United Laboratories, Inc. (UNILAB) calls on the youth to help improve the health and wellness of the country, one community at a time, through its Unilab Ideas Positive, an idea-generation contest on social marketing programs that address health and wellness issues in communities.

Now on its second run, Unilab Ideas Positive program was launched as a response to the increase in community issues in hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, disease prevention and intervention, and environmental care and protection. Unilab believes that these concerns are more effectively addressed when two or more groups or organizations are working together in true Bayanihan spirit, the Filipino trait of working together to achieve a common goal.

Unilab is thus partnering with the youth to tap into their creativity, idealism and sense of social purpose to find fresh and innovative solutions to emerging and recurring health and wellness issues in communities. Unilab is not just providing youth groups a venue to be heard, but more importantly, empowering them to turn their ideas into reality.

A seed fund of Php100,000 is awarded to the winning team to implement their social marketing program for their chosen community. Two runner-up groups are given Php75,000 each to do the same for their programs.

Last year, Team Biggkas of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) bagged the grand prize for its farm-in-the-city concept, teaching hydroponics gardening to mothers in Barangay San Joaquin in Pasig City so they have their own sustainable source of vegetables within the community. Mothers made their first harvest of lettuce and kangkong in April this year. The local government of Pasig City has expressed a desire to replicate the same program in other barangays.

Due to the successful run last year, the program has now expanded from Metro Manila only to include nearby provinces like Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, and Rizal.

Interested students can form a team of five and submit their idea through http://www.unilabideaspositive.com until July 18. Ten semi-finalists will be chosen to undergo a 3-day camp in August where social marketing thought-leaders led by 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Efren Penaflorida and social marketing guru Dr. Eduardo ‘Ned’ Roberto will help teams to firm up their social marketing plans.

Five finalists teams will be chosen to defend their plans on Sept 18 before a multi-sector panel of judges that will pick the team that wins the seed money from Unilab.