“…and your sons and
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old
men dream dreams.” Acts
2:17 Living Bible
By Stephanie A. Walker Stradford and
Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
AMWS June 1, 2018, Atlanta – Youth Achievers USA Institute, a
national 501c3 public charity, is responding to requests of youth applicants
and their parents with a corporate commitment to award up to $5,000.00 in new scholarships
during 2018.
This week, beneficiaries are once again reaching out to cash in
on a community promise, granting winners “all rights and responsibilities.” One beneficiary stated, “I want to remind you
of the scholarship you owe me.”
Another,
shared a congratulatory text, reflecting a favorable assessment from a school
counselor. Too often, however, youth beneficiaries, parents, mentors, asset
managers and members of supporting Whole Villages forget or ignore the requirements
and their responsibilities to qualify for benefits.
A non-believer argues that benefits are a myth. They tend to label
“winners” as “phantoms.” One scholar inappropriately
attached the term to some YouthUSA beneficiaries. In doing so, he may have reneged on a shared
vision by a “Whole Village” of caring adults and challenged a two-thousand year
old concept called faith.
That scholar never fully embrace the faith-based concept of
winning. Those like him may never
comprehend the “illusion without material substance” overcoming a 400-year dream
deferred. So as not to be confused about
the truth, a phantom is defined as an apparition or specter, an appearance or
illusion without material substance. A
phantom might be viewed as a dream, image, or a mirage.
Neither social media comments, telephone calls or conversations at
the Walmart qualify a beneficiary for The Evelyn Walker Armstrong Scholarship. This resource of YouthUSA, however, does
encourage pursuit of higher education.
Scholarship
applicants must have a completed application to The Annual Youth Achievement
Awards; be engaged with their Whole Village in service; participate online with
their Community Asset Manager (CAM) in YouthUSA Live Meetings; complete FDIC
Financial Literacy classes; secure good grades, and submit a Benefits Request
Form.
The process for winning with
YouthUSA promotes 21st century measures for transparency. The process models economic inclusion by
engaging economically disadvantaged youth as economic beneficiaries.
There is no guarantee that all disadvantaged youth, ages 7-24, will
APPLY. But, every completed
application wins a chance to win. That
chance separates winners from quitters. As one wise mentor advised, “A winner never
quits, because a quitter never wins.”
Every completed application to THE
ANNUAL YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS qualifies a beneficiary to confidently and
unapologetically declare, “I’m a winner.”
There is no promise that a Whole Village of 20 caring adults
will do whatever needs to be done to ensure a beneficiary achieves “whatever I
believe I can achieve.” But, since 1996,
every application to YouthUSA has challenged a Whole Village to invest in a
7-part vision (goals) of a youth’s whole future. A $100 economic challenge represents a
measurable $5 investment by 20 caring adults.
To qualify for an Evelyn Walker Armstrong Scholarship, a
YouthUSA beneficiary must:
(1)
show evidence that initial application requirements were met,
(2)
present testimony by community members of relevant service,
(3)
submit a completed YouthUSA Benefits Request.
The process is available via Internet at www.YouthUSA.net. It invites any YouthUSA beneficiary, past,
current or future board member, caring adult investor, accountable grantee, or
prospective partner to sign up for technical assistance being offered through
Youth Achievers USA institute.
