Every year, Edmonds Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8870 sponsors a group of student essay contests, along with VFW posts throughout the nation. Applications are made available through the local schools but students may also enter directly by filling out the application and submitting their entry to VFW Post 8870 prior to Oct. 31.

The Post 8870 contest is open to all students in the Edmonds and Mukilteo school districts. Home-schooled students are welcome to participate.

The Oct. 31 deadline may seem a long way off, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about these competitions, which are also scholarship opportunities:

Voice of Democracy – audio essay competition for high school students.

Patriot’s Pen – essay contest for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

Youth Essay – contest is open to elementary students in grades 3-5.

VFW sponsors these contests to promote patriotism and help students further their education by awarding more than $2 million in educational scholarships and incentives, to regional, state and national winners.

This year’s theme for the Patriot’s Pen written essay contest is “My Pledge to Our Veterans,” and the theme for the Voice of Democracy audio essay competition is “Why is the Veteran Important?” The younger essayists, are asked to write on “Why are Veterans So Important to us?”

Contest rules and entry forms can be found the VFW Department of Washington website:           Entries may be submitted to Edmonds VFW Post 8870 via U.S. mail at PO Box 701, Edmonds, WA 98020

Also with an Oct. 31 deadline, teachers may be nominated for the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. For more information, visit vfw8870.org/teacher-of-the-year.