The Elks National Foundation's newest scholarship contest is exclusively for children of Elks. Beginning this year, the Foundation will award up to 500 one-year, $1,000 scholarships through its Legacy Awards for the Children of Elks scholarship competition. Any son or daughter-or stepson or stepdaughter-of an Elk who has been a member in good standing for at least two years is eligible to apply for a Legacy Award. The Elk parent must have been a member for at least two years as of March 31, 1998, and must be a paid-up member through March 31, 1999. Applicants must be high school seniors and must take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT) at an examination center of their choice no later than December 31, 1998. Legacy Awards may be applied only to accredited U.S. colleges or universities. A two-page application was mailed to subordinate Lodges in September, along with an awards announcement. Applications are also available at the official BPOE Web site, www.elks.org. Completed applications must be received at the Foundation's Chicago office by November 1, 1998. A Lodge's role in the contest is complete once it forwards applications to the Foundation. The Chicago office will verify an applicant's eligibility and forward a Legacy Award packet containing additional application materials directly to the student. Students will compete against other students from their state. Each state will be allotted a number of awards based on its past support of the Elks National Foundation. The actual number of awards given to students in a state will be the lesser of the state's quota or 25 percent of the state's total applicants. Applications will be judged by an independent selection committee appointed by the Elks National Foundation Trustees. Judging will be based on SAT or ACT scores, a transcript of high school credits, the Legacy Award application, and a biographical questionnaire. The inaugural class of Legacy Award winners will be announced in April 1999. Please note that in order to satisfy IRS guidelines for 501(c)(3) organizations, the Legacy Awards program cannot be used by the Elks to recruit members or to induce members to continue their membership.
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