The Optimists’ Club of Fort Worth encourages students to participate in this year’s Optimist Club Essay Contest open to students, who must be under the age of 18 by Oct. 1. Essays must be between 700 and 800 words, no more, no less, and must write to the official topic, which is “Chasing Optimism in the Face of Challenges.”

Submissions must be received by the Optimists’ Club of Fort Worth by no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 10, 2017. Participants should send submissions to P.O. Box 101163, Fort Worth, TX 76185, and this year, submissions will be accepted by email. The email address will be announced later this year.

The Optimists’ Club is one of the largest service organizations in the world with projects reaching more than 6,000,000 youths a year. In past essay contests, the Optimists’ Club of Fort Worth has awarded prizes of $300 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place, and this year, all of those numbers could increase. Participants who reach the district level have the chance to win $2,500 in college scholarships.

For more information, please contact Rodney Patterson, local liaison for the Essay Contest for the Optimist Club of Fort Worth, at 817-732-8200. The application forms and submission details can be found at http://www.optimist.org/Forms/Essay_RULES_PAD-E_16-17.pdf.