Each time you visit a school, conduct a patriotic event, honor a local hero, serve your community’s youth or perform any kind of community service; you are creating an impression of the VFW. Hopefully, that impression is the beginning of a relationship that benefits the community and your Post. The goal of any Post should be to become known as a valuable community resource and not the local "watering hole" in the community. Posts that achieve this status rarely have problems with recruiting or fundraising.
So, how do we get young people involved? First let me say that your scholarship programs, like the "Buddy"® Poppy program, should be a part of everything you do in the community. Buddy Poppies and student entry forms for the scholarships should be present at every event where the public is involved.
We will discuss schools first, but later we will explore a variety of other opportunities to present our scholarship programs.
Contact schools, home school associations and other youth organizations early, preferably in April. This is the time of year when they begin planning for the coming fall. When you visit a school, don’t go unannounced, call first to find out with whom you should meet and make an appointment.
Schools are busy places and often a secured environment. Showing up without an appointment almost ensures failure. Call, make an appointment and be on time. Conduct yourself professionally and you will be treated professionally.
Make sure you have the necessary materials to leave with the teacher, counselor, principal or administrator on everything you will discuss. Show them copies of the various brochures and identify the entry form included. If the opportunity is available, go into the classroom and present the students with the programs that directly impact them. One of the primary purposes of your visit is to leave the impression that your Post is a resource, not only for scholarships, but for veteran’s history, patriotic information, and U.S. Flag etiquette. Don’t forget to mention that Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen are on the National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Your chances for success are increased when you work closely with your Auxiliary counterpart. Make sure that they understand and have materials for all the VFW programs. The most successful Posts are always the ones that work hand-in-hand with their Auxiliary. Like our scholarship programs, the Teacher Awards begin at the Post level. Information and entry forms are on the VFW website at www.vfw.org.
A key factor in the success of your scholarship and teacher programs is your judging process. The judging sheets are included on the training website. When selecting your judges, make every attempt to find judges from outside the VFW and its Auxiliaries. Local military recruiters, educators, media personalities, police officers, firefighters, church pastors and local civic leaders are excellent choices. If possible, make your life easier by using the same judges for all your scholarships and teacher’s awards. Cultivate a good relationship with your judges by expressing your gratitude and inviting them when you honor your winners.
As mentioned earlier, when seeking students to participate don’t hesitate to look beyond your schools. These same programs should be presented to the leaders and sponsors of any group that deals with young people. Look around your neighborhood for community centers, athletic teams and leagues, Scout units, churches with large youth groups, home school associations, YMCA’s and YWCA’s - anywhere there are large groups of young people who may wish to participate.
In recent years, home school programs have produced a number of winning participants. Home school parents and their associations are generally patriotic, have broader latitude for selecting curricula and are always looking for projects that have value beyond the immediate lesson.