The Congressional Award is earned by accumulating hours in voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness, and by taking on an individual challenge.
“The Congressional Award is not a competition with other young people,” Kilili explained. “It is a competition with yourself, a way to find out just what you are capable of achieving as an individual and of what you, as an individual, can do to make your community a better place.”
Not to mention, the Congressional Award is a great way to bolster college applications and résumés.
To pursue the award, individuals set goals for themselves in four program areas: Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration. Each participant completes the program at his or her own pace.
If a young person is already active in a service organization, or with musical or artistic endeavors, sports teams, or community service work, those activities may already be a start toward earning the Congressional Award.
Since the Congressional Award’s founding, participants have contributed 8.1 million hours of service to their communities.
“There are many service-oriented, active, and determined youth in our islands,” Congressman Sablan added, “I believe in our young people and look forward to seeing them get the recognition they deserve through a Congressional Award.”
To learn more about the Congressional Award, visit http://sablan.house.gov or contact your congressional office at 323-2647. You can also visit www.congressionalaward.org to register online and access the electronic version of the official program book.
If your school, classroom, club, or organization is interested in having congressional staff conduct informational presentations about the Congressional Award for your students or youth membership, please email [email protected] to schedule a session.
