The Voice of Democracy Program is a Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary Scholarship Program. The program began in 1947.
Students are asked to write then record a 3-5 minute original essay. The essay should be spoken in English. No background music or other enchancements is allowed. Students cannot verbally identify themselves, their city, their state or school. The deadline for students entry is November 1, 2004. All entries must be submitted through your high school or directly to your local contact person from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.) Post. The speech should be doubled spaced typed or printed out by computer.
Students who are eligible for this program are 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades attending public, private or parochial schools in the U.S. Foreign exchange students are excluded. The contest is open to home-schooled students. This coming years theme is 2007-2008 Theme
"My Role in Honoring America's Veterans". The essay must be recorded in their own voice (see Special Handicapped Student Criteria for exception.) The only sound on the audiocassette=taped essay should be the student reading his/her essay. The essay must be spoken in English, not sung. No background sounds, including music, will be allowed. Students should be aware when they start to record, during the recording not to turn the tape off or the tape will be disqualified. Tape should be continuous not any stoips or starts, students can have a five -second variation is acceptable to compensate for possible differances in machanical equipment.
Audio Essay are judged:
Delivery 20
Orginality 40
Content 
40
Maximum Points 100
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we must provide "reasonable accommodation for someone with a permanent disability". since the Voice of Democracy competition is offered to the public through our nation's school system. Students with medically documented physical or educational handicaps, who would benifit from meaningful particapation in the be made to facilitate the handicap. Written requests to modify the rules because of a handicap along with medical documentation of stated disability, must be attached to the student's entry form.
Program rules may be modified to allow the hearing/speech-impaired student and the chariman to select another individual to recite and record the essay as set forth in the program guidelines. The individual selected must be the approximate age and gender of the volunteers their voice will have absolutely no claim to any scholarships, awards or benifits associated with the handicapped student's entry.
There are forms that need to have the parents signature and student information filled out completly, included with the forms needs to be a small picture of the student.
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