Hello Moose Lodge. Today’s topic: A Conversation with Carol and Charlie Bell.
Hello Moose Lodge. The mission of “Moose Tracks” is to inform and engage you. For today‘s topic Kathy Childs tells us about the Youth Awareness Scholarship Program.
In 2011, Carol and Charlie Bell asked Kathy to become involved in the Youth Awareness Scholarship Program. As a retired high school teacher, Kathy still loves working with students.
“I encourage Moose members to tell their kids, grandkids, and friends about this excellent opportunity. I also contact school counselors, career center leaders and speech and debate teachers at Northern California high schools, asking them to invite their students to an informational meeting held during the months of July through October (called a Congress) at a nearby Moose lodge,” says Kathy.
Each Congress usually has 5-7 students who attend, so approximately 50-60 total students participate from throughout the lodpes in the California/ Nevada Moose Association. Of those, 5-8 students are usually picked to attend the International Congress, and possibly win the largest scholarships. Students must currently be in high school. They should show leadership ability and motivation, as well as doing well in school.
Benefits to Students:
- Opportunity to compete for up to $12,000 in scholarships
- Only one informational meeting at a Moose Lodge is required (parents are encouraged, but not required, to attend)
- $50 Visa card for students who complete the minimum requirements
- Top California/Nevada students win $500, plus a fully paid trip to attend the Moose International Congress
- No cost to students or parents
- Students can participate each year of high school
- Community service credits are possible
To compete, high school students choose a topic that is especially important to them. A wide variety of topics are choosen, for example:
- Saving the Environment, such as monarch butterflies or recycling
- Making Decisions
- Sports and Sportsmanship
- Bullying or Stranger Danger
- Reaching for Your Goals
After students attend one local Congress, they plan three "Kids Talks" and find locations to give their presentations. Students adapt a single topic for three different presentations, depending uDon the age range of the children's group to whom they will be speaking. A "Kids Talk" can be geared to a preschool audience, to a church group, to Scouts, and so on, as long as the audience is between 4 and 9 years old. All Kids Talk reports are due to Kathy in December.
Judging at the state level (California/Nevada) is done by students at a school where no students are involved in the program. The California/Nevada finalists are announced in February and those students begin planning their seven-minute presentations for the International Moose Youth Awareness Congress that is held in April. The Youth International Congress for 2023-2024 was in Virginia. In previous years, it has been in St. Louis, Missouri; Orlando, Florida; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Kathy hasn't yet been to a Youth International Congress. Only Moose volunteers from the state where the International Congress is held can attend, so the year it comes to California or Nevada, she'll be thrilled to volunteer! However, she has watched numerous California students give their Kids Talks to local A9-year-olds. “The children watch intently and love hearing from the older students.”
The Moose offers this scholarship opportunity to give 9th-12th grade students an opportunity to enlighten, encourage and motivate young children. Since its inception almost four decades ago, students in this program have spoken to over 820,000 children.
“Recently, one of Sunnyvale‘s students won top scholarships two years in a row,” says Kathy. In the last five years, eleven California students have won the top scholarships up to $12,000. Last spring, California students won 1st and 3rd place at the International Congress. The third-place winner was from the Sunnyvale Moose Lodge. This year a big winner could be a student that you encourage to participate in the Moose Youth Awareness program! Pleae help spread the word.
I'm sure a lot of Moose members don‘t realize the hard work Kathy invests in this program that wraps around the entire year, a true labor of love. “I keep in touch with students, and it is so rewarding to hear about their lives and how fondly they remember their participation in the Youth Awareness Scholarship Program.”