“Find Your Words” Youth Poetry Contest

When I was a child I loved to read and write poetry so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the Targeted Grants and Volunteer Resources Committee’s Mini-Placement for the 13th Annual “Find Your Words” Youth Poetry Contest.

For the icebreaker during our first meeting, we were asked to share our favorite children’s poem or book. Hearing others share their favorites including Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss reminded me of the books and poems I enjoyed. I named one of my favorites: Maya Angelou’s Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. The courage and strength expressed through the playful rhymes and vivid imagery still inspires me to this day.

The poetry contest was open to students in Washington, D.C. public and charter schools, grades 4-8. We received 175 submissions of poems written in a variety of techniques and styles. These talented young poets chose many different topics as their focus, including friendship, animals, family, death, 9/11, homework, pain, and self-esteem. I was impressed with the depth of emotion that could be felt in the poems. Some were powerful and thought-provoking, others heartfelt and sweet. Analyzing and discussing the poems with other new members was a fun and worthwhile experience.

We chose 15 outstanding poems, one winner and two honorable mentions from each grade level. The winning students will receive a booklet of the winning entries, a book provided by Books for Bright Futures, a gift card, and a certificate of congratulations. Please join us as we honor the winners and hear them recite their poems at the 2012 Community Partner Reception on Thursday, May 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at Headquarters.

Making the Most of a Mini-Placement

Throughout a transfer member’s year at JLW, each transfer picks a mini-placement. A mini-placement is almost exactly what it sounds like. It’s a placement that is generally less intense than a full placement. Mini-placements provide “transfer members” (new members transferring from one League to
another) opportunities to learn about JLW and get more familiar with the many different placements JLW offers. It gives transfers the opportunity to be directly involved in JLW during the transfer year.

Many of us have started our mini-placements. I’ve done some blogging in the past on legal subjects, so I picked the blogging mini-placement. I liked the opportunity it gave me as attending events and learning about the league serves as inspiration for blog posts.

Some placements are particular to transfers. For example, the member outreach community utilizes transfers’ connections and previous experiences to look into what other leagues are doing to retain their members and how they approach membership drop out. Some placements are a one shot deal. There are transfers involved in the Done-In-A-Day activities. Other placements are more ongoing. There is a transfer mini-placement with the finance committee, which if you didn’t know, is charged with accounting and safeguarding the financial resources of JLW.

In addition to getting involved in JLW, mini-placements create topics of discussion at various transfer and JLW events. We are able to learn more about the workings of various other placements, committees and activities by chatting with other transfers. Some transfers have enjoyed their placements more than others. But these experiences, whether wonderful or difficult, all serve to help transfers become more invested in JLW and more informed about the types of placements to look into for next year.