VFW Announces Scholarship Programs for 2024-2025 School Year

Veterans of Foreign Wars John W. Tiffany Post 53 will sponsor its annual Voice of Democracy and Patriots Pen Scholarship programs for the 2024-25 school year.

The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in future generations. High school students can win a $35,000 college scholarship, while high school students can win $5,000 in scholarships.

The Voice of Democracy audio essay program offers high school students the opportunity to express themselves over a recorded essay with a democratic and patriotic theme. Every year, 25,000 students in grades 9 through 12 from across the country compete to win their share of more than $1 million in scholarships and educational incentives awarded through the program. The Voice of Democracy theme for this year is “Is America Today the Vision of Our Ancestors?”

Students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest for the chance to win their share of $1 million in state and national prizes. Each first-place state winner receives a minimum of $500 nationally, and the first-place national winner receives $5,000.

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine the history of America, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by crafting a 300-400 word essay expressing their opinions based on a patriotic theme. The 2024-2025 theme for the essay written in Patriots Pen is “My Voice in America’s Democracy?”

Information is available in the Southwestern, Jamestown, Falconer and Frewsburg Central School Districts, along with Bethel Baptist Christian Academy. Students interested in participating should contact school officials for additional information.

Homeschool students and others interested or with questions should contact VFW Post 53 Commander William Johnston at 716-499-3731 for more information. All entries must be submitted by midnight on October 31st.