Indiana BPW sponsors

statewide essay contest

The Indiana Business and Professional Women's Foundation each year sponsors an essay contest for eighth grade students. The contest is designed to get students to think about their futures and how the choices they make now will influence their future well-being.

Winners from each district in the state are eligible to win Savings Bonds at the annual BPW State Conference in April.

Many teenage girls expect to work outside the home only if they choose to do so, and many teenage boys believe their wives will stay at home with their young children. Statistics show, though, that most young adults will work outside the home throughout their lives and while raising their children. Some of these young adults will be single parent households and many will work at low-paying jobs that do not have retirement plans and benefits.

Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) representatives say they often hear young people say if only they had know, they would have made different choices.

The BPW essay contest is part of its program to help educate young people about the economic reality of life.

Details for entering the contest, and the topic for this year, may be obtained by contacting the BPW/Indiana State Office at P.O. Box 33, Knightstown, Ind., 46148, by calling (765) 345-9812, or by contacting your local middle school.

The Indiana BPW Foundation, Inc., was founded in 1991. It provides financial and scholarship assistance and strives to improve employment opportunities, career development and economic self-sufficiency for women and young people in the state.

The week of Oct. 19-25 is National Business Women's Week, a time to celebrate the achievements of business and professional women and their contributions to the community.

--Bill Richmond