The Grand Rapids-based Sophie de Marsac Campau Chapter of DAR recently recognized a number of local area students as the chapter’s winners of three DAR-sponsored writing contests: the DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest; the American History Essay Contest; and the Christopher Columbus Essay Contest.
Halle, son of Rob and Annie Halle, earned first place and a $500 scholarship in the DAR Good Citizens category with his essay on challenges facing America. He will automatically be entered to compete at the state level contest and state winners will compete at the national level.
“Our chapter has been recognizing student winners of these contests for many, many years,” says Marcia Kaye, Chapter Regent. “It’s a great way for us to promote locally our national objectives of historic preservation, education, and patriotism.”
The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. The program is open to high school seniors. The award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. These students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree.
The American History Essay Contest was established to encourage young people to think creatively about our nation's history and learn about history in a new light. Students in grades five through eight are encouraged to participate. 2 DAR partners with the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) to sponsor an annual national essay contest in honor of Christopher Columbus. The contest is open to students in grades nine through twelve.
The Sophie de Marsac Campau Chapter is one of the oldest DAR chapters in the United States and is the second oldest chapter in Michigan. DAR was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With nearly 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world's largest and most active service organizations. DAR members are committed to volunteer service having served more than 12.5 million hours in communities throughout the world during the past three years.
To learn more about the work of today's DAR, visit www.DAR.org or connect with DAR on social media at facebook.com/TodaysDAR, twitter.com/TodaysDAR and youtube.com/TodaysDAR.