Topic: "The Internet: Today's Evolution
or Tomorrow's Menace?"
Who: Youth under the age of 19 as of December
31 of the current school year (December 31, 2009)
How
To Enter: Interested students must contact their local Optimist Club.
They need to submit an essay on the pre-assigned topic. To find out a contact,
please e-mail the Programs Department at programs@optimist.org.
The Essay Contest planning pages are intended for use by Optimist Clubs
in organizing and conducting a contest in their Club. They contain no information
on entering the contest and are of no use to students wishing to enter the
contest. Students must contact their local Optimist Club.
When:
Students All Club-level contests are held by early February. The deadline has passed in some areas and is quickly approaching in others. Student submissions will not be accepted after the Club-level contests have closed.
The deadline for students to submit essays is determined by the sponsoring
Club. Please contact your District Chair for more information.
Clubs and Districts
The deadline for Clubs to submit their winning essay to the District Chair
is February 28, 2010. The deadline for Districts to submit their winner’s
information to Optimist International is April 15, 2010.
For an application with contest rules, click
here. The application must be submitted to the sponsoring Optimist Club.
The Essay Contest is sponsored by Optimist International to give young people
the opportunity to write about their own opinions regarding the world in
which they live. The approach can encompass a young person’s personal
experience, the experience of their country or a more historical perspective.
In additional to developing skills for written expression, participants
also have the opportunity to win a college scholarship of up to $6,000!
The guidelines require that contestants be under age 19 as of December 31
of the 2009-2010 school year. Club winners advance to the District contest
to compete for a $2,500 college scholarship. Each District winner is automatically
entered into the International Essay Contest where a panel of judges select
the top three essays. Scholarships are awarded as follows: first place -
$6,000; second place - $3,750; and third place - $2,250. The
District- and International-level scholarships are funded by the Optimist
International Foundations.
Information for Optimist Members planning the
contest:
All Members can now view and conveniently print planning pages for any International
Program from your home computer. Click
here to view the 2009-2010 Club Essay Contest planning pages. Click
here to view the 2009-2010 District Essay Contest planning pages. To
view the planning pages for any of the International Programs and Community
Activities, please visit the Planning
Guides page.
Essay Contest Package - A Program Package
for the Essay Contest is available on the Package Programs page of the website.
On that page, Clubs can find useful materials to help them get started with
a new Essay Contest program.
Support merchandise for this program can be ordered through Shumsky Enterprises
in the United States toll free at (877) 678-2582 or from the Caribbean by
calling (937) 496-1373. In Canada call the Corall Group. To enter, you must
contact your local Optimist Club!
For additional information, please contact Optimist International Programs
Department by e-mail at programs@optimist.org,
or call (800) 500-8130, ext. 235.
Publicize the Essay Contest
Optimist International has developed a series of news releases that Clubs
and Districts can use in connection with their participation in international
programs. Below are sample news releases that Clubs and Districts can use
to promote their Essay Contests. Please note that the .doc version enables
users to type their information into fields*, while the .pdf files are for
viewing only.
*If your Optimist Club or District wishes to use
its own letterhead, you can remove the Optimist International logo in the
document by opening up the Word document, going to “View,” then
“Toolbars” and selecting “Forms.” When the “Forms”
toolbar appears, click on the padlock, then click on the Optimist logo and
delete it. For those using Microsoft Office 2007, click on the Microsoft
Office button in the upper left corner, go to “Word options”
and then select the box next to “Show the Developer tab in the Ribbon”
and click “OK.” Above the document, click the “Developer”
tab and then click on the “Protect Document” drop-down menu.
Click on “Restrict Formatting and Editing.” At the bottom of
the new window to the right, click the “Stop Protection” button.
