U-Haul charitable partner Project Yellow Light recently named its 2017 scholarship winners for the college and high school billboard and video contests, as well as their newly implemented radio contest.
Project Yellow Light asks students to create PSAs to educate their peers about the dangers of using mobile devices while driving.
This year’s contest received more than 1,150 submissions from 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. The winning billboard, TV and radio PSAs are distributed by nationwide media partners, including Clear Channel Outdoor Americas and iHeartMedia.
Honoring the Winners
Auto car-Wreck
Kyle Pandiscio’s and Julie Keefe’s billboard with the “Auto Car-Wreck” text message slogan won first place in the college division. Andrew Jenkins and Sydney Zapf won the high school division with the billboard slogan, “Make Sure You Arrive. Just Drive.”
College student team Leonardo Ko, Alexander Li and Kyle Fuller won first place for their creative “Never Here” video that features a young man always on his mobile phone no matter what is happening throughout his day … until he gets into his vehicle and a “Never Here” text message pops up on the screen. See the winning college video at youtube.com/watch?v=bvGsLisGUM4.
Lia Senser’s winning high school video, “Just Enough Time,” shows a young man searching for the hide-and-seek champion: Bigfoot. The video notes the average text takes your eyes of the road for five seconds — enough time to miss Bigfoot. See the winning high school video at youtube.com/watch?v=DMStz5u9jX8.
Project Yellow Light’s inaugural winners in the radio category are college students Thomas Johnson and Rhys Kroehler. Johnson’s message asks you to listen and “Imagine,” and Kroehler’s message stresses “What Driving Means.”
Listen to the winning college PSA at http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/VOD/8111451_PYL_IMAGINE_IHEARTRADIO_0602.mp3. Listen to the winning high school PSA at http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/VOD/8111451_PYL_DRIVING_MEANS_IHEARTRADIO_0602.mp3.
Mission: End Distracted Driving
“U-Haul congratulates the winners and applauds the message these students have shared with their peers,” U-Haul Executive Vice President Stuart Shoen stated. “Our commitment to keeping U-Haul customers and the roads safe continues to make this a great partnership. Project Yellow Light’s mission to educate and protect our children behind the wheel continues to be important and impactful.”
The winning billboards and videos were displayed, and the radio PSAs were played, on June 7 in New York City’s Times Square. Amanda Dowden, traffic control manager for U-Haul Company of Brooklyn/Queens/Staten Island, attended on behalf of U-Haul along with Project Yellow Light partners, supporters and community members.
To learn more about Project Yellow Light, visit projectyellowlight.com.
U-Haul partnered with Project Yellow Light in 2015 and has renewed its partnership annually in support of the Hunter Garner Scholarship. U-Haul donates $16,000 to the scholarship winners and also provides first-place winners with in-kind moving expenses up to $2,500. The Company maintains a presence on the panel of contest judges as well.
“Project Yellow Light is so honored to have U-Haul as a partner, helping to spread the word against distracted driving,” organization founder Julie Garner said. “U-Haul is a blue-chip company with an amazing track record of giving back – over the decades and across the nation.”
Finally, did you know U-Haul offers a free online course on distracted driving? Take the course by clicking on myuhaulstory.com/distracted-driving.
