Rules for VolunteerSquare/Patch High School Essay Contest

8/12/2019 Rules for VolunteerSquare/Patch High School Essay Contest

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Patchs Community Volunteering Essay Contest

Official Rules

No Purchase Required to Enter or Win

1. Eligibility:Patchs Community Volunteer Essay Contest (the Contest) is open only to students at ahigh school located in one of the cities or towns listed in Section 5 (below) who are 13 years of age or olderEmployees of Planck LLC d/b/a Patch Media Corporation, AOL Inc., Volunteer Square, Inc., and theiradvertising or promotion agencies, those involved in the production, development, implementation or

handling of Contest, any agents acting for, or on behalf of the above entities, their respective parentcompanies, officers, directors, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, service providers, prize suppliers, any otherperson or entity associated with the Contest (collectively Contest Entities) and/or the immediate family(spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members (whether related or not) of each suchemployee, are not eligible. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited bylaw.

2. Sponsors:The Contest jointly sponsored by Planck LLC d/b/a Patch Media Corporation,675 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10010 and Volunteer Square, Inc., P.O. Box 1085,Green Farms, CT 06838 (collectively, the Sponsors).

3. Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in the Contest constitutes entrants full and unconditionalagreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors, which are final andbinding. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

4. Entry Period: The Contest will begin at 12:00 a.m. EST on May 5 and end at 11:59 p.m. EST on May7 (the Entry Period).

5. Entry:In 500 words or less tell us what community volunteering means to you. Limit one (1) entry peperson. Essays must be in English.

Eligible towns and cities: Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Westport,Weston-Redding-Easton, Wilton, Ridgefield, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull, Milford, and Bridgeport (noPatch there but we are accepting entries from that city); email your essay to [email protected].

The use of any agencies or automated software to submit entries will void all entries submitted by thperson. See Section 13 for additional information regarding submissions.

6. Judging: Judges from Volunteer Square, Inc., will select ten (10) Finalists based on Judging Criteriestablished by Volunteer Square. In the event of a tie, the submissions involved in the tie will be reviewed ban additional judgebased on the Judging Critera. Decisions of judges are final.

Disclaimer of Similarities: Due to the nature of this Contest, there is a possibility that similar Submissionmay be entered by multiple individuals. Any similarity between Submissions shall in no way entitle you toany consideration or compensation from the Sponsors or from any third party, including in the event Submission similar or identical to yours is selected as a winner in this Contest. By submitting youSubmission, you specifically acknowledge this possibility and agree to the terms stated in these OfficiaRules.


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7. Public Voting: The Public Voting Period will begin at 12:00 a.m. EST on May 13 and end at 11:59 p.mEST on May 18. During the Public Voting Period, visitors will be able to vote for their favorite Finalist bcommenting on an article that will be published on all participating Patch sites. The three (3) Finalists witthe highest number of valid votes at the end of the Public Voting Period will be deemed the Grand PrizeFirst Prize, and Second Prize Winners (subject to verification). Voting is limited to one (1) vote per persoper Finalist per day.

All online voting in this Contest will be under the supervision of Sponsors whose decisions are final in almatters relating to this Contest. Any voting results posted in real time shall not be deemed official untiSponsors have reviewed and confirmed all of the votes and announced the Contest Winners. Use of scripmacro or any other automated system to vote is prohibited and all such votes will be void. Entrants/Finalistare prohibited from obtaining votes for any Submission by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, includingwithout limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public, vote farming, or any otheactivity that artificially inflates such Finalists' votes as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretionEntrants are prohibited from sabotaging the votes of any Submissions through any means deemeinappropriate by Sponsors, in their sole discretion. If an entrant or voter engages in any of thaforementioned acts, his/her votes will be void, and his/her Submissions (if any) will be disqualified. In thevent of a tied score in the Public Voting Period, the Finalists involved in a tie will be reviewed by anadditional judge appointed by the Sponsors who will serve as a tie-breaker and who will evaluate the entrieaccording to the criteria listed above. Becoming a Finalist is subject to verification of eligibility andcompliance with all terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules. If a potential Finalist or ContesWinner cannot be reached or required documents are not returned within the stated timeframe or arreturned as undeliverable, the corresponding Finalist will be disqualified and an alternate Finalist will bdetermined based on the Judging Criteria; an alternate Contest Winner will be based on the entrant with thenext highest number of public votes.

