Announcing the Prize winners in the Porsche Owners Club El Toro online competition. After a successful collection of cars, racing and driving photos and videos, the voting was even more successful and feaverish. After almost 1,700 votes and more than 6,000 unique visitors over the 2 week voting period, the order was set and now the prizes are decided. And the Winner’s are;

1. Congratulations to 450KNOTOFFICE for his entry entitled “Buttonwillow 2009″.
2. Congratulations to GULF911 for his entry “The Chase part 1″.

5 FREE Memberships for 2010;

1. PEANUTSGRANDMA
2. NOOSPAPRRITER
3. BULLFROG23
4. GOPRO1
5. 914RACER

15 FREE POc Velocity Magazine packs;

1. PELICAN
2. CHRISTINEB
3. MRSLEDGER
4. JIMINHAYWARD
5. CAPT996
6. PARISCHIENNE
7. OLESENATOR
8. SGTRAUKSAUFF
9. KALEOXTREME
10. TBOT
11. RACERBOY
12. IRISHKEV90
13. CHRISA9
14. GLXTASY
15. TRACY

 To collect your prizes, contact Laurie at the POC for more details.

It was hard to recognize her, but Heidi Klum was dressed as a crow at a 2009 Halloween party.

Only 3 Days left if you’re a musician? Do you support marriage equality? Then this event is for you. Producers of the film “The Right to Love: An American Family” are looking for original music to support the film.

Six days left for you racer heads, a chance at FREE track time in Orange County, CA. This is a 2.1 mile road course, limited to the first 90 entries. If you enter and then win this Porsche Owners Club contest, you will get a refund or credit, your choice. This is for new and existing members, any car, it doesn’t need to be a Porsche.

Porsche Owners Club can take you from mundane...... to INSANE!!!

POC wants to let you know about our upcoming Event at the El Toro airbase in Orange County. This 2.1 mile road course features painted curbs and high speed turns for continuous lapping, this is NOT an Auto-X.

Want the chance to experience the fast-paced excitement of track driving with the Porsche Owners Club FOR FREE?  The POC is giving away 2 track weekends to our El Toro 2-day event in March 2010, 5 POC memberships and 15 Velocity magazine packs (4 issues of Velocity) to random voters.  The track weekend prize includes free instruction from our qualified and trained instructors and competitors, so no prior experience is required.  You don’t even need to own a Porsche to participate, just a registered vehicle*.

For your chance to win these awesome giveaways, we want to see your auto or racing related videos or photos.   Entries can be your time trial videos, any club racing or auto-cross, photos of your beloved track or driving car on or off the track – the options are unlimited!  We also want to see entries from our Current members too! You can upload videos of the great racing or time trial footage, even some fun off-track videos of our POC friends and family. In reality, this is just a good excuse to collect and watch some great driving/racing photos and videos, it’s what the POC does, we drive cars, FAST! Click the image above to join in on the fun.

*Restrictions Apply.

Submissions kicking off Monday, Feb 1st 2010, Cassie Jaye of “Faces of hunger in America” success is looking for music for her latest Production, “The Right to Love: An American Family“.

“Calling all musicians and singers! We need music for the feature documentary film, ‘The Right to Love: An American Family’ in support for marriage equality. This film features the amazing Depfox family, known for their YouTube channel: Gay Family Values”.

So get those tunes ready, because Cassie and Co are looking for new talent. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements soon.

After a successful screening event in NYC, the top 3 finalists were chosen in the Faces of Hunger in America film contest sponsored by Palms For Life Fund. An esteemed panel of judges reviewed the top 6 films, as decided by public vote, at the Action Center to End World Hunger on December 21st , 2009. The contest was organized by the Palms For Life Fund, with GotSpot providing the voting platform, to get the message about the issues of Hunger in America out to the public. Palms For Life director, Hannah Laufer-Rottman, wanted to make the best use of the funds made available, and what is significant to note, is that the $10,000 in cash prizes went further in terms of reaching out to the public than traditional advertising might have gone. The films and pages of this contest were viewed over 90,000 times during the 1-month voting period in November 2009, with over 30,000 votes cast. All films entered into the contest will be compiled together to make a single trailer that will be displayed at Film Festivals across the US and hopefully around the world. Hunger in America is a big problem: “49 million Americans were food insecure in 2008, almost 17 million of them being children” – the highest since the government began tracking what it calls “food insecurity” 14 years ago, as reported by the Department of Agriculture.

