The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) offer 2 Youth Essay Contests each year:
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1) The 2026-2027 Voice of Democracy (VOD) Theme is:
"WHAT A VETERAN TAUGHT ME ABOUT AMERICA"
· Deadline when it must have been received by our Post is: October 31, 2026
· Total Awards: $154,000
· Top Individual National Award: $35,000
VOD is for students who will be in Grades 9-12. This contest required the student to make a recording (thumb drive) and turn it in with a typed transcript. See the contest rules (links are below). All entries submitted to VFW Post 2814 are judged by members of the Post. We pay smaller cash prizes down to 3rd place.
The winning VOD entry (in District 6) is sent to the VFW Department of California (State).
Should the District 6 VOD winner also be the CA State winner, their entry is sent to National VFW. Only the student is allowed to go to Washington DC, all expenses paid, for the VFW National Convention in late July 2027. The student will be escorted to the VFW National Convention by both the CA State VFW Commander and the State VFW Auxiliary President. The student will join the VOD State winners from the other 49 States.
Aside from attending the VFW National Convention, where the President of the United States is usually one of the speakers, the students are bused around to many of the sites in Washington D.C. From multiple reports, former VOD CA State winners report that this was a life-changing event for them.
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2) The 2026-2027 Patriot’s Pen theme is:
"WHAT A VETERAN TAUGHT ME ABOUT AMERICA"
· Deadline when it must have been received by our Post is: October 31, 2026
· Total Awards: $55,000
· Top Individual National Award: $5,000
The Patriot’s Pen contest is for students who will be in Grades 6-8. This contest calls for the student to submit a typed essay. See the contest rules (links are below). The winning Patriot’s Pen entry in District 6 is sent to the VFW Department of California (State). State makes their own judgment. The 2026-2027 State winner of the Patriot's Pen contest is announced at the State Conference June of 2027.
The top Patriot’s Pen winner from Post 2814 will be awarded and sent to District 6
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Links (below) are to the necessary forms that the student must complete, and for VOD a thumb drive with you reading your essay along with the written transcript.
When you are done, submit everything that is required to:
VFW Post 2814
9555 Morro Rd.
Atascadero CA 93422
For more information:
- Commander, JonPaul Bockman (805) 458-1125 -or-
- Post Quartermaster, Brandon Phillips (805) 466-3305
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