For contest rules, consent form, and school flyer for this year's contest, check out the links on the right hand side of the page.
In 2010, together with Boston GLOW, I helped start an essay contest that encourage teen girls in underfunded school systems to find their voice and speak up for change. That contest is called IGNITE Change.
Great change will always come from small beginnings. A tsunami was once a tiny tremble on the ocean floor, a revolution was once a single thought in a person’s mind, and the most massive bonfire started with a tiny spark. Think of that for a moment. A thin, weak match, nothing but a splinter to the tree that it camefrom, hit the right amount of friction and it ignited. The match flared; fire began.
The thing about fire is that it catches. One flame, one single spark can itself ignite the world.
All around you, there are examples of women who have used their voices to change the world. From Abigail Adams, a Boston native who insisted that women be remembered as the Declaration and Constitution were being drafted to Ida B. Wells Barnett, a newspaperwoman that founded the NAACP and her friend Jane Addams who was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Sometimes, the simple act of writing can be the most incendiary thing of all.
2011 Recap
The 2011 Boston GLOW IGNITE Change Essay Contest connected young adult authors and book professionals with teen girls from underfunded Boston school systems. This connection fostered an atmosphere of encouragement and support that we hope will help these extraordinary young women pursue a college education and use writing to articulate themselves and express their passions.
IGNITE Change 2011 Panelists, Finalists, and Organizers
The 2011 GLOW Boston IGNITE Change Essay Contest was judged on the creativity, clarity, impact and effectiveness of the contestant’s idea to create change in their community. The contest closed in December of 2010 and the Awards Banquet honoring the finalists was held April 12th, 2011. At the Awards Banquet, we gave away a $1000 scholarship to Hyacinth Dixon, two $750 scholarships, and five $500 scholarships, for a total of $5000 in scholarship awards!! We also gave away prize packs that included HEAD CASE by Sarah Aronson, Cross pens, Moleskine notebooks, a free subscription to Teen Ink, a personal response from a mentor and a framed certificate!
Currently we are gearing up for IGNITE Change 2012, and in so doing, we are looking for many more people to get involved!
If you are a writer, published or unpublished, we have many opportunities for you to be involved as a mentor. This is a really simple, quick way to make a really personal impact in a finalists life. This year mentors all wrote personal responses to the finalists’ essays and got to meet them at the Awards Banquet–for 2012 we have similar and more opportunities, so no matter what stage of your career, if writing has helped you in some way, your experience would be so valuable to us! If you would like to volunteer, please email me with the subject heading “mentor” at acgaughen@gmail.com
Over the next several months, we will extend invitations to really dynamic female role models in the community to be panelists for the contest; if you would like to be considered, please email me with the subject heading “panelist” at acgaughen@gmail.com.
Finally, if you would like to be eligible to win all the amazing prizes and scholarship money you just read about and would like to be kept informed about information for the 2012 contest, please email me with “IGNITE Change Contest” in the subject heading at acgaughen@gmail.com.