And the winners are……

1st Place prize $5,000 – Dolce Wang for her film titled “Food for Thought”. Dolce created a different spin on the theme by turning the camera on herself and her family. Sometimes the issue of hunger might be closer than you think. Dolce helped us to understand that hunger is not limited to the homeless or unemployed. Providing the facts and numbers, Dolce’s film is both personal and informative at the same time with an artistic quality. We think Dolce has a bright future if she ever decides to become a filmmaker.

“Participating in the Faces of Hunger Film Competition was really a great experience as it pushed me to really step out and inform myself and others about the issues revolving around hunger in America. In the process of making the film, Food for Thought, I discovered that the true issue of hunger did not only lie among the homeless population as many assumed, but with the people around us — middle-class families, and most humbling of all — my own family. Although it was not the easiest thing to admit, I am so glad that to have gone through the process, as it was a very meaningful to not only create the film and learn about the issues of hunger, but to share with others about my own personal discovery. I have Hannah Laufer and the Palms for Life Foundation to thank for helping me come to this realization, and I would definitely encourage others to participate in 2010!” – Dolce Wang

2nd Place prize $3,500 – Cassie Jaye for her film titled “Faces Overlooked”. Cassie turned her camera on in one of America’s richest cities in the country to reveal what many would least expect. Cassie crafted a well produced video and her experience with her own production company “Jayebird Productions” showed in her submission. A beautiful young actress and filmmaker all in one, that’s like a left / right knockout punch!

“It was an honor to be apart of the Faces of Hunger in America film contest. There were so many talented young filmmakers involved, and all for a great cause. It was a joy to focus my passion on helping my community. I feel that the contest really brought people together from all across the nation to help raise awareness about the hunger epidemic. I’m so thankful to the Palms For Life Fund and GotSpot for giving me this opportunity.” – Cassie Jaye

3rd Place prize $1,500 – Walden Davis for his animated film called “Crying”. Walden showed his artistic abilities by combining his animation skills with the message of Hunger in America. This talented young 15-year old caught the attention of the judges with his take on presenting the issue. Look for Walden’s animations in the future!

“When most Americans think of Hunger, they think of it as a minor problem, something that we’ve exported to another country whether it be in Africa or Asia, they just don’t think of Hunger be present here. Hannah’s competition allowed us directors, editors and producers to divine why this issue is still at the table and why it hasn’t long since been eradicated. These videos have really open people’s minds to what is really going on. Of course this would all not be possible without the Palms for Life fund, a charity developed by Mrs. Laufer-Rottman which aims to raise awareness about the root causes of hunger and promotes equal access to basic necessities such as food and education for all those living in impoverished conditions.  Gotspot, with their unique and simple way to view and vote for these videos, also revolutionized the experience.  The Faces of Hunger contest run by Hannah and Palms for Life fund was really beyond what I had originally imagined.” – Walden Davis

Special Scholarship Award – James Jackson for his film titled “Faces of Hunger”. James, a 17 year old student, received a special award that captured the attention of contest organizer. The “Hannah Laufer-Rottman Scholarship Award for Excellent Conveyance of Message” was awarded to James for his entry.

“I am so pleased and grateful to receive this scholarship award. To have received this from Hannah and the Palms for life fund means more to me than just happiness. It has brought me great peace of mind, I am honored to have been able to partake and receive this award from you. It is my hope that one day I will be able to give back what was so generously given to me.” – James Jackson.

