WeRHouston Oral Health Awareness Scholarship Contest

1. Sponsor and Administrator

The WeRHouston Oral Health Awareness Scholarship Contest is sponsored and administered by WeRHouston.

For questions about the contest, please contact:

WeRHouston

Website: werhouston.com

 Email: info@werhouston.com

 Phone: 713-322-5969

2. No Purchase Necessary

No purchase or payment or agreement is necessary to enter or win.

3. Eligibility

The contest is open to eligible students attending participating Aldine ISD schools.

Students must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to participate. A parent or legal guardian must complete the online entry form and consent on behalf of any student under 18 years old.

Up to 3 unique entries are allowed per student.

4. Contest Period

The contest begins on 06/01/2026 and ends on 09/30/2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Entries submitted after the deadline may not be considered.

5. Essay or Video Topic

Students must submit an original essay or video on the following topic:

Why a Healthy Smile Matters: How Oral Health Affects Confidence, School, and Life.

Students may write an essay or create a short video about topics such as confidence, school, family habits, community health, dental care, orthodontics, healthy routines, or the role of oral health in helping people live healthier lives. Elementary school students may upload an original painting related to topic of the contest instead of essay or video.

6. Requirements

Essays Requirements:

Essays must be the student’s original work.

Recommended essay length:

Middle school students: 400 to 700 words

High school students: 600 to 1,000 words

Accepted file formats may include .doc, .docx, .pdf, or .txt.

Essays must be appropriate for a school and community contest and may not include offensive, hateful, threatening, discriminatory, or inappropriate content.

Students may use spellcheck or grammar tools, but the ideas and writing must be their own. Essays that appear to be copied, plagiarized, or primarily generated by artificial intelligence may be disqualified.

Short Video Requirements: 

Students to make A 30 to 120 seconds video about: “Why a Healthy Smile Matters: How Oral Health Affects Confidence, School, and Life.“ and share it on Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or YouTube. Then submit the share link in the submission form.

Elementary school students may upload an original painting related to topic of the contest instead of essay. Accepted file formats may include .pdf, .JPEG, .PNG.

7. How to Enter

To enter, a parent or legal guardian must visit werhouston.com, complete the online entry form, provide the required parent/guardian and student information, upload or share the student’s essay or video, and agree to the required Parental Consent and Official Rules.

Entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, submitted without parent/guardian consent, or submitted after the deadline may be disqualifie

8. Judging Criteria
Eligible essays will be reviewed by judges selected by WeRHouston.

Essays may be judged based on the following criteria:
Originality and creativity: 30%

Connection to the essay topic: 25%

Clarity and organization: 20%

Writing quality: 15%

Positive message about oral health awareness: 10%

The decisions of the judges are final.

9. Prizes

The following scholarship awards may be awarded:

1st Place: $1,500

2nd Place: $1,000

3rd Place: $500

Prize awards may be issued to the parent or legal guardian of the winning student, to the student if legally permitted..

Prizes are not transferable except at the discretion of WeRHouston. 

10. Winner Notification

Potential winners will be contacted using the parent or guardian contact information submitted through the entry form.

If a potential winner cannot be reached, does not respond within the required time period, cannot verify eligibility, or does not provide required documentation, WeRHouston may select an alternate winner.

11. Publicity

By entering the contest, the parent or legal guardian gives WeRHouston permission to announce participants, a finalist or winner using limited information such as the student’s liking, first name, last initial, grade, school name, essay and/or video title, and prize level.

WeRHouston does not need a separate written release before using a student’s full name, photo, video, interview, image, voice, or likeness for promotional purposes.

12. Privacy

Information submitted through the contest entry form will be used to administer the contest, verify eligibility, contact parents or guardians, review essay and video submissions, notify finalists or winners, and award prizes.

Please see the Privacy Terms for more information.

13. Optional Marketing Consent

Parents or guardians may be given the option to agree to receive calls, text messages, or emails from WeRHouston about oral health awareness, community programs, contest updates, related educational and promotional information, and participating community initiatives.

Message and data rates may apply. Text message recipients may opt out by replying STOP.

14. Disqualification

WeRHouston reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is incomplete, false, fraudulent, inappropriate, plagiarized, submitted without proper parent/guardian consent, or otherwise violates these Official Rules.

WeRHouston may also disqualify any participant who attempts to interfere with the contest process or acts in an unsportsmanlike or inappropriate manner.

15. Limitation of Liability

By participating, entrants and their parents or guardians agree to release WeRHouston, its employees, representatives, partners, affiliates, agents, sponsors, donors, vendors, and assigns from claims, damages, losses, or liabilities arising out of participation in the contest or acceptance, use, or misuse of any award, except where prohibited by law.

16. Changes or Cancellation

WeRHouston reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the contest if fraud, technical problems, school or district requirements, legal issues, or other circumstances affect the integrity or operation of the contest.
17. Governing Law

These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Texas.

18. Agreement to Rules

By submitting an entry, the parent or legal guardian confirms that they have read, understood, and agreed to these Official Rules and the Parental Consent.