Wow!- was it ever exciting to see Minnesota FCCLA members on the National Conference stage getting an award and a check for their chapter!
In July 2015 we saw Litchfield Middle accept an award for National FCCLA Chapter Award for Families First Award with a project called “A Little Can Do a Lot”.
We also saw Goodhue Jr/ Sr win a Sr High Runner Up National Award for a Stop the Violence Project called “Kindness Campaign”.
FCCLA offers a multitude of opportunities for members. One of these is taking part in a national program and applying for an award. There are many different national programs that have awards that you may apply for. In fact 8 national programs have awards linked with them.
The process of applying for a national program award starts with your chapter completing a project that would fall within a specific national program. This project must be completed between March 1st and the following March 1st. Mak
e sure that your project is unique so it will stand out from the others. Many chapters apply for these awards so you want to be sure that yours will get noticed.
The national programs that have an award are: Career Connections, FACTS, Families First, Financial Fitness,Leadership Service in Action, Power of One, STOP the Violence, and Student Body. Each progr
am has its own requirements. The requirements may be found on the national website, www.fcclainc.org, under the national programs tab.
Once you have completed your project and you have decided to apply for a national program award, your next step 
will be to go onto the national website and click on the link that says Programs and then click on the next tab that says Awards. You will select the option that says Program award Applications. On this page, you will find a step-by-step list of how to apply for the national program award. It is very easy to follow and it also has a section of frequently asked questions to help you out along the way.
As stated earlier your project must be started and completed between March 1st and March 1st of the following year. The deadline to submit your chapter’s application to national headquarters is March 1st at 5:00 PM eastern time. The earlier you get your application in the better!
Taking part i
n a national program is a great way to keep your chapter involved and also it could possibly get your chapter recognized on stage at national conference in July and also receive some money. It is a great opportunity and I hope that each and every one of you make it a goal to apply for at least one national program award this year!
Written by Courtney Heppler- State President
