Joe Foss Institute Launches Video Scholarship Contest

Winning video to receive $10,000 scholarship to college

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A video contest is underway for high school students nationwide to remind viewers why our freedoms, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights are worth defending.

The Joe Foss Institute (JFI), whose mission is to inspire America's youth to patriotic public service, launched the video scholarship program to harness the creative abilities of teens and allow them to tell their story through a format they are comfortable with. JFI also has an essay scholarship contest with $80,000 given away in scholarship money.

"We are looking forward to the expansion of our scholarship program by launching our first ever video scholarship contest," said Lucian Spataro, President & CEO of the Joe Foss Institute. "Our hope is that the process of creating these videos will inspire students to more fully appreciate our freedoms, and to act, lead and pursue patriotic public service."

High school students are asked to create and submit a video, no more than 3 minutes in length that explains why our founding documents matter to all Americans. The submission period closes Oct. 23. Videos can be uploaded here. The public voting period will be Oct. 24 - Nov. 4 and the top 15 finalists will be judged by a panel using the following criteria:  creativity and originality; theme development, including an incorporation of importance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights; video quality; and compliance with the contest rules. The winner will be announced on Veteran's Day and receive a $10,000 scholarship with second and third place getting a $1,000 and $500 scholarship respectively.    

"We have exciting things planned for the future - our goal is to launch an even bigger video contest next year, awarding up to one hundred $10,000 scholarships," said Spataro.

For more information about the contest, visit the website or call (480) 348-0316.

Based in Scottsdale, AZ, the Joe Foss Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2001 by Medal of Honor Recipient, the late General Joe Foss, together with his wife, Didi. The mission is dedicated to inspiring America's youth to patriotic public service and to preserve America's freedom for future generations. Along with its scholarship programs, it recruits, trains, and sends veteran volunteers to make presentations in classrooms nationwide. For more information, visit www.joefoss.com.

SOURCE Joe Foss Institute