YOUTH SCHOLARSHIP-PATRIOT'S PEN

PAtriots Pen

2022-2023 THEME: "MY PLEDGE TO OUR VETERANS"

Each year more than 132,000 students in grades 6-8 enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest. The national first-place winner wins $5,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. The first-place winner from each state competes for national awards totaling $55,000, with each first-place state winner receiving a minimum of $500 at the national level. The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief.

Additionally, Post and Department winners also receive awards.

ENTRIES MUST BE TO THE POST BY OCTOBER 31, 2022

Download submission form
Download information packet

Patriot’s Pen
Established: 1995
Eligibility: Middle school students (grades 6–8)
Format: 300–400 word essay 
Post Prize: 1st Place $300 2nd Place $200 3rd Place $100
National Prize: $5,000 scholarship for the first-place winner
2024-2025 Theme: “My Voice in America’s Democracy?”
General Information
Eligibility: Students must be lawful U.S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence and intend to become U.S. citizens.
Application Deadline: October 31, 2024
For more details and to apply, scan the QR code and visit Scholar’s App.

Information on Scholar's App 

whitelist or allowlist is a register of entities granted specific privileges, services, or access. Institutions wanting to work with Scholar’s App must whitelist the domain *.scholarsapp.com/* by contacting their IT department. This enables students and teachers to access the platform for scholarship applications.

Security Policy

  • SOC 2 Type II Compliance: Ensures security standards.
  • GDPR-compliant DPA: Data processing agreement.
  • Advanced DDoS Protection: Uses Cloudflare to block attacks.
  • Vulnerability Testing: Automated code and continuous monitoring.
  • Penetration Testing: Annual tests following OWASP WSTG.
  • State-of-the-Art Encryption: TLS for data in transit, AES-256 for data at rest.
  • AWS Security: Built on AWS, supporting 143 security standards.

Privacy Policy

  • CPA Compliance: Consumers can limit the use and disclosure of their personal information.
  • No Data Selling: Scholar’s App does not sell personal information to third parties.
  • Consumer Rights: Right to know what personal information is collected and how it is used.
  • Informing Consumers: CPA-compliant privacy notice available here.
  • Consumer Requests: Consumers can request details on collected personal information, which will be provided free of charge after verification.

For Questions, Submissions: Contact George Keillor

vfw1487gkeillor@gmail.com  916-708-1988