Honorable Applicants,
Thank you for your interest in the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Writing Contest! For our inaugural scholarship, we have partnered with serial entrepreneur and all around good guy, Alan Dunn. Alan is a licensed mortgage broker and enjoys creating businesses. He purchased his first domain name in 1998, struck gold in the mortgage industry, crashed like everybody else and quickly realized trees with money do not exist. Coupons and savings are his new favorite things and he’s committed to educating people about saving a buck until someone is nice enough to buy him a yacht. Currently he is the Managing Editor of HowToSaveMoney.com which literally discusses all aspects of how to save money and build wealth for the future. It’s great to have you on board Alan!
For our initial scholarship, we are opening up the application to high schoolers and below who believe in education and wish to use the scholarship for educational purposes such as books, supplies, projects, tuition, field trips, equipment and other school related expenses.
Choose one of the following topics to write about in 700 to 1000 words. There are no set rules and you are encouraged to write freely. However, basic structure such as an introduction, middle, and end is encouraged. It is also best to write out your essay in a Word document and paste the final draft into the submission box. Don’t forget to save!
Remember, a good essay is not good because of the topic, but because of the voice. Show the reader through the senses rather than just tell the reader. The deadline for submissions is 11:59PM PST on Monday, December 6 if there are at least 5 applicants, and will extend to Fri, Dec 10 at 11:59PM PST if there are less than 5 applicants. We will be choosing one main winner, a runner up, and a third place finisher based on the following framework. Good luck!
Essay Questions (Choose one):
1) Who is your hero and why? What are the attributes your hero possesses that makes you admire him or her so much? Compare these attributes to your own and tell us your similarities and where you can improve. What steps will you take to become more like your hero?
2) Discuss a time when you failed or did not live up to your full potential. Assess the things that prevented you from achieving what you were aiming for and analyze what you would do differently if you had another chance. Do you let failure motivate you or keep you down?
3) What kind of skills do you learn through sports that can help you succeed in life? Tell us a time where a particular aspect you learned from sports helped you get through a difficult time. How do you plan to pass on your knowledge?
Click here to submit your essay!
Regards,
The Yakezie Writing Contest Committee
Follow @Yakezie on Twitter for updates and feel free to start your own discussion on the Yakezie Forums.
OUTSTANDING!!! And now that I am a monthly donor I am really pumped to see how this turns out. Let’s go Yakezie!!!!
Yes sir! We’ll be recruiting a team of 3-5 to be on the Yakezie Scholarship Committee, whose tasks include: screening the applicants to select the top 5-10 essays to vote on (depending on the number of submissions) and raise awareness off-line & on-line.
It’ll be curious to see whether we have too few applicants or too many, however we determine the metrics to be. It’s hard work writing and putting oneself out there, so we shall see!
Excellent! I put it out there to a few people, hopefully they will apply and make it a difficult choice!
I agree, I really hope we end up with too many applicants :)
Great scholarship announcement! I’m excited about how easy it is for students to take charge and get some money for education. This is the stuff that the Yakezie can hit a home run with – promoting it to others online and offline.
Me too. It seems easy, but it’s not as easy as going for a walk and picking up five $100 bills on the sidewalk! Hence, will be interesting to see if students make an effort or not. Maybe there will be only 1 applicant by Dec 6 and s/he will win which is fine by us s/he made the effort!
I agree, I think this is a big opportunity for the yakezie to make big waves and change lives. How neat will it be to hear someone say that they have a degree because of our network?
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Haha … life sure is funny. I’ve wanted to own the HowToSaveMoney.com domain for many years but it was never available and for the past several months I’ve been pondering joining the Yakezie network and was planning to very soon.
Then, what do you know, I just happen to check Yakezie.com today and the very first post is about HowToSaveMoney.com. Do you think having both HowToSaveMoney.com and HowToSaveMoney.ca on the same network will be confusing? :) Definitely doesn’t look like I’m going to get the domain now!
Good luck with the scholarship program and the site!
That is quite interesting! I’m sure everything has a price, so feel free to bid the big bucks with Alan if you’d like to purchase his domain! A nice contribution from you to the Scholarship Fund for the intro as a result is welcome! :)
That’s a really funny coincidence. Now you get to own it by association! :)
[…] The inaugural HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship for December, 2010 is now live! Please take a look and forward to a high school student or under […]
Alan, thanks for being the first big sponsor, that’s fantastic!!!
