Hello, Word-sters! I'm Meredith, a health reporter and writer who works here at Weekly Reader with Bryon and Sandhya. This contest offer showed up in my e-mail inbox this morning and I wanted to share it with you all:

What's the REAL DEAL on Growing Up in the Age of AIDS?

Who can enter? Anyone 13-18 years old living in the United States
What should you write? A story or script dealing with HIV/AIDS (up to 10 pages)
When is the deadline? June 13, 2006
Where can I get more information? www.ScenariosUSA.org/contest/
Why? It's been 25 years since HIV and AIDS first emerged. This means you're the first generation to grow up in this era--for you, AIDS has always been around. How do you feel about it? This contest gives you the opportunity to share your thoughts with the world.

Scenarios USA is an organization that helps teens make films, BET is the cable network Black Entertainment Television, and the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit health care organization. They've all teamed up to give teens a chance to talk about the impact HIV/AIDS has on their communities, relationships, and lives. Submit a story or a script of up to 10 pages on the theme, "What's the REAL DEAL on Growing Up in the Age of AIDS?" and you could win the chance to have your entry filmed by a Hollywood director and shown nationwide on BET in 2007.

Put on your thinking cap and get busy! You can submit an entry by yourself, with friends, or even as a class. There's an application and more resources for you and your teacher at www.ScenariosUSA.org/contest/, including a "Mini Creative Writing Workshop" to help you get started. Good luck!

Meredith is the editor of Current Health 2. You can check out her magazine online by clicking here.