AFAF officials host video contest to raise awareness for charities Published Oct. 24, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Steve Grever Air Force Personnel, Services and Manpower Public Affairs RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- The Air Force Assistance Fund is hosting an online video contest from Nov. 30 to Jan. 20, 2012 to help raise awareness for the AFAF's 2012 fundraising campaign. The concept for a video contest originated from an installation project officer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., who created a humorous video to educate people on donating to the AFAF and its affiliate charities. When the IPO at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, used the video to publicize AFAF, she suggested holding a video contest to help generate more interest, said William D'Avanzo, the Air Force voting action officer and fundraising chief. This year, D'Avanzo said he hopes the video contest will get Airmen and their families more involved in the AFAF campaign. "Our primary goal is to increase awareness of the four affiliate charities and all they do for our Air Force family from induction throughout retirement," D'Avanzo said. The following are some of the video contest rules and guidelines: - Videos must be about one or all of the AFAF affiliate charities, the campaign itself, or testimonials on how one of the charities helped an individual or family. - The videos may be humorous, serious, informational or educational. - Participation eligibility and number of video teams from each base is unlimited. - Each team may submit one video in each of the two categories -- 29-second and 59-second. - The video must be posted to a YouTube channel and the video link e-mailed to USAF.Fundraising@randolph.af.mil no later than Nov. 21. The e-mail must be digitally signed from an af.mil account, and must contain the statement, "All persons appearing in the video have given permission to be videotaped and for the video to be publicly displayed on YouTube." - If children are shown in the video, the e-mail contest submission must also include a signed letter (.doc or .pdf) from the child's parent or legal guardian stating they give permission for the child to be in the video and for the video to be uploaded and posted to YouTube. Approved video submissions will be reposted to http://www.youtube.com/afassistancefund on Nov. 30. On Jan. 20, 2012, the videos will be judged by AFAF and affiliate charity representatives for content, cinematography, creativity and number of "views" on the AFAF YouTube channel. Winning videos will be announced on the AFAF YouTube channel and through public affairs channels Jan. 25, 2012. The winning videos will be featured on the AFAF YouTube channel and played at the 9th Annual Air Force Charity Ball in Springfield, Va., on Mar. 24, 2012. The AFAF will also name a 2012 Air Force Aid Society educational grant after the winning teams in recognition of their efforts. The AFAF was established to provide for an annual effort to raise funds for the charitable affiliates that provide support to the Air Force family including active duty, reservists, guard and their dependents, retirees and surviving spouses in need. The AFAF's affiliate charities are Air Force Villages, Air Force Aid Society, General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation and Air Force Enlisted Village. These organizations help Air Force people with aid in an emergency, educational needs, or to have a secure retirement home for widows or widowers of Air Force members in need of financial assistance. For more information on the AFAF's affiliate charities, visit www.afassistancefund.org.