Thanks for your donation mate!
Thanks to all who have donated so far. We’re definitely on track to change some lives!
I can’t wait to read the submissions! Since my HS Students are checking out yakezie.com are you going to let us know where they came from?
Yes sir. I’ve asked Chris to add a * How did you hear about us? and * Where are you from?. Hmmm… what question is the best to add? Simply “What school are you from?”
That’s great that you are showing this to the HS kids. It is beneficial for them to learn from people leading regular lives trying to attain real goals rather than people who are already billionaires saying “You can do anything if you try hard enough!” Not that the billionaire isn’t helpful, but seeing the process is far more educational.
It’s great to see this scholarship live! When Sam approached us about sponsoring the scholarship I really couldn’t say no.
Although the timing was not so great since HowtoSaveMoney.com is currently pending a complete re-design for launch next month we still had to contribute to this great idea.
My wife and I adopted a boy from Russia last year and as a new parent my priorities have severely shifted from staying out late to doing whatever we can to make this world a better place for our children.
There is no doubt the members of the Yakezie network are some of the brightest and most influential people online today and anytime there is a chance to make a difference in the education of our youth we certainly will be there.
Thanks Sam for letting us be part of this!
Alan, really fantastic to have you on board! You are one of the most responsive and gung-ho Internet guys I know! Congrats on your adoption. A very honorable thing!
I look forward to seeing where we can take this. Exciting times!
Hey Alan,
I think it’s great, and it really shows your heart. I’m absolutely proud to have you as part of the team. Thanks again!
What a terrific scholarship introduction. I look forward to helping select the first Yakezie Scholarship Winner!
LH, your leadership on the Scholarship Committee is much desired!
So excited to see this. Soooooo excited. Very proud to be part of something altruistic.
Sandy, thanks again for your contribution. We’ll keep folks updated once a week to see how things go, and we’re going to put up a Bar Chart that tracks our monthly contributions to $500 and beyond!
This is really an amazing thing! I am proud to be aprd of this group and happy to see the efforts going to help someone in real life.
I’m proud you are proud of the group! :) I am sincerely curious as to how things will shape up.
It really has gone from being an online group of friends to a more real, reaching out to the world kind of thing. We’ve definitely crossed the online barrier.
This is a really noble cause! I will be sure to link to it.
Sounds good mate, and congrats on winning the new iPad! WOW!
Awesome job! Those are great questions and I love that you are opening with young applicants. I’m so excited to see how this unfolds.
It’s definitely important to reach out to the young ones. I’m excited as well.
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I’ll add this link in my next round up. Great work guys!
Great, this can use all the press it can get.
Thanks @Charlie and @Retirebyforty!
[…] for the Inaugural Yakezie Scholarship is now opening up to Highschoolers and below who believe in education and wish to use the […]
[…] Twitter @FinancialSamura so I can one day be huge, on Twitter! But really, go check out the first HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship and send it to a bright someone you think could use $500 […]
It really is amazing what this group is accomplishing. I am proud to say that I have heard of no other financial network that is close to this one.
Thanks,
Timothy
[…] Yakezie.com’s first Scholarship offer has begun! The Yakezie’s initial scholarship is open to High School Students and […]
Thanks very very much Alan. It means a lot to me and all members I am sure to see the first scholarship launch.
Sam a great first scholarship choice and I really look forward to seeing who wins this and what they do with the cash. I can’t think of anyone off hand to send to but will spread it to a few friends and see if they have kids who would be interested.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
We’ve got to really amp up the opportunity as the Dec 6 deadline approaches. Perhaps we extend to Dec 10, as it still gives is 21 days before the month is over.
Forest,
You may not be able to think of anyone off hand, but you’ve got a wide network. I’m sure you’ll find someone :D
[…] More stuff to cover! I am a member of the best personal finance writers on the internet called the Yakezie. We have come together along with our sponsor HowtoSaveMoney.com to offer our inaugural scholorship to a high school (or below) student in the amount of $500. What does your child have to do? Simply write an essay and submit it for consideration. We hope to offer a different scholarship every single month with different student thresholds (changes every month so check in), giving everyone an opportunity to win a scholarship. Go check out the requirements of the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship. […]
[…] The Yakezie is the web’s largest personal finance and lifestyle blog networks. The Yakezie Scholarship officially launched this Thursday, November 11th. The Yakezie Scholarship is a one of a kind scholarship that focuses on not only helping someone in financial need, but also provides mentorship to all winners! To learn more check out HowToSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship – December, 2010 […]
[…] The Yakezie has launched a new scholarship program! You can head over there to support the program, and you can also enter the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship! […]
Awesome. I’m off to email the HS neighbors right now! Great opportunity! I’m going to click that “donate” button today!
