Commander Joe Csuka of the Wake Forest Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Post 8466 announced the kick-off of this year’s VFW Student Essay competitions. Local students have the opportunity to compete for thousands of dollars in awards, scholarships, trips to Washington, DC and more.
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) started the Voice of Democracy Scholarship program in 1947. The VFW became a national sponsor in the late 1950s and assumed sole responsibility for the program in 1961.
The competition was created to provide students grades 9-12 the opportunity to express themselves in regard to democratic ideas and principles. Around 40,000 students participate in the competition each year and VFW awards more than $2 million in scholarships every year. The program was expanded to include middle school students with the Patriot’s Pen competition in 1995. Since then hundreds of thousands of students have participated.
High school students (grades 9 – 12 as of October 2021) compete in the Voice of Democracy Scholarship competition, in which they must write and record a three-to-five minute essay on the selected theme using an audio CD or flash drive and present their recording, typed essay and completed entry form to their local VFW Post. The 2021-2022 theme selected is “America: Where Do We Go From Here?”
Middle school students (grades 6 – 8 as of October 2021) compete in the Patriot’s Pen competition by composing a 300- to 400-word patriotic-themed essay. The theme for the 2021-2022 competition is “How Can I Be a Good American?”
Students begin by competing at the local Post level. Post winners advance to district competition. Cash awards are given to winners at both levels. District winners advance to state competition. The Voice of Democracy State first-place winners receive a minimum of a $1,000 scholarship and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete for a national first-place award of a $30,000 scholarship. Patriot’s Pen State first-place winners receive a minimum of a $500 cash award. The national first place winner receives a $5,000 award and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC.
Interested students and teachers should contact Wake Forest VFW Post 8466 by phone at (919)263-9522 or by email at cdrpost8466@vfwnc.com for more information.
Entries in each competition must be submitted to VFW Post 8466 by midnight October 31, 2021.
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