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The $5,000 Lions International Essay Contest (for visually impaired youth)

Deadline: 15 November 2011

Lions clubs around the world are encouraged to sponsor students in the Lions International Essay Contest. This contest was created to offer an opportunity to visually impaired young people to express their feelings of peace. The theme of the 2011-12 Lions International Essay Contest is “Children Know Peace.” Students who are visually impaired and who are ages 11, 12 or 13 on November 15, are eligible to participate.

Work with your fellow Lions, local schools and area families to identify young people who are interested in participating and who could benefit from this program. One grand prize winner will receive an award and US$5,000.

Contest Guidelines

Contest is open to students who are considered visually impaired according to their national guidelines and will be 11, 12 or 13 years of age on November 15, 2011.

Only a Lions club can sponsor the contest. The contest may be sponsored in a local school(s) or organized, sponsored youth group(s), or individuals may be sponsored as well. A Lioness club can sponsor the contest through its sponsoring Lions club.

The contest theme is “Children Know Peace.”

Essays must be no longer than 500 words in length, submitted in English, type-written in black ink and double-spaced.

Each essay must be submitted with a completed entry form. Essays submitted without completed entry forms will be automatically disqualified.

Only one entry per student per year, and each entry must be the work of only one student.

Essay entries cannot have already been published.

Any essays found to be plagiarized will be automatically disqualified and the student will be prohibited from entering any future Lions competitions.

One grand prize winner will receive an award and US$5,000. The winner will be notified by February 1.

The postmark deadline for a club to send one winning essay to the district governor is November 15.

Note: A participating club should notify its district governor in advance of sending an entry.

A club not belonging to a district must send its entry directly to the Public Relations Department at Lions

Clubs International (to be postmarked by December 1).

The postmark deadline for a district to send one winning essay to the multiple district council chairperson is December 1. A district not belonging to a multiple district must send its entries directly to the Public Relations Department at Lions Clubs International (to be postmarked by December 1).

The postmark deadline for a multiple district to send one winning essay to the Public Relations

Department at Lions Clubs International is December 15.

Multiple districts (and clubs not belonging to districts and districts not belonging to multiple districts) may send their essay entries and forms to: Essay Contest, Public Relations Department, Lions Clubs International, 300 W. 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL 60523-8842. Entries and forms may also be sent to Lions Clubs International Headquarters by fax at 630-571-1685 or e-mail to pr@lionsclubs.org (the words “Lions Essay Contest” must appear in the Subject Line of the e-mail).

Participants accept all responsibility for late, lost, misdirected or illegible entries. Entries sent with insufficient postage will be disqualified. Entries cannot be acknowledged or returned; they become property of Lions Clubs International upon receipt. Essays cannot be published without written permission from Lions Clubs International. However, sponsoring clubs, districts and multiple districts have permission to publish their sponsored essays.

In consideration for the opportunity to enter the Lions International Essay Contest, participants agree to allow Lions Clubs International to use their names, photographs and essays for promotional and publicity purposes. An international grand-prize winner is not eligible to receive subsequent prizes in future Lions International Essay Contests. By entering, participants agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the judges and Lions Clubs International.

Lions Clubs International may cancel the contest without notice at any time. The contest is void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.

Download entry form >>

Contact Information:

For inquiries: pr@lionsclubs.org

For submissions: pr@lionsclubs.org

Website: http://www.lionsclubs.org/

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The $5,000 Lions International Essay Contest (for visually impaired youth) + writing contests