[…] Yakezie Personal Finance Network launched the Yakezie Scholarship. […]
[…] for this NEW SCHOLARSHIP at the Yakezie.com. I am a member of the premier this PERSONAL FINANCE NETWORK. In addition to selflessly promoting […]
This is such a great Idea, and I’m glad that alan was able to help us out. I’m now a monthly donor to the group.
Okay, just wrote up a press release for the local paper. promoted scholarship, yakezie, and my blog. here are the details in case anyone wants to copy:
Dear Ms. Miller,
I’m writing to ask you to promote a (time sensitive) SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. I am a popular personal finance blogger and member of Yakezie, the premier personal finance blogging network. Part of our mission is to give back to society and our monthly $500 scholarship is launching NOW. This month’s scholarship deadline is December 6th, so time is of the essence.
To find out more information, please refer readers to the scholarship promotion on my blog, Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.
Additionally, readers can download a FREE eBook, 20 Minute Guide to Investing on my website. Ideal for the novice investor.
Following is a short description of my background:
I also included a link to this page at the end of the letter!
Wow, Barb YOU ROCK!! You are also the highest donor for the December scholarship with $60 as well, so a double thank you! Pls let me know if I can do anything to help.
That’s awesome Barbara. Perhaps you could write a post about how to properly write a press release and where one should send it? I’m sure there are some articles online, but I like in-network personal experience :) Great job!
Thanks,
Timothy
[…] personal finance blogs. Our main goal is to selfishly give to others. I want to put focus on a scholarship program we are currently running. If you know anyone that could be helped by this scholarship, then please […]
Congrats on this launch Sam! This might be one of the best aspects of Yakezie, giving back. I bet the turnout will be good, but even if it’s not, there is no doubt this will snowball over time and pick up a lot of attention!
I agree, this is an outreach effort that I feel many can appreciate. I think the support will manifest itself in one way or another!
Absolutely James. Educating this generation is terrible important. I’m so happy that we’re doing this.
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Hope to see more kids would like to join this scholarship program you have. It is indeed great too, to have your interest in putting more youth in to schools and earn their degree in all the help that you can. Keep up the good work and God Bless us all.
Will there be updates as to how much was donated before the end of the month? Or is that something you think would be best kept private?
Most definitely! We had a trial widget up last week which workeded well but had some calculation errors. You’ll see it up by Thanksgiving for sure. It’s gonna rock!
[…] includes some of the best personal finance blogs around! This month marks the beginning of the Yakezie Scholarship initiative. So, please head over and read the details. If you qualify, then please apply, if not, […]
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Thanks for putting this back up to remind me to donate more money…Anonymously, of course. ;)
No problem. If people want to directly donate to: theyakezieATgmailDOTcom, that’s easy too. Cheers
thank you for this great initiative and the intent to give back to the society that has given me much more than i could ever have asked for. will definitely participate in the near future. the paypal subscription plan is an excellent incorporation (ala 401k direct contributions)
I’ve just come up with a way for us to lead by example with the Yakezie Scholarship initiative and provide themed content throughout the month. Members and Challengers can write an essay that addresses one of the scholarship questions themselves on Yakezie.com the 2 or 3 weeks before the applicants essays go up. That way, some who don’t know where to start have some examples as guidelines.
The essays also allow one to showcase your own thoughts and who you are to the community. I think I’ll write one of my own to help blaze the trail this week!
Cheers
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[…] a day for Members and readers to vote on. There are a total of 14 applicants for December’s HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship and there will be three winners ($600, $300, $100) given we have raised over $1,000.The winners […]
[…] Community,Happy New Year! It’s with great pleasure that we announce the winners of the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Scholarship. We received thirteen essays from America and one from Singapore for a chance to win a […]
[…] Network (home of some of the best personal finance blogs) is sponsoring it’s very first scholarship this month.The application is open to high schoolers and the deadline to apply is Monday, December […]
[…] Samurai 5501[?] in Writing Contest on December 3rd, 2010 26 TweetTo help kick-start the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Writing Contest, I’ve decided to share a story about one of my big failures and what I learned. I […]