OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH
OPPORTUNITY #1: Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
The Barron Prize seeks nominations for its 2006 awards, which honor young people ages 8 to 18 that have shown leadership and courage in public service to people and our planet. Each year, ten national winners each receive $2,000 to support their service work or higher education. For more information and to nominate, visit http://www.barronprize.org/. Nomination deadline is April 30.
OPPORTUNITY #2: Build-A-Bear Workshop to Honor Young People for Community Service
Now in its third year, the Build-A-Bear Workshop’s ( http://www.buildabear.com/ ) seeks nominations of young people who have made a difference to the life of their communities to be named 2006 Huggable Heroes. Nominations will be accepted of young people who are 18 years of age or younger and are legal residents of the United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Twelve young people will be selected and recognized as 2006 Huggable Heroes. Each of the twelve honorees will be rewarded with a $2,500 donation to help further their cause along with a trip to Los Angeles, where they will be recognized for their achievements. Nominees may perform their community service as an individual working within a group or on an individual basis. Self-nominations will be accepted. Nomination guidelines and forms are available at the company’s Web site. Deadline: February 14, 2006
OPPORTUNITY #3: Hitachi Foundation Opens Youth Community Service Awards Nomination Process
The Hitachi Foundation presents the Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community each year to ten high school seniors from around the United States on the basis of their community-service activities. The award is accompanied by a gift of $5,000, dispensed over two years. Recipients may use the award at their discretion. To be eligible for the award, candidates must be: graduating high school seniors; individuals whose activities impacted a socially, economically, or culturally isolated area; individuals who have demonstrated self-motivation, leadership, creativity, dedication, and commitment in pursuing their service; and individuals who have made a conscious effort to involve and inspire others to participate in community action. Students must be nominated for the award. Visit the Hitachi Foundation Web site for complete eligibility requirements, program guidelines and nomination procedures (http://www.hitachifoundation.org/ ) Deadline: April 1, 2006
OPPORTUNITY #4: Christopher Columbus Awards Program for Middle School Children
Sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, the Christopher Columbus Awards program is a national competition for middle-school-age children that combines science and technology with community problem-solving in a real-world setting. With the help of an adult coach, participating students work in teams to identify an issue they care about and, using science and technology, work with experts, conduct research, and put their ideas to the test to develop an innovative solution to that problem. Eight finalist teams and their coaches will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World to attend the program’s National Championship Week, plus a $200 grant to further develop their ideas. Two gold medal teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond and a plaque for each team member, along with a plaque for their school. In addition, one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. For complete program information and guidelines, visit the awards program Web site. (<http://www.christophercolumbusawards.com/>) Deadline: February 13, 2006
OPPORTUNITY #5: MTV and Youth Venture Offer Young People Grants for Programs to Aid Hurricane Victims
MTV: Music Television (http://www.mtv.com/) and Youth Venture are offering Hope Venture Grants of up to $1,000 to support young people who want to launch a venture — an organization, club, or business — that will aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. First priority will be given to proposals that support the creation of sustainable ventures that aid citizens and communities affected by the disaster. A second priority will be proposals to start organizations solely for the purpose of raising and distributing funds for those in need. Hope Venture Grants will be offered every week for the next six months to groups of two or more young people (ages 13-20) with the most compelling venture ideas to assist the people and communities affected. Applications for one-time projects will not be considered. All entries must be postmarked by March 17, 2006, and received by March 24, 2006.
OPPORTUNITY #6: Student Teams Invited to Participate in Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Program
The Lemelson-MIT Program (http://web.mit.edu/invent/) works to inspire young people to pursue creative lives and careers and, in particular, to engage in invention and pursue sustainable new solutions to real-world problems. Applicants are encouraged to consider the problems or needs of the world’s poorest people (those earning $2/day) in brainstorming project ideas. Up to eighteen grants of up to $10,000 each are available. Grant funding is intended for research, materials, and learning experiences related to developing the team’s invention. In recognition of their dedication, teachers who facilitate extracurricular invention projects can designate up to $2,000 of their grant toward a teacher’s stipend. High school science, mathematics, and technology teachers — or teams of teachers — are eligible to apply. Team diversity and inclusiveness with school activities and classes is encouraged. Complete program information, application procedures, and descriptions of previous InvenTeams projects are available at the program’s Web site. Deadline: May 6, 2006
OPPORTUNITY #7: YOUTH ACTION NET AWARD
YouthActionNet is now giving awards to youth leaders and their emerging projects that promote social change and connect youth with local communities. These youth-led projects should have clearly defined goals and have potential for growth or further replication. Final selections are made following a peer review process in which previous award winners select the next round of awardees. Award recipients will receive US$500 and are eligible to participate in an international capacity-building workshop. For more information, visit <http://www.youthactionnet.org/yan_awards> or Tel: +1 410 951 1500 Fax: +1 410 347 1188. The next deadline is April 18, 2006.
OPPORTUNITY #8: GoGirlGo! Ambassador Team Awards
In conjunction with the GoGirlGo! National Campaign that is aiming to get one million inactive girls to participate in physical activity and keep another one million currently active girls from dropping out of physical activity, Gatorade (http://www.gatorade.com/) and the Women’s Sports Foundation (http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/) are supporting a second year of the GoGirlGo! Ambassador Team Awards designed to inspire teams to help combat the alarming physical and psychological health hazards affecting America‘s youth. The purpose of the GoGirlGo! Ambassador Team Awards is to provide $50,000 in total grants to teams that demonstrate leadership in their communities by inspiring girls to get involved in sports and physical activity. School, amateur, community, and/or nonprofit affiliated teams whose members are female, enrolled in 9th to 12th grade, at least 13 years old, and residents of the United States, its territories, or protectorates are eligible to apply. The program will award twenty $2,500 grants. See the foundation’s Web site for complete program guidelines and application instructions. Deadline: April 7, 2006
Dr. Terri and TJH Consulting 