A local service club is gearing up to offer its annual essay contest to all county students, providing scholarship money to the winning entry.

The Optimist Club of Washington announces the contest, encouraging students to consider the phrase “Optimism Should Be a Priority,” as part of the Optimist International Essay Contest for 2015, according to Janice LaBarbera, essay contest chair for the club. The club will assign people to judge entries from students unanimously, following a strict grading rubric. The local club offers its first-place winner a $250 scholarship award, LaBarbera said.

“We do this annually,” LaBarbera said. “It’s one of the scholarship opportunities that Optimist International offers. So we do offer it at the club level. Some clubs just award a winner and send them on to district, but we actually give a $250 award at the local level. Our motto is ‘Friend of Youth.’ All our projects are geared toward helping youth. The contest is a really good way to give kids the opportunity to bring out their best and get an award for it.”

Among some of the guidelines for the essay include how well the students cover the topic, a word restriction of at least 700 but no more than 800 words, typed and double spaced, logical interpretation, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, spelling, phrasing and making sure it’s neat and in proper format, LaBarbera said.

LaBarbera said the winning entry will also be sent to the district level to compete where additional scholarships up to $2,500 are available for top winners. The Optimist Club of Washington has been participating in the Optimist Essay Contest for over a decade and has been active in the community since 1975, according to an Optimist Club press release. Other programs and service projects the club is involved in include organizing the Washington Soccer League, Castle Soccer, sponsoring local teams for football, baseball, basketball and softball, supporting local scouts, the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Waccamaw and providing scholarships to local high school seniors, the release said.

“Young students today have so many fresh ideas about the world and their future,” LaBarbera said in the release. “As Optimists, it is our goal to encourage them and do what we can to bring out the best in each of them. This gives them a wonderful opportunity to tap into their creativity and pursue possible scholarships at the same time.”

The deadline for the contest is set for Feb. 18, LaBarbera said.

For more information, contact Janice LaBarbera, Optimist Club essay contest chair at 252-402-6699 or visit www.optimistclubwashington.org.