$11,000 in prizes for 10 winners

Youth Communication sponsors this award to illuminate the strengths of youth in care. This year, 10 young people from New York State will be awarded prizes of $1,100 each at an online ceremony in June 2022. The prize money may be spent however the winner likes, though it is recommended that it be spent on education-related expenses.

Each entrant is required to be nominated by an adult (which could be a teacher, mentor, agency staff, youth worker, religious leader, foster parent, birth parent, etc.). The nominator must write a short recommendation. And the entrant must write two short essays (less than 500 words each). One essay is on how the writer helped someone else. The other is on a topic of their choice. (See exact essay prompts below.)

Eligibility: Any current or former foster youth in the New York State foster care system who was born in 2001 or later. People born before 2001 are not eligible.

Feel free to print out the application form and the information on the essays to circulate to youth and staff.

Deadline: April 1, 2022

To enter online: When the recommendation letter and the essays are complete, do the following:

          • Complete the application form below
• Upload the letter of recommendation
• Upload the two essays (as one file)
• Click the “Submit Application” button at the bottom.

The entry must be submitted by April 1.

To enter through the mail: Print this form (in landscape layout) and fill it out completely. Send the entry, postmarked by April 1, to:

Represent – Awards for Youth in Foster Care
242 W. 38th St., 6th fl.
New York, NY 10018

For both online and mailed applications, be sure to include all items:

• Completed application form
• Letter of recommendation
• “Helping someone” essay
• Second essay of entrant’s choice

Questions? Contact Ellen Song at 212-279-0708, ext. 115 or [email protected]

Winning essays will be edited for brevity and clarity and printed in the program. (We will contact winners to see whether they want their names on the essays before printing them.) All entries become property of Youth Communication.

Thank you to the Sunny and Abe Rosenberg Foundation for supporting this year’s awards.

The application deadline has passed.

If you applied, you can except to hear from us in mid-April.