Youth Leadership Scholarship Program

Scholarship Sponsored by California Narcotic Officer's Association

The Youth Leadership Scholarship Program is a joint initiative by the California Police Youth Charities and the California Narcotic Officer's Association. This program is designed to acknowledge and reward 12th-grade students who have actively participated in leadership and citizenship volunteer activities over the past year. The focus of these activities should be on making a positive impact in their school and community.

To be considered for this scholarship, applicants must be high school seniors graduating in 2024, residents of California, and the child or ward of an active or retired California Peace Officer. For the purpose of this scholarship, an active or retired California Peace Officer is defined as any officer who qualifies under California Penal Code Section 830. This includes all local and state peace officers who are either currently employed as full-time paid peace officers or have retired from their respective agency with a service retirement or disability retirement and are currently receiving retirement benefits.

The scholarship program offers five awards of $500 each to eligible 12th-grade students. These funds can be used at any post-secondary institution recognized by the state of California.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria to apply for the scholarship:

• Complete a minimum of 16 hours of verified community service.
• Submit a completed application form along with an essay of 500 to 600 words on the significance of community service and its impact on the community. The essay must be written under the supervision of a parent or guardian within a 120-minute timeframe. Any notes used during the essay writing process must be included with the submission.
• Obtain a signature from a parent or guardian certifying that they personally supervised the essay writing process.
• Provide a letter from the organization where the community service was performed, confirming the completion of at least sixteen (16) hours of volunteer service. This letter should also detail the nature of the service provided and its benefit to the organization.

The selection process will be based on the following criteria:

• Quality of the essay in terms of content, grammar, format, creativity, and structure.
• Demonstration of good citizenship in the essay.
• Demonstration of leadership in the essay.
• Alignment of the volunteer work with community goals.
• Direct benefit of the volunteer work to the community.
• Impact of the student's work in the school or community.
• Total number of volunteer hours completed by the student.

For the purpose of this scholarship, the following definitions apply:

Citizenship: Activities that involve youth volunteering in their schools and communities, fostering good relations with others, working cooperatively towards common goals, and collaborating with others for the betterment of their communities.

Leadership: Leadership, in this context, refers to leading by organizing other youth groups or leading by example through involvement in citizenship volunteer activities in their schools and communities.

The California Police Youth Charities will announce the scholarship winners following the selection process conducted by the California Narcotic Officer’s Association. The scholarships will be awarded at the California Police Youth Charities Youth Banquet, the date and location of which will be announced later. The scholarship amount of $500.00 will be disbursed upon receipt of proof of full-time (12 or more units) enrollment in a California college of the recipient's choice.