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Essay Contest Announced by The Cesar Chavez Foundation and American Public Education Foundation
- Updated: March 27, 2015
How Does Cesar Chavez Inspire You?
American labor leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers (formerly known as the National Farm Workers Association) Cesar Chavez (1927 – 1993) speaks at a rallty, Coachella, California, mid to late 1970s. Photo: Getty Images
How has civil rights and farm labor leader Cesar Chavez inspired you? That question about this American hero is being asked to students in grades 6 – 12 nationwide in an essay contest sponsored by the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the American Public Education Foundation 9/12 Generation Project. As the nation celebrates the birthday of Cesar Estrada Chavez at the end of the month, this contest will award students who best honor his accomplishments.
Cesar Chavez Day is observed in the United States on March 31st each year to serve as a tribute to his commitment to social justice, kindness, diversity and human dignity. It is an official state holiday in California, Colorado, Texas and other states.
“Cesar Chavez is an American hero. His life stood as a beacon of hope for those who aspired for a better life. The 9/12 Generation Project mission is to inspire children in America’s public schools to pursue their dreams, overcome challenges, and to embrace their rights and responsibilities of citizenship,” says David Pickler, Founder of the American Public Education Foundation.
“This contest will also help to educate children who may have never heard of Cesar Chavez,” says Andres Chavez who notes how important education was to his grandfather.
Students are being asked to watch a YouTube video about Cesar Chavez, and answer the question: How has Cesar Chavez inspired you to be of service to others and to never give up? The Cesar Chavez Foundation will award THREE $500 grants and three $100 grants to students in grade 6 – 8, 9-10, and 11-12.
The Cesar Chavez Foundation, founded by the civil rights and farm labor leader, focuses on four core programmatic areas: It manages 5,000 units of high quality affordable housing at 42 communities in four states; it operates Radio Campesina, a nine-station educational radio network with 500,000 daily listeners; it provides rigorous after-school academic tutoring and intensive summer school programs for underserved students across the Southwest; and it inspires and improves communities through the work of the National Chavez Center. For more information visit, www.chavezfoundation.org.
The American Public Education Foundation 9/12 Generation Project is a service-learning project which supports Character Education and anti-bullying curriculum by teaching core values including: Character, citizenship, kindness, and diversity.. For more information on the essay contest, go to www.912generationproject.org or www.theapef.org.
