Following are application dates for student contests, scholarships, and internships. Asterisks (*) denote new entries.
*Open CARING
The Caring Institute seeks nominations of students 18 and younger who demonstrate extraordinary compassion, caring, and selflessness. Each of five winners receives a $2,000 college scholarship, an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and a place in the Hall of Fame for Caring Americans. Nomination forms are available on the Web site. Contact: Rich Brennan, Caring Institute, 228 Seventh St. S.E., Washington, DC 20003; (202) 547-4273; fax (202) 547-4510; email e-mailinquiries@caring-institute.org; www.caring-institute.org.
*Open COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Points of Light Foundation offers the Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute, a service and leadership curriculum for high school students that provides hands-on experience at community problem-solving. Participants are recruited by trainers at the local level and complete 30 hours of curriculum work, field exercises, and community service projects that they choose, create, and implement. For information on existing local programs or opportunities to become a trainer, contact: Laura Raine Rittner, Points of Light Foundation, 1400 I St. N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 729-8151; e-mail lrittner@pointsoflight.org; www.pyli.org
*Open CREATIVITY
Creative Kids magazine, a product of Prufrock Press, publisher of literature to support the education of gifted children, requests submissions from students ages 8 to 14. Original cartoons, songs, stories of 800 to 900 words, puzzles, photographs, artwork, games, activities, editorials, poetry, and plays are accepted. Teachers or students submit up to three works each, per envelope, labeled with the child’s name, birth date, grade, school, and home address; a self-addressed, stamped envelope should be included with each submission. Students whose materials are selected for publication receive a free copy of the Creative Kids issue in which their work appears. For more information, contact: SubmissionsEditor, Creative Kids, P.O. Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813; www.prufrock.com
*Open ENVIRONMENT
The Global Habitat Project welcomes student-written submissions for publication on GreenScreen, the online partner of “GreenTimes” environmental newsletters written by and for kids. For more information, contact: Heather Freeman, The Global Habitat Project, 129 South St., Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02111; (617) 513-4443; email habitat@greenscreen.org; www.greenscreen.org
*Open HISTORY
The Concord Review, a quarterly journal that publishes secondary students’ academic work, accepts student essays on any historical topic. Essays should be approximately 5,000 words, plus endnotes and bibliography. They also must be accompanied by an entry form, available on the Web site, and a check for $40. For more information, contact: Concord Review, 730 Boston Post Rd., Suite 24, Sudbury, MA 01776; (800) 331-5007 or (978) 443-0022; email fitzhugh@tcr.org; www.tcr.org
*October 31 COMMUNITY SPIRIT
The National Association of Secondary School Principals announces the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, annually recognizing 5th through 12th grade students who have demonstrated exemplary community service. Students must have participated in a volunteer activity that started at least in part after September 2003. Schools may select one local honoree and two runners-up for every 1,000 students enrolled in grades 5-12. Application forms are submitted to a school principal or the head of an officially designated local organization. State honorees receive $1,000, a silver medallion, and an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., in May. At that time, 10 national honorees will be named and will receive an additional $5,000, a gold medallion, and a trophy for their school or organization. Contact: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1904 Association Dr., Reston, VA 20191; (703) 860-0200 or (800) 253-7746; fax (703) 476-5432; email spirit@principals.org; www.principals.org/awards/prudential.cfm
*November 1 GARDENING
Each year, hundreds of schools and community organizations with child-centered outdoor garden programs receive seeds, tools, garden products, and educational resources donated by companies in the lawn and gardenindustry. Selection criteria include leadership; need; sustainability; community support; innovation; and educational, environmental, and/or social programming. Applications are available on the Web site. Contact: Donna Booska, Grants, National Gardening Association, 1100 Dorset St., South Burlington, VT 05403; (802) 863-5251, ext. 115.
