The Eastview School community in White Plains, New York has made it to the semi-final round of Quantum Shift TV’s “Be the Change! Share the Story!”  video contest along with 24  other schools across Canada and United States.

Students have an opportunity to win up to $50,000 in cash and prizes for their school and have made a difference on an environmental or social cause in their global community. The winning schools will be announced on June 1, 2008.

The contest required each participating school to submit 2 videos that describe how their school is making a positive contribution to local, national or global issues. Students at Eastview submitted “Global Ambassadors” and “Fashion for a Cause” videos documenting service-learning projects that promote local and global citizenship.  The progress of this and other projects participating in the contest can be viewed on the web at www.QuantumShift.tv/schools. The school’s videos can be seen on their team page at http://www.quantumshift.tv/schools/team.php?id=134.You can improve the school’s chance of winning by visiting the contest site and registering as a supporter of their Global Ambassadors team.

“Participating in this video contest has brought our entire school and community together. Quantumshift provides a rich array of videos created by passionate youth and it has been so interesting to see what others around the world are doing to inspire positive change. We really have felt like we are a part of something important,” said Jody Kennedy, a teacher at Eastview. “I am thrilled to see sites such as Quantumshift that promote and celebrate youth social action by publishing their work.”

White Plains schools and their global community  have been able to raise over $51,000 through sponsorships and fundraisers in order to  support humanitarian projects and the Millennium Development Goals over the past 3 years. To learn more about their projects see www.globalrunproject.org .

“As we’ve seen with YouTube, web video has a powerful ability to engage audiences, particularly youth, around the world. Quantum Shift TV is using this power to inspire students to take action on the social and environmental issues of the day,” says Leif Utne, the vice president of Marketing at Quantum Shift TV.

Winners of the “Be the Change! Share the Story!”  contest will be chosen based on community involvement, project execution, video quality, student involvement and learning, and overall social and environmental impact. After a panel of celebrity judges picks the final three teams the public will vote for the winner.

The judges include bestselling author and environmentalist Paul Hawken, actress Daryl Hannah, skateboarder Bob Burnquist, executive-with-a-cause John Wood, Bioneers founder Kenny Ausubel and Nigerian women’s rights activist Hafsat Abiola, plus two dozen other leaders in business, sports and the arts.

To provide project ideas and resources for both students and teachers, Quantum Shift TV has partnered with key organizations like UNICEF, Free the Children, Room to Read, TransFair, NAAEE, TakingITGlobal, The Pembina Institute, New Global Citizens, Sierra Youth Coalition, Rainforest Action Network, Care and Oxfam.

Quantum Shift TV is a 21st Century storyteller renewing the cultural values of community, care and interconnectedness through the use of leading edge technology and citizen journalism.