Youth Education
Youth
Although a key component of all of the work we do is to honour and remember not only those who have fallen but also those who are currently serving in Canada’s military. We recognize that our youth also play a crucial role in the growth of our communities and in continuing the tradition of Remembrance.
As one of our primary goals, fostering Remembrance is a part of everything we do. Thanks to the longstanding tradition of the Annual Literary and Poster Contests, we have been able to involve Canadian school children in helping us to promote not only the National Remembrance Day Service but also the act of honouring our military heritage.
The following teachers’ guide was developed by the Legion to assist teachers in fostering the Tradition of Remembrance among Canada’s youth.
Bursary
The Bursary Program is designed to assist those students who enter a post-secondary school of education (including courses and training programs of a technical and vocational nature) and pursue the same course throughout their academic years.
The Bursary Program is funded through the Ontario Command, Branches, and Ladies’ Auxiliaries Charitable Foundation. They raise funds for the Bursary Program through the poppy trust fund and other legion activities.
The deadline to apply is the last Friday of March each year.
Poster & Literary Contest
The Royal Canadian Legion, in partnership with schools across the country and with The Legion National Foundation, promotes remembrance and supports youth education through the annual poster and literary contests. Students in Grades 1 through 12 are invited to submit their creative works, with a focus on Remembrance, through their local school to be entered into Legion Branch contests. Winning entries move forward to the Legion’s Provincial level contests. Finalists are then forwarded to the Legion National Foundation in Ottawa to be judged at the national level.
To participate, schools should contact their local Legion in September for information.
Public Speaking Contest
The Public Speaking Contest is part of the Legion’s Youth and Education program. It’s meant to give young people an opportunity to speak in public. The participating individual chooses their own subject for the address.
The contest date will be set by the Branch, normally early in the year. Those individuals who earn a position on the Branch 383 Team will progress through to Zone, District and Area levels, concluding at the Provincial level in May of each year. The contest date for 2023 is scheduled for 8 February.
After a couple of years of seeing this event canceled due to COVID-19, we are excited and looking forward to resuming this contest in 2023 and are looking to your continuing support of this worthwhile program.
In the coming months, our Youth and Education Chair will be in contact with schools in the area. In conjunction, Schools wishing to enter the Public Speaking Contest should notify the Branch soonest.
Why is it Important You Ask?
It is not the intention that Remembrance be a daily practice, but there is a need to ensure that today’s youth have an understanding of what their great-grandparents, grandparents and in some cases their fathers and mothers were called upon to defend the freedom and democracy that we enjoy today.
Children new to Canada must also have an understanding of the sacrifices that many Canadians made to preserve and protect the way of life that they now embrace.