8. Winner Notification: Sponsors will notify the potential winners via email at the conclusion of thContest. In order for a potential winner to receive their prize, they must respond to the email within the timperiod stated and provide their full name, age and mailing address. Failure of any potential winner to provi

this information within the stated timeframe will result in forfeiture of the prize, which may then be awardeto an alternate winner.

9. Requirements of the Potential Winners: Except where prohibited, the potential winners may brequired to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release and IRS W-9 for(the Affidavit/Release) within a timeframe to be determined. If a potential winner fails to sign and returthe Affidavit/Release within the required time period, an alternate entrant may be selected.

10. Prizes:One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive a Kindle Fire (valued at $299) and $700 to be awardein the form of a check or gift card. One (1) First Prize Winner will receive a Chromebook Laptop (valued a$249) and $450 in the form of a check or gift card. One (1) Second Prize Winner will receive $300 in the

form of a check or gift card.Specifics of all prizes are in Sponsors sole discretion. Gift cards are subject to issuers terms anconditions. No cash or other substitution may be made, except by the Sponsors, who reserve the right tsubstitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the prize is not available for any reason adetermined by the Sponsors in its sole discretion. The winners are responsible for any taxes and feeassociated with receipt or use of a prize.


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11. General Conditions: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest iimpaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, thSponsors may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and theresume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) award thprizes from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsors reserves thright in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or theoperation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike odisruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may ba violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsors reserves the right toseek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Sponsors failure to enforcany term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. In case of a dispute as to thowner of an entry, entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the authorized account holder of thscreen name from which the entry is made. The authorized account holder is defined as the natural personwho is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or otheorganization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-maiaddress. Due to the ongoing nature of this Contest, Sponsors reserves the right to make changes to thesOfficial Rules at the conclusion of any Entry Period.

12. Release and Limitations of Liability: By participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release anhold harmless the Contest Entities from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participationin the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized humaintervention in the Contest; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, or telephone onetwork lines; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors inthe administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (f) injury or damage to persons or propertywhich may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrants participation in the Contesor receipt of any prize. Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Contest Entities liability wilbe limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Contest Entitiebe liable for attorneys fees. Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but nolimited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.

13. License to Use Submissions: Sponsors shall have the right to disqualify any entries that they deem be obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, lewd, derogatory, inappropriate, or otherwise not in good taste, determined by the Sponsors in its discretion. Submissions must be 100% your original work. You grant the Sponsors and its designees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive right and license to usreproduce, edit, market, store, distribute, have distributed, publicly and privately display, communicatpublicly and privately perform, transmit, have transmitted, create derivative works based upon, and promoyour image, biographic information, and comments (collectively, the "Submission") in connection with thContest and such other products or services as the Sponsors may designate in any medium now known hereafter devised for editorial, commercial, promotional and/or any other purpose. In addition, the Sponsoshall have the right to reproduce and distribute your name, images, likenesses, photographs, voicebiographical materials, and Submission for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in broadca

print and or other media as the Sponsors may determine in their sole discretion. You retain ownership of aright, title, and interest in and to your Submission. You agree that the Sponsors owns all right, title, aninterest in any compilation, collective work, or other derivative work created by the Sponsors using oincorporating your Submission. You hereby grant to the Sponsors the right to edit any of your Submission, whole or in part. In addition, you hereby grant to the Sponsors and their designees the right to use any editeSubmission, or parts of a Submission, without your approval and waive any right to inspect or approve usof the Submission prior to or following publication and any right to compensation for the Submission. Aelements of your Submission must be your original work and must be owned by you, and you must have th


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right to grant any and all necessary rights and licenses, including without limitation, all necessary copyrigand other related rights to all of the materials, free and clear of all claims and encumbrances without violatinthe rights of any person or entity, including any right to privacy or publicity. By submitting your Submissioyou agree to release and hold harmless the Sponsors and its officers, directors, employees, and agents fromand against any claim or cause of action arising out of your Submission or your participation in any phase this Contest.

14. Disputes: Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of actioarising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, withou

resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in the State of New YorAll issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of theOfficial Rules, entrants rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsors in connectiowith the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New Yorwithout giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New Yorkor another jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State New York.

15. Contest Results: To request the names of the winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope Volunteer Essay Winners, c/o Patch, 15 Arlington Rd, Stamford, CT 06902. Requests must be received bMay 31, 2014.

Rules for VolunteerSquare/Patch High School Essay Contest

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