Judging Panel;
Joel Berg, head of the NY Coalition Against Hunger and author of All You Can Eat, How Hungry is America
Richard Deckelbaum, Director of the Institute of Human Nutrition and professor of Nutrition at Columbia University
Jessica Green, filmmaker, co-director of the cinema program at the Maysles Insitute
Tom Hurwitz, acclaimed and award-winning Director of Photography, latest film was “Valentino”
Philip Maysles, filmmaker, co-director of the cinema program at the Maysles Institute
Janet Poppendieck, Sociology Prof. at Hunter College, author of Sweet Charity? Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement

Did you know that 49 million Americans were food insecure in 2008, almost 17 million of them being children. Could this be someone you know?

We asked for your support and you gave it. In return, we gave away some prizes. The user’s on GotSpot.com have chosen the six (6) videos with the highest online voting to move to the final round of “Faces of Hunger in America” contest. A panel of judges will decide on the 3 winners who will get a total of $10,000 in prizes.

“KITTYMOON_1” was the chosen winner of the “8G iPod Touch”. Congratulations to KITTYMOON_1 and we hope you enjoy the Touch.

“DEPFOX” was the chosen winner of the “Cool Green – 2G iPod Shuffle”. Congratulations DEPFOX, we hope you enjoy the Shuffle (it’s really cute).

And the Following 3 User’s were chosen and will receive a $15 iTunes card, “FAMOUSH“, “BLAIRBENJAMIN” and “REGRET“.

We look forward to seeing you on GotSpot.com! Remember, If you Got it, Spot it!

And then there were six! The public vote has chosen the top 6 Finalists for the Faces of Hunger in America Contest.

Contestants CASSIEJAYE, DOLCEWANG, EAAREVAL, MOTO45, TARABNVT and WALDENDAVIS.

Palms for Life Fund*, will be holding a public screening to choose the winners of the 2009 Faces of Hunger in America film contest on December 21, from 3 to 5pm,  at the Action Center to End World Hunger in Battery Park, New York City.

In attendance will be Master of Ceremonies Xenia Siamas, ambassador for Palms For Life Fund, as well as an esteemed panel of judges:  Joel Berg head of New York City Coalition Against Hunger, Janet Poppendieck Professor at Hunter College and author of “Sweet Charity? Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement,”  and of “Free for All: Fixing School Food in America,” Richard Deckelbaum, Director of the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University, award-winning cinematographer Tom Hurwitz (”Valentino”), and the Maysles Institute program co-directors, Phillip Maysles and Jessica Green.

The contest challenged young filmmakers 25 years of age and under, to produce a short film depicting hunger in their local communities all across America. A total of 14 films were pre-selected and posted for online voting from November 5th through December 4th, 2009. The films received more than 70,000 views and got over 20,000 votes.

“Hunger is literally in our faces. While the charitable response is necessary because hunger cannot wait, we need to go further and address the root causes of this epidemic. We need to address all the factors that prevent people from accessing the food they need, as a basic human right. And we’re not just speaking about the plight of homeless Americans: the largest number of food insecure people in the US are single mothers, and working people,” said Hannah Laufer-Rottman, Executive Director of Palms For Life Fund which sponsors the contest.

“We are so grateful to the Action Center to End World Hunger for hosting the screening,” said Laufer-Rottman. The Action Center is a cornerstone of Mercy Corps’ Global Engagement Initiative and was designed by Ed Schlossberg and his team at ESI Design in order to provide an environment to focus on hunger, as a manifestation of poverty.

Organizers have opened this screening to the interested public. Space is limited. R.S.V.P. with your name and number of persons attending to rsvp@facesofhunger.org

 …because hunger is everyone’s business
 
(*) Palms for Life Fund is a public charity (501(c)(3)) dedicated to eliminating poverty worldwide by investing in high-quality sustainable health and education projects. Palms for Life works in Africa, Asia and Latin America with reputable local partners to feed, educate and empower those living in impoverished conditions. For more information on Palms for Life Fund, go to http://www.palmsforlifefund.org. 

And No that doesn’t mean dirty underwear! http://is.gd/5aSKW Nominate us in the “Best New StartUp Of 2009” Category, GotSpot.com. It’s a long shot but hey, someone might love us! Thanks kids.