The Our Bodies Ourselves Women's Health Heroes Awards

When you hear the words “Women’s Health Hero,” who comes to mind? Your 9th grade health teacher who taught you about sexually transmitted infections? The midwife who sat with you through 15 hours of labor? The young Nigerian activist you read about who’s working to end gender discrimination in her country? Or maybe the neighbor who counter-protests at the abortion clinic every Saturday morning? 

Whoever your heroes are, we want to know about them! We’ve created the Our Bodies Ourselves Women’s Health Heroes awards to honor those who make significant contributions to the health and well-being of women. It’s a great way to publicly recognize people who make a difference in your life or the lives of others.

Who should I nominate?

You’re welcome to nominate yourself or anyone who has advocated on behalf of women's health. Possible nominees include, but are far from limited to, your nurse practitioner, a favorite blogger, a volunteer at the domestic violence shelter, the local activist who writes letters to the editor on the importance of health care reform, or a friend who supports you through day-to-day medical struggles. If you have a hero, we want to hear about that person. 

How do I nominate someone?

You can either write a few paragraphs or make a video about the person you’re nominating.  In your entry, tell us why your nominee is a Women’s Health Hero. Be specific and give examples of how she or he helps women live healthier lives.

A video sounds like fun. How would I go about doing that?

There are several options: You can turn the camera on yourself and explain why your hero is important to you. You can create a video about your hero and interview other people.  Or you can record your hero in action. Be creative! Videos can be submitted via YouTube (see instructions below).

I’m more of a wordsmith. How do I submit my writing?

After you're done drafting your masterpiece, simply upload it here [give URL]. If you have a photo of the nominee, send it along (.jpg format preferred). [THIS WORDING MAY CHANGE DEPENDING ON IF WE DO AN ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM]

What will happen to my entry?

We’ll post the entries on our website for others to read or watch. [ADD URL WHEN WE HAVE IT] You’ll receive an e-mail when your submission is posted, along with a link. You can then forward the link to your friends and family and let them know that your entry is online.  

What's the award?

Even though all nominees are heroes, three entries will be chosen to receive an engraved award for display and a complimentary set of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” titles including Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause, and Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth, all of which will be signed by organizational co-founders, book editors and contributors. Our Bodies Ourselves staff will pick two of their favorite nominees, and one nominee will be determined by the public. 

Great! What's the deadline?

The deadline for nominations is May 1, 2009, but there’s never a deadline on thanking the people who help us live better lives.  

I still have questions. Who do I contact?

Please contact Wendy Brovold, Communications and Marketing Manager, at wendy@bwhbc.org or 617-245-0200 x13

Let us know who your Women’s Health Heroes are today!

Video instructions:

• Videos should be uploaded to YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) with the words "Our Bodies Ourselves Submission" in the title. It’ll make it easier for others to find in case they’re searching the web for submissions. THIS MIGHT CHANGE
  
• We recommend that videos be no longer than 5 minutes.
  
• Make sure and get the permission of the people you’re filming. It’s the nice thing to do. 
  
• Entries should meet the Terms of Use and Code of Conduct with YouTube (www.youtube.com/t/terms).

Photography:

Digital photos should ideally have a minimum image resolution of 2000 × 1600, image size of 8 × 10 inches, and/or a file size of 700k or higher. Generally, a 3.1 Mega Pixel camera or better should be able to take photos that fit these requirements. However, whatever you can send will be greatly appreciated. It’s also important to get permission from the person being photographed.
Awards: Awards will be sent to each winner by June 10, 2009.

The Important Small Print

Copyright & Publicity: All entries submitted to the contest must be original. The submission of each entry is the guarantee that the submitter is the author, creator or sole copyright holder of the material submitted. All materials submitted become the property of Our Bodies Ourselves and may be used in the development of other marketing collateral, including but not limited to, OBOS’ 40th anniversary celebration in 2011.

OBOS is not responsible for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects in part or whole, delays in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for any technical or non-technical network, telephonic, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate or partial transmission of or failure to receive entry information by OBOS on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any web site or any combination thereof.  OBOS reserves the right to cancel temporarily or permanently the electronic method of the Women’s Health Heroes entries if it becomes technically corrupted.

CONDITIONS: By participating in the Women’s Health Heroes contest, you agree to release and hold harmless OBOS and its directors, officers, employees and agents, from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind in connection with the Women’s Health Heroes contest including, without limitation, property damage, and claims based upon publicity rights, or invasion of privacy, whether suffered by you or a third party. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of OBOS, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Women’s Health Heroes contest or these Official Rules.

The Women’s Health Heroes contest is governed by U.S. law and is void where prohibited. The names, logos, and icons identifying the products and services of OBOS are proprietary marks of OBOS. The rules of this contest are subject to change at any time without notice.

Our Bodies Ourselves is also known as the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective.