With “lights, camera, action!” skills, Nicole Bleuel, of Stamford, Conn., answered the question, “Why give a Heifer this holiday season?” and with her very “moo”-ving video, won Heifer International’s first ever “Experience Video contest.”

Winner: Heifer Experience: Give a Heifer

The win earns Bleuel, a student at Columbia University of New York, and a guest a trip to visit a Heifer International project in Canada, Latin America, Eastern Europe or Africa during summer 2011, a Flip® camera and the chance to shoot additional video of the trip for herself and for Heifer.

Runner-up was Deb Hagedorn, of South Windsor, Conn., a kindergarten teacher whose classroom video, “Hand in Hand at Pleasant Valley,” wins her and a guest a visit to the Heifer Ranch and Learning Center in Perryville, Ark., where they will participate in one of the available programs for individuals, and a Flip® camera.

In all, 20 videos were entered into the contest, garnering a combined total of more than 18,800 views and 3,174 likes. The margin between first and second place was just four votes.

The contest invited people to use their video skills to help Heifer International in its mission to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth. Heifer provides living gifts of livestock, seeds, trees and training to families in need to give them a hand up toward better nutrition, better income, to self-reliance.

Videos were required to feature the theme, “Why give a Heifer gift this holiday season.” Entrants posted their videos on YouTube, and were encouraged to share their video through their own social networks and tell everyone they know to ‘”like” their video, with the most “liked” video declared winner.