*November 15 BEETLES
The Coleopterists Society invites children in grades 7-12 to apply for its Youth Incentive Award, which recognizes young people studying beetles. One or two winners are selected annually, one each in the junior (grades 7-9) and senior (grades 10-12) categories, for proposed activities or projects about beetles. Proposals are evaluated on degree of creativity, educational benefit to the applicant, scientific merit, feasibility, and budgetary planning. Students may only apply individually but are strongly encouraged to find an adult adviser. Award recipients receive grants of up to $150 and a one-year subscription to the society’s journal, The Coleopterists Bulletin. Contact: Dr. David G. Furth, Entomology, NHB, MRC 165, P.O. Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012; (202) 357-3146; fax (202) 786-2894; email furth.david@nmnh.si.edu; www.coleopsoc.org
*November 15 BUSINESS
Independent Means Inc., a company that produces programs and products promoting girls’ financial independence, invites young women ages 13-21 to create their own business plans for the 2004 National Business Plan Competition for Young Women. Five winners receive $1,500, an opportunity to earn a scholarship to Camp Start-Up, and more. Applications are available at www.dollardiva.com. Contact: Independent Means Inc., 126 E. Haley Ave., #A16, Santa Barbara, CA 93101; (805) 965-0475 or (800) 350-1816; fax (805) 965-3148; email info@independentmeans.com; www.independentmeans.com
*November 17 SCIENCE
The Intel Science Talent Search is a competition for U.S. high school seniors who excel in science, math, and engineering. Each fall, more than 1,500 seniors submit individual research reports and essays to vie for the top prize, a $100,000 scholarship. Intel STS names 300 semifinalists who, along with their schools, are awarded $1,000. Forty finalists attend the Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C., in March, where students exhibit their research at the National Academy of Sciences and meet with scientists. Complete information is available on the Web site. For more information, contact: Intel Science Talent Search, Science Service, 1719 NSt. N.W., Washington, DC 20036; (202) 785-2255; email sciedu@sciserv.org; www.sciserv.org/sts
*December 1 ENGINEERING
The National Society of Professional Engineers offers scholarships for high school seniors who plan to study engineering at a college or university accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The Auxiliary Scholarship provides $1,000 per year for four years to a young woman. The Virginia D. Henry Memorial Scholarship is a $1,000 award for a young woman’s freshman year. The Maureen L. and Howard N. Blitman PE Scholarship to Promote Diversity in Engineering is awarded to a high school senior from an ethnic minority; the $5,000 award, given in the college freshman year, has been endowed to encourage students from ethnic minorities underrepresented in engineering to pursue a career in the field. Proof of acceptance into a college or university engineering program must be provided before the award can be disbursed. More information about award criteria and the application process is available on the Web site. Contact: NSPE, Education Services, (703) 684-2800; email education@nspe.org; www.nspe.org/scholarships/sc-home.asp
*December 1 WRITING PLAYS
Young Playwrights Inc., the nation’s only professional theater devoted solely to writers ages 18 or younger, is looking for original, nonmusical plays for off-Broadway production in the Young Playwrights Festival; playwrights must be younger than 19 on December 1. Ten to 12 writers will be invited to the YPI Writers Conference in New York City for professionally staged readings of their plays; several plays will also receive full productions. Contact: Young Playwrights Festival National Playwriting Competition, 306 W. 38th St., Suite 300, New York, NY 10018; (212) 594-5440; fax (212) 594-5441; e-mail writeaplay@aol.com; www.youngplaywrights.org
*December 4 LITERATURE
The Library of Congress’ Center for the Book and Target Corp. sponsor Letters About Literature 2004. Applicants write to an author, living or dead, and explain how that author’s work changed their thinking about the world or themselves. State-level winners receive a cash award and a $50 Target gift card and advance to the national competition. Six national winners—two each in grades 4-6, 7-8, and 9-12—receive a $500 Target gift card and a trip to Washington, D.C., for the National Book Festival in fall 2005, where they will read their letters. Complete guidelines and an entry form are available on the Web site. For more information, contact: Center for the Book, (202) 707-5221;e-mail lalessay@epix.net; www.loc.gov/letters
—David Carpmanand Marianne Hurst
