Voice of Democracy (scholarship)

Last updated
Logo used by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the Voice of Democracy program. Voice of Democracy Logo.svg
Logo used by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the Voice of Democracy program.

Voice of Democracy (VOD) is an annual nationwide scholarship program sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). It is an audio-essay contest for high school students in grades 9-12. The program annually provides more than $2.3 million in scholarships. The first-place winner, who competes with all the first-place VFW Department (state) winners, receives a $30,000 scholarship that is paid directly to the recipient's American university, college or vocational/technical school.

Contents

Besides competing for the top scholarship prize, as well as other national scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $16,000, each Department's first-place winner receives an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. in March (annually).

The Voice of Democracy (VOD) Program began in 1946 and was originally sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters. Initially, there were four winners selected, representing the North, South, East and West regions of the country. Each winner received a $500 savings bond and a wristwatch. The second year of the program, Charles Kuralt, the late television news broadcaster and author, was one of the winners.

It is endorsed by the contest criteria of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and is designed to foster patriotism by allowing students the opportunity to voice their opinion in a three- to five-minute essay based on an annual theme. Historically, the Voice of Democracy theme (chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief annually) is purposely kept broad in scope to allow the participant flexibility in interpretation, and thus, encourage originality. The new theme is posted on the website by May of each year.

The audiotape or audio CD (with the typed essay recited word-for-word), the actual typed essay, and completed official student entry form must be delivered to a local, participating VFW Post by the student entry deadline of October 31.

Previous winners

As of 2023, the first place winner of the competition receives the $35,000 T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship at the annual VFW Voice of Democracy Parade of Winners. [1] Previous first place winners include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum and bugle corps (classic)</span> Musical ensembles

Classic drum and bugle corps are musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units returning from World War I and succeeding wars. Traditionally, drum and bugle corps served as signaling units as early as before the American Civil War, with these signaling units having descended in some fashion from ancient drum and fife corps. With the advent of the radio, bugle signaling units became obsolete and surplus equipment was sold to veteran organizations. These organizations formed drum and bugle corps of civilians and veterans, and the corps performed in community events and local celebrations. Over time, rivalries between corps emerged and the competitive drum and bugle corps circuit evolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike McIntyre</span> American politician

Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 years from 1997 to 2015. McIntyre is a Democrat and, during his tenure in the House of Representatives, was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Merit Scholarship Program</span> American academic scholarship competition

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organization based in Evanston, Illinois. The program began in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regeneron Science Talent Search</span> Award

The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search from 1998 through 2016, is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech at the dinner honoring the 1991 Winners, President George H. W. Bush called the competition the "Super Bowl of science."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans of Foreign Wars</span> Organization of U.S. war veterans

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of U.S. war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or airspace. The organization was established twice separately, once by James C. Putnam on September 29, 1899, in Columbus, Ohio. The VFW is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The organization was congressionally chartered in 1936 under the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Foreign Service Association</span> Professional association

American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 dues-paying members, American Foreign Service Association represents 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees of the Department of State and Agency for International Development (AID), as well as smaller groups in the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Foreign Commercial Service (FCS), and International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans of Future Wars</span> US satirical political organization (1936)

Veterans of Future Wars (VFW) was a satirical political organization initially created as a prank by Princeton University students in 1936. The group was conceived as a parody of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the movement for early payment of a bonus to veterans of World War I that had been originally scheduled for disbursement in 1945 when the World War Adjusted Compensation Act was passed in 1924. The group jokingly advocated the payment of a similar $1,000 "bonus" to future veterans of a coming European conflagration while the recipients were young enough—and alive—to enjoy it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annandale High School</span> High school in Annandale, Virginia

Annandale High School is a public high school in Annandale, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system.

The AAA Travel High School Challenge was an annual travel-themed scholarship competition run by the American Automobile Association, open to students in grades 9–12 in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. First run in 2003 as part of AAA's centennial celebrations, the competition became an annual event and a premier high school scholarship program for a time. The competition was notable for its national coverage

Saint Saviour High School is an all-girls, private, Roman Catholic high school, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

Washington County High School is located in Sandersville, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1959 from a county-wide consolidation of small community high schools. Because segregation was still active, only white students could attend. A twin school for black students, Thomas Jefferson Elder High School, was built in 1959 on Hines Street in the Tybee neighborhood of Sandersville.

The Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO), informally named the "Olympics of the Mind," is a youth program of the NAACP that is "designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African American high school students." The year-long program recognizes and awards young people who have demonstrated academic and cultural achievement. Gold, silver, and bronze medals, along with cash awards, are awarded to winners in each of 29 categories of competition in the sciences, humanities, business, performing and visual arts, and local and national entrepreneurship/ culinary competitions. Active in nearly 400 cities, ACT-SO is the largest academic promotion for black youths in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doodle4Google</span> Google-sponsored annual competition

Doodle 4 Google, also stylized Doodle4Google, is an annual competition in various countries, held by Google, to have children create a Google doodle that will be featured on the local Google homepage as a doodle.

Leta Powell Drake was an American broadcaster, television producer, screenwriter and television personality on local stations in Nebraska. Drake hosted Live & Learn, a program for seniors on 5 City TV in Lincoln, Nebraska, and has been inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Press Women's Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian American Veterans</span>

The Ukrainian American Veterans (UAV) is a 501(c)(19) non-profit organization of the United States, composed of Honorably Discharged Veterans of the United States Armed Forces, who are of Ukrainian heritage or descent. The UAV obtained its tax-exempt status from the IRS in 1984 and was incorporated in the State of New York in 1987. The organization is governed by a volunteer National Executive Board (NEB), headed by a National Commander, elected at a National Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library</span> Biographical museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is dedicated to championing the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist, and Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. It opened in January 2011 and was located in The Emelie, a structure on the National Register of Historic Places at 340 North Senate Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana, until January 2019. Funding for a new building at 543 Indiana Avenue was secured, and the library reopened to the public on November 9, 2019.

Elie Wiesel and his wife founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation in 1986, the same year he received the Nobel Prize for Peace, using the award money from the prize to fund the organization. Wiesel has experienced inequality first hand through the Holocaust and has been working in several different areas involving the Holocaust. The Foundation's mission statement, created in remembrance of the Holocaust, is "to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality." Wiesel has dedicated the foundation to bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas on political, cultural, religious, and academic boundaries. The foundation organizes contests, awards, and conferences for youths in both the United States and other countries experiencing cultural conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French for the Future</span> Canadian not-for-profit organization

French for the Future promotes Canada's official bilingualism and the immediate and lifelong benefits of learning and communicating in French to students from grades 7 to 12 across Canada. French for the Future envisions a Canada in which all young people value our French heritage, appreciate francophone cultures and endeavour to excel in the French language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clements Worldwide</span>

Clements Worldwide, originally Clements & Company and later Clements International, is a global insurance company founded in 1947 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in London and Dubai. It provides international insurance to expatriates, international organizations, international schools, relief organizations, contractors and medical tourists. Clients include contractors serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sons of the American Legion</span>

The Sons of the American Legion (SAL) is a non-profit organization of male descendants of men or women who served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I or since December 7, 1941, through a date of cessation of hostilities as determined by the federal government. Headquartered in Indianapolis, its mission is to serve U.S. veterans, the military and their families through outreach programs delivered by its squadrons, detachments, and national headquarters.

References

  1. "VFW Crowns 2023 National Youth Scholarship Winners".
  2. "VFW Crowns 2023 National Youth Scholarship Winners".
  3. "2022 Virtual Parade of Winners". www.vfw.org. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  4. "Youth Scholarships".
  5. "Rochester teen takes top honor in national VFW essay contest". 14 April 2021.
  6. "VFW Awards National Youth Scholarship Winners".
  7. "VFW Awards National Youth Scholarship Winners".
  8. "VFW Names Youth Scholarship Winners".
  9. "VFW Announces Top Youth Scholarship Winners".
  10. "Winners Selected in VFW's Annual National Youth Scholarship Contest".
  11. "Families mourn after Kensington crash".
  12. "VFW Announces 2014-15 National Youth Scholarship Contest Winners".
  13. "VFW scholarship programs honor local students".