We are a non-partisan group dedicated to raising public awareness of the importance and impact of the U.S. model for supporting scientific research, and the need to fight against devastating cuts in research funding.
Nothing will raise awareness more than powerful first person accounts of how lives people all over the country have been improved and even saved due to developments from basic research.
To that end, we’re asking that you prepare a short video (aim for 30-40 seconds) with three main points:
- Who you are, where you’re from, and the disease/disorder that has impacted your life or the life of a loved one. Example: “Hi, my name is Sarah, I’m from Kansas, and I’m a cancer survivor.”
- How research has changed your life or the life of a loved one. Example: “Funding for basic research led to my enrollment in a clinical trial that saved my life. Without access to this trial, my prognosis was only 3 years left to live.”
- Urge people to act by contacting their congressional representatives, and by sharing their own videos. Example: “These funding cuts mean people like me will no longer get a second chance at life. Please contact your representatives and ask them to reject cuts to basic research.”
- Use the feature below to record your video. Your video will be uploaded automatically when you finish - there is no "submit" button. To start recording hit the RED button. To Stop recording hit the RED button again. That recording will be uploaded to our holding site to be reviewed. If you wish to review what you recorded, hit the Forward pointing arrow. If you would like to download your video to your computer to share on other sites, hit the Down pointing arrow. Please be aware that by recording a video here you will be giving us permission to share that video on this site and social media. Thank you for participating in this effort.
We understand that it’s a big ask to summarize such sensitive information into a few sentences. While the short videos are most likely to have the greatest reach on social media, if you’d like to share a longer video (1-3 minutes) describing your experience, we’ll consider it for inclusion on our website. Don’t worry if you make a mistake; just redo it, and we will discard the others. Or you can record yourself on your phone and email your video as described below.
Tips for Filming on a Cell Phone
- For social media videos, please shoot vertically. For longer video submissions for our website, please shoot videos horizontally. This makes them easier to edit for different aspect ratios.
- To avoid having an unsteady video, don’t hold your phone/camera while filming. Instead, prop your phone/camera up on a stationary surface.
- Make sure you are centered in the frame.
- Position your face towards a window or light to ensure that you are well lit.
- Find a quiet area to record (for example, don’t record outside if you live near a busy street where your audio will pick up loud background noise).
- Keep it short, but relax and speak from the heart. Hearing your authentic experience will resonate most with the public.
- If you make a mistake, just keep filming, take a breath, and try again. It will be easier for you to flow that way and edit the video later, rather than stopping and starting over several times. Need help editing your video? We’d love to help – just reach out.
Submitting Your Video
The more this message is spread across other social media platforms the better! If you upload your video to other platforms (YouTube, Instagram, etc.), please do the following:
- Summarize your main points in your caption: For example, “Hi everyone, my name is Sarah, and I’m a cancer survivor. Funding for basic research led to my enrollment in a clinical trial that saved my life. Cuts to government funding for medical research mean people like me will no longer get a second chance at life. Please contact your representatives and ask them to reject cuts to basic research.”
- Include the hashtags #sciencesavedme
- Remember to tag ScienceSavedMe.org
- You can also email us your video at [email protected]
