2024-25 VFW scholarship opportunities, Patriots Pen and Voice of Democracy, for local students

LOS LUNAS—The Daniel D. Fernandez, Los Lunas VFW Post 9676 is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in the education and success of future generations in the community.

One very important part of the posts’ effort is encouraging local students to seek out available scholarships to further their education. With that in mind, the post’s members are encouraging, and cordially invites, all Valencia County middle school students (grades sixth, seventh and eighth) to apply for and participate in the 2024-25 VFW Patriot’s Pen written essay scholarship competition.

For all Valencia County high school students (grades 9-12), the post’s members are encouraging, and cordially invites, all area high school students to apply for, and participate in, the 2024-25 VFW Voice of Democracy Audio & Written Essay scholarship competition.

The national prize for winning the Patriot’s Pen competition is currently $5,000. The national prize for winning the Voice of Democracy competition is currently $35,000. Additional scholarship money is also available from New Mexico VFW competitions at the post, district and state levels for winning their Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen competitions.

Winners of the State of New Mexico Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen competitions, and one of their parents or guardians, win an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national VFW VOD and PP essay competitions, where additional scholarship monies can be won.

The deadline for submitting applications for both competitions is Oct. 31, 2024. If you are interested in getting additional information, including a description of the contests, eligibility requirements, contest rules, application process information, judging criteria and more, visit bit.ly/3CxBUGG and bit.ly/3wzJ3Tj. Click on the “Sign Up” box and follow the instructions for creating a password and logging in to the Scholars App website.