on the news."
What started out with just a copy of her book now includes skin-care products, additional books by several top LDS authors, and even a free self-publishing run
of 50 copies from Zdoks publishing.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," Anne added. "Everyone feels good, including me." She went on to explain that "everyone" means the people donating prizes, those submitting entries, the spotlighted youth, and blog visitors reading the entries.
I would like to invite you to spotlight a special youth. They can be a family member or a friend. Contestants do not have to be LDS. They can be of any belief.
The maximum number of words for an entry is 800. "I was concerned about safety," Anne said. "So I made a note that anyone not wanting full names to appear online should have that wish respected. Only first names will be shown unless otherwise instructed."
Anne's contest truly is a win-win situation for everyone and will highlight some special young people.
As of the end of July, not many entries have been received. So why not go for it? You may be a winner. For more information and contest rules, check out Anne's blog. The deadline is August 31, so pick a special youth to spotlight. While you're there, take a moment to post a comment thanking Anne and all the other wonderful people who donated prizes. It is so important to praise and bless the youth who will, one day, be blessing our world.
Anne's Web site
Anne's blog site with full contest rules
