GREENSBORO, N.C. — Double the money! Those are the words Dr. Candice Fix of Magnolia Eye Care in King said to the folks at Alliance Insurance Services.
The insurance company has been awarding scholarships to students who win the video contest showing the Dangers of Distracted Driving. Initially, the scholarships were $1,750 for first place, $900 for second place, and $350 for third place, but now those numbers have doubled to $3,500 for first place, $1,800 for second place, and $700 for third place.
On the Alliance Insurance Services Scholarship page, it's explained why the money was donated:
“We support this scholarship program because just like Christopher, we too have experienced a personal loss due to a distracted driver,” said Dr. Fix.
"A dear friend of ours lost a son texting and driving and my little brother was killed in a single-vehicle accident related to a cell phone, so with that we are trying to make sure that young folks drive safe and stay safe," said Christopher Cook of Alliance Insurance Services.
Olivia Smith won for her second-place video in 2023. Now, she's away at school, using that scholarship money.
"It definitely helped pay some of my tuition needs, especially since being an out-of-state student is kind of expensive. It has helped me realize a lot about distracted driving," said Oliva Smith.
The video should be no more than three minutes and needs to be in by the extended deadline of April 15, 2024.
"A lot of people, when they think about distracted driving, they think about being on your phone, but there is a lot to that on your phone. You can do a lot of things like I do in my video, some of it is kinda weird so I do my homework or I crochet.
It took me two to three hours to script it out, record it, and edit it," said Smith.