Young people of all ages are one step closer to reaching their communities for life and winning prizes along the way. A new website describing the rules for National Pro-Life T-Shirt Week has been launched today.
During the contest – which will take place April 28 to May 4 – participants in the annual contest post pictures of themselves wearing a t-shirt with a pro-life message to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as uploading them through the contest's official website.
The Scavenger Hunt portion of the contest asks people to spread the message of life by wearing life-affirming apparel in public places like schools and shopping facilities, turning contestants into public relations representatives for the pro-life message.
The entries then compete for prizes, including a Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Bose headphones, or a Bose bluetooth speaker.
This year's endorsers include a who's who of prominent pro-life organizations including the Benham Brothers, the onetime HGTV hosts and longtime pro-life stalwarts.
“We gladly support American Life League’s National Pro-Life T-Shirt Week because it brings awareness that every life is valuable and is a gift from God,” said David and Jason Benham.
“The most important thing is that you realize that life inside the womb is just as important as life outside the womb,” Jason Benham said in a video posted to promote the event.
Rey Flores, director of outreach at ALL, was excited by their participation.
“Both of these guys were terrific as they welcomed us to their office for an awesome photo and video shoot that includes a shot we took to create a life-size stand up of them,” Flores said.
ALL displayed the cut-out at the March for Life Expo, where several sponsors – and countless young people – posed to give their pictures taken with a cardboard likeness of the famous house-flippers.
“Reaching out to young people, teaching them that the value and dignity of the human being is the foundation of all pro-life work and engaging them in teaching their peers the truth is the overall purpose of this awesome activity,” said Judie Brown, president of American Life League, the sponsor of the contest. “And, at the same time, everyone has fun!”
ALL has sponsored the event since its inception in 2004. Over the years, students taking part in the contest have experienced tension at some public schools – situations that were defused when the Thomas More Law Center apprised all parties of the students' First Amendment rights.
The numerous co-sponsors include Students for Life of America, Live Action, the Radiance Foundation, Jill Stanek, Pro-Life Action League, Stand True, Operation Rescue, Save the 1, Walter Hoye's Issues4Life Foundation, and the Canadian-based Campaign Life Coalition.
Some of them posed for pictures wearing the ALL's own t-shirts and will be featured as pro-life all stars, which Flores told LifeSiteNews would be akin to an online equivalent of sports cards. These images, he said, had a better message and promoted true heroes dedicated to saving the unborn.
Participants do not need to purchase one of the two t-shirts sold by ALL – a blue t-shirt that affirms a child is a “person inside and out,” and a gray t-shirt that proclaims the person wearing it is a “life defender.” They can wear – or create – their own t-shirts, as long as they wear a badge that says they are participating in NPLTW, which can be downloaded online.
A complete list of the rules can be found here.
