Oakville student wins $30,000 through writing contest for Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin!
The annual Meaning of Home contest asks students in grades 4, 5, and 6 to share what home means to them. Rylan V. the Grade 5 winner from Oakville, Ontario. is one of three national grand prize winners. His $30,000 grant will go to Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin.
Click here to read Rylan’s winning entry “If home were the 5 Senses”.
Watch the video here “If home were the 5 Senses”
What is this contest?
The Meaning of Home contest, which runs from January 8 to February 23, 2024, invites Grades 4, 5, and 6 students from across Canada to submit a written poem or essay (in English or French) explaining what home means to them for a chance to win a $30,000 grant for their local Habitat for Humanity.
Since 2007, over 100,000 students have participated in the Meaning of Home contest, raising over $2.3 million to build homes across Canada for families in need of decent and affordable housing. This would not be possible without these students’ inspiring words and the support of award sponsors Urban Systems Foundation and Face to Face Games, judging sponsors Travelers Canada and Hunter Douglas, and founding sponsor Sagen™*. Sagen has volunteered hundreds of hours across Canada to support the Meaning of Home Contest through judging entries, working in collaboration to develop marketing/entry materials, as well as continuing to fund multiple aspects of the program with dedicated relationship managers.
The Habitat for Humanity Canada Meaning of Home contest is a great way to:
- Encourage independent and critical thought
- Promote creative writing
- Increase awareness around social issues
- Promote community involvement
*Sagen™ is a trademark owned by Sagen MI Canada Inc
-
We’ve made it super easy to have important social justice discussions and host the writing contest with your students. Everything you need to run this activity with your students is right here. What are you waiting for?
-
Here’s a little bit of information to tell you more about the program and how it works. Read this before you jump into the lesson plan. It provides an important overview of timelines and resources available.
-
This is a handy little one-pager that you can put up in your classroom or around the school. You may even wish to place it within your school newsletter or send a digital copy to fellow teachers.
Prizing
$30,000 grand prize winners (one from each grade; three total) | $30,000 grant to be directed to a local Habitat build.
$10,000 Runners-up (three from each grade; nine total) | Three contest runners-up per grade will receive a $10,000 grant towards a local Habitat build project.
In addition to the $30,000 grants, the grand prize winners will also receive an iPad and a pizza party for their class. Runners-up will each receive an electronic tablet and a class pizza party, in addition to the $10,000 grants. PLUS, for every entry $10 will be donated to their local Habitat.