A ‘Whale’ of a Video: High School Students from Washington, D.C. Area Win Grand Prize in Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challe...
April 29 2016 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
Students Win $15,000 and Their PSA Will Run on
Discovery’s Networks
If you were steering a beluga whale down the street, would you
risk sneaking a peek at your phone? Probably not. High school
sophomores Matthew Post and John Caporaletti agree, and in their
new public service announcement (PSA), they encourage their peers
to drive their vehicles with the same care and attention. Today
Toyota and Discovery Education, the leading provider of
digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms,
announced that the Sherwood High School students of Montgomery
County Public Schools in Olney, Md. (outside of Washington, D.C.)
won the grand prize in the Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge
for their video “For the Whales.” You can view their winning
video here.
Now in its fifth year, the Toyota and Discovery Education
challenge invites teens across the country to create public service
videos to inspire their friends and peers to drive more safely.
Matthew and John’s video provides an innovative perspective on the
seriousness of driving with the stark reminder that just like a
beluga whale, a standard sedan weighs a whopping two tons. With
this in mind, the pair encourage drivers to eliminate risky
behaviors and focus on the road. The teens will receive $15,000 and
will work with a Discovery film crew to reshoot their video into a
TV-ready PSA to air on a variety of Discovery networks.
“We were delighted by Matthew and John’s unexpected take on the
huge responsibility of driving a vehicle,” said Mike Goss, General
Manager, Social Innovation, Toyota Motor North America. “Their
video is clever and funny and best of all, it works. It really
makes you stop and think about why it’s so important – as they put
it – to drive smart. We’re excited to help them share this message
with teens everywhere.”
“We applaud this year’s grand prize winners Matthew and John and
their use of digital storytelling, creativity and humor to
influence the behavior of their peers and ultimately help save
lives,” said Bill Goodwyn, President and CEO at Discovery
Education. “The TeenDrive365 Video Challenge is about empowering
young people like Matthew and John to address the critical issue of
distracted driving, and they did it with smarts and creativity. We
look forward to their PSA running across Discovery’s networks and
influencing other drivers out there to be more cautious.”
“We hope this video inspires fellow Sherwood High School friends
and students to drive more safely, we hope it sends a broader
message across the Washington, D.C. area, and across the nation,”
said William Gregory, Principal of Sherwood High School. “Driving a
car takes tremendous responsibility – for teens and adults of all
ages – and Matthew and John perfectly illustrated that.”
Matthew and John’s video was chosen by a panel of judges at
Toyota and Discovery Education from more than 1,500 submissions –
the most ever received in contest history. The other winners
include:
- Second Place: Samuel Brown and Lillian
Smith, students at Oklahoma City Public Schools’ Classen School of
Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City, Okla., will receive $10,000, as
well as a behind-the-scenes trip to a live taping of a Velocity
network show for their video, “Scary Movie.”
- Third Place: Blake Rozas and Jackson
Ingraham, students at Eanes Independent School District’s Westlake
High School in Austin, Texas will receive $7,500 for “Brain
Surgery.”
- People’s Choice: Blake Takushi and
Tyler Mora, students at Fort Bend Independent School District’s
Kempner High School and Austin High School in Sugar Land, Texas,
who were chosen online by public vote, will receive $5,000 and a
behind-the-scenes trip to a taping of a Velocity network show.
The additional seven finalists will receive $2,500, and four
regional winners will receive $1,000. Their videos can be
viewed here.
The challenge is part of Toyota TeenDrive365
(www.TeenDrive365.com), a comprehensive initiative to help teens
and parents become safer drivers together. Building on the programs
Toyota has offered for more than a decade, it offers a collection
of online tools, events, expert advice and tips as well as social
media elements.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the
Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building
vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and
Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 30
million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
42,000 people (more than 33,000 in the U.S.). Toyota operates 1,800
North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S. alone which sold
almost 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2015) – and about 80 percent
of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the
road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the
country, with a focus on education, safety, and the environment. As
part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how
garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community
organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good.
For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based
digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with
award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional
development, and the largest professional learning community of its
kind. Serving 3 million educators and over 30 million students,
Discovery Education’s services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50
percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50
countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states and
like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers,
and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase
academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery
Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one
nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of
education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160429005130/en/
for ToyotaAmy Gross,
646-805-2037Amy.Gross@finsbury.comorDiscovery EducationShawnee
Cohn, 240-393-5849shawnee_cohn@discovery.com
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