It’s hard to find college scholarships for young kids. Olive Garden’s annual essay contest gives students as young as the first grade a chance to compete for a $2,500 savings bond and a family trip to New York City.
To apply for the 17th Annual Pasta Tales Essay Writing Contest, students must submit a 50 to 250-word essay with their ideas on how to end hunger in their community.
Olive Garden will also provide a $5,000 grant to bring the grand prize winner’s hunger initiative to life. This is a great opportunity to get your child excited about helping their community, with a shot at some great prizes to boot.
Try these steps to help your child craft a strong essay:
Skip the first idea that comes to mind, or at least tweak it a bit. While a canned food drive is a popular method of supporting food banks, it smacks of been there, done that.
Challenge your child to be creative and inventive. Make a list of ideas and plans, no matter how fantastic or impossible they may seem. You can always streamline later.
Understand the judging process. This essay contest will be judged in six areas:
- Creativity
- Adherence to theme
- Organization
- Grammar
- Punctuation
- Spelling
Keep the sponsors in mind. The 17th Annual Pasta Tales Essay Writing Contest is sponsored by Olive Garden and its parent company, Darden Restaurants.
Not that you would do this, but it’s safe to say that an essay that is critical of these companies and/or the restaurant industry might not end up in the winner’s circle.
Write tight. Two hundred and fifty words is not a lot of room. Aim for short, clear sentences. Jump right to the point with the first line. Read and re-read for words that can be trimmed.
Respect the deadline. All entries are due by March 22. There’s a school of thought that says it’s best to apply in the middle of the application period. Enter too early and the judges are likely to scrutinize the application more closely. If you enter closer to deadline, the judges may be tired and worn down by the process. Hey, judges are humans, too.
My advice: take as much time as needed to produce a strong essay, but aim to submit at least three weeks before the deadline.
Enjoy the process. A $2,500 savings bond and a family trip to New York City is a fabulous grand prize. The $500 savings bonds for the winners in each of the 12 grades are nothing to sneeze at.
But the greatest prize is the chance to have a thoughtful discussion with your child about something that matters. I know I’m curious to find out how my kids will take a bite out of hunger.
According to Feeding America, hunger impacts one in six people in the United States. To be a part of the solution, enter the 17th Annual Pasta Tales Essay Writing Contest.
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I caught a company doing something awesome and I wanted to share it with you. Best of luck to all those who enter the essay contest. Please let me know if you win. I’d love to celebrate with you.
To my readers: What will you do in New York, if you win? What are your essay writing tips? How are you helping hunger in your community?
Cool! I’ve been looking for these kind of contests/scholarships lately! I’ll check it out!
erin recently posted..Don’t Forget to Check Your Breath for Valentine’s Day!
Hi Erin. Let me know if you enter the contest. I’d love to know how it works out.
Those are great prizes. My tip is write from the heart, from experience.
Billie recently posted..Why I Don’t Watch Vampire Diaries
You’re spot on, Billie. It’s important to let your unique voice shine through the essay. No robots.
I need to check this out. With one in college, I know how expensive it is. I will have to go through it all again in about 7 more years. Thanks for sharing.
LyndaS recently posted..Nutella Dirt Cake
I wish Charlotte was old enough!
trisha
trisha recently posted..Peter Pan Diamond Edition
This is a great contest! I am going to help my oldest enter. We live in a smaller city and they said on the radio the other morning that there were over 1,000 homeless in our town. Something definitely needs to be done for them!
Kathleen recently posted..Simplifying Life With the HTC Windows 8X Phone #Troop8x #HTC8
Great contest! Thank you for sharing all of these wonderful ideas to get scholarships!
Henrietta recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – 3 Months Already #ww