The nation’s largest audio-essay scholarship program.
The VFW’s Premier Scholarship Competition
Voice of Democracy is one of the oldest, most established youth civic programs in the country. Since 1947, it has asked high school students to put their views on patriotism and American life into words, record them, and submit them for judging at the local, state, and national level.
Eligibility and the Path to Nationals
Any student in grades 9-12 can enter, whether they attend a U.S. public, private, parochial, or home study program, or a school in a U.S. territory or overseas dependent school. Students submit their essay through a local sponsoring VFW Post.
From there, advancement is earned on merit alone, through four levels of competition: Post, district, and state, with the strongest voices from across the country meeting in Washington, D.C. for the annual Parade of Winners ceremony.
Prizes & Recognition
$35,000
T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship, paid directly to the recipient’s school
$1,000
Minimum + an all-expense-paid trip to the Founding Forward program at Valley Forge
given at Post, District, and Department levels throughout the competition
This Year’s Theme & Deadline
2026–2027 Theme: “What a Veteran Taught Me About America.”
Deadline: Submit to a local sponsoring VFW Post by Midnight, October 31, 2026.
Past Winner Spotlight
Olivia Drewniak, 2025–26 National First-Place Winner
Olivia, a senior from Woolwich, Maine, took home the $35,000 T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship for her essay responding to the theme “How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?”
Get Involved
Corporate supporters fund the activations that put this program on the national stage.