From the Chairman: RFTW Educational Grant Opportunity

Greetings from Texas y’all!

I am very proud to announce that Run For The Wall will be offering a $3000 Educational Grant opportunity that will be awarded in Ontario this coming May.  My wife and I have been deeply involved with coordinating Route sponsored Educational Grants with RFTW for many years aimed at supporting graduating High School Seniors from schools visited along the respective Routes.  This one is different in that it is directed at supporting a family member of RFTW participants.

This Educational Grant was developed to support 2 primary objectives.  First, to encourage our younger generation of Patriots to engage and grow from a service opportunity that will give direct support to a deserving Veteran or group of Veterans.  The Mission of RFTW is already aligned with that objective but deciding on and developing their own Veteran Support Project will give Young Patriots a real sense of ownership in that Mission.  Secondly, RFTW has long supported the continuing education of Young Patriots in their college careers.  This $3000 Educational Grant will help support that career success.  These two objectives of accomplished service and educational success will surely help prepare a Young Patriot with important tools for life beyond school.  Now for the details…

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible, an applicant must be the child, grandchild, or great grandchild of one who registered and participated in the RFTW Annual Run in at least one of the two years previous (2023 or 2024) to the current upcoming event (2025).  An applicant may also be considered eligible if they personally registered and participated as noted above.  Eligibility under either of the above requirements is also subject to the following additional criteria:

1. 1. Must be Sponsored under one of these categories:
      • • 1a.  Applicant must be the child, grandchild or great-grandchild of a sponsor who registered and participated in the RFTW Annual Run in 2023 or 2024.
        • 1b.  A minor applicant may be sponsored by a non-participant parent or legal guardian if that minor applicant was personally registered and participated in the RFTW Annual Run in 2023 or 2024.
        • 1c.  An adult applicant (age 18 yrs or older) may self-sponsor if they personally registered and participated in the RFTW Annual Run in 2023 or 2024 and provide a Project Witness signature on the Application Form
        • Registration and participation for 2023 and 2024 Runs will be confirmed by valid registration and check-in status on those year’s registration databases.
   2. Provide a completed Application Form signed by the Sponsor (or Project Witness) identified above.
   3. Applicant’s current status must be one of the following:
      • • 3a.  Be a Graduating High School Senior and accepted to a post-secondary educational institution
        • 3b.  Be a continuing post-secondary freshman (1^st year in a post-secondary school)
   4. Have a GPA of 3.0 or higher (3a. High School Transcript or 3b. College Transcript)
   5. Provide documentation certifying completion of the above requirements 3 & 4
   6. Perform a minimum 4 hour Veteran Based Community Service Project and submit 500 Word Essay following the Criteria & Requirements detailed below.

Veteran Based Community Service Project

Select a Community Service Project that directly or indirectly provides support or service to a Veteran or group of Veterans.  The Project may be coordinated through a Veterans Hospital or Veterans Home, or in Support of a local VFW Post, American Legion Post or with a similar Veteran based organization.  The project may also be done with a specific Veteran or Veteran Family in need of support.  The project may be conducted along with other people or in conjunction with an established organization’s planned event.  Coordinate with your sponsor for assistance or suggestions.  Your participation in the Project should be over a minimum of 4 hours as certified by your sponsor’s signature on the application or a Project Witness if the applicant is self-sponsored.

Essay Criteria & Requirements

The essay should be a minimum of 500 words, submitted in a Word or pdf format, with double spaced lines.  The essay will be judged primarily on content, but considerations will also be made for spelling, grammar, and presentation.

The Essay should describe your Veteran Based Community Service Project, and include a discussion of your thoughts and observations on the following topics:

1. 1. 2. • The situation prompting your selection of this project and why it is important
         • The tasks that were necessary for accomplishment of your project
         • The actions undertaken to accomplish your project and the final result
         • Description of the Veteran, Veteran’s Family or general group of Veterans serviced by your Project
         • Introduction of who you met and the things you learned about them and from them
         • The part of the project of which you are most proud
         • Your thoughts on or intentions to follow up with other service projects

NOTE:  The essay should be your narrative description of the event including but not limited to the information suggested above, not necessarily in the order shown.  A bulletized list of topics with descriptipons will not be accepted as an essay.  Advanced automated tools (artificial intelligence or machine learning tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, or Dall-E 2) may not be used in the generation of this essay.

Selection Process

The Panel of Judges will be made up of Directors, RCs and ARCs from all Routes.  The BoD Chairman will act as Grant Coordinator and will not be on the Panel of Judges.  The selection of the Grant Recipient will be based on completion of the requirements noted above and the blind judging of the submitted Essays by the Panel of Judges – that is, the applicant’s identification will be redacted from the Essay.

Timeline for Grant Award

Following are the milestones dates for the Application, Submittal, Judging and Presentation of the Educational Grant award:

2. • 01 MAR 2025 – Educational Grant opportunity, eligibility and criteria to be announced via RFTW Newsletter
   • 13 APR 2025 – Deadline for candidate submittal of application, essay and eligibility documentation. Chairman will distribute identification-redacted essays from eligible recipients to Panel of Judges.
   • 27 APR 2025 – Deadline for Panel of Judges to return their votes. Chairman will tally all votes and report the results to the Panel of Judges.
   • 02 MAY 2025 – Chairman will certify recipient’s info to the President and Treasurer for further processing and coordinate with selected educational institution for Grant Check Routing.
   • TBD in Ontario – President announces Grant Award Winner at All Rider Assembly.

Contact Info for submittals and Questions

Prior to starting with the process, all potential applicants should coordinate with their Sponsor (or Project Witness) and write to the below e-mail address to confirm eligibility and request the Application Form.

vice.president@rftw.us

Once completed, essay submittal will also be sent directly and only to that e-mail address.  Questions, comments, and requests for more information may also be sent to that address.

Final Thoughts…

The Directors, RCs and ARCs are very happy to support this Educational Grant opportunity which we hope to make an annual event.  I look forward to learning of the creative and interesting Projects developed by our Young Patriots and helping to provide this Grant opportunity to a deserving candidate.