Since 2016, the Unified Caring Association Scholarship program has awarded over one hundred scholarships to caring students. The UCA scholarship program is designed to reward kids for caring while celebrating and encouraging their kindheartedness. Nationwide and program specific scholarships have been created by UCA where students are invited to write a short 500-word essay answering a caring prompt. Some examples of scholarship essay questions are, “How do you plan to live a life that promotes peace and Unity? How will you create the journey to fulfill this purpose?”, “ If you were the President of the United States, what would you do to promote Peace and Unity?” , “How can caring and kindness be implemented more in your personal life and in your school?” , and most recently, “If you were the “Caring Ambassador” at your school, what would you do to inspire other students to be more caring?” The UCA scholarship program has been warmly embraced by school guidance counsellors, teachers and students alike. As the students write beautiful essays on the topic of caring they engage their caring intelligence and skills and are reminded of the importance of kindness.
UCA staff report that each essay has its own beauty. “Our scholarship entrants touch our hearts with their caring essays. It is so hard to choose the winners to reward! We have been known to add additional awards in recognition of their caring.”
The essays are scored on a “caring rubric” rather than the traditional academic rubric most scholarship contests adhere to. This allows students who would not typically be awarded scholarships to be celebrated and awarded for their unique talent … caring and kindness.
