The Club has announced the launch of its second annual Youth Speech Contest, for all K through 12 youth who live or attend school in Yonkers. This year's contest will be in partnership with the Historical Society of the New York Courts,
The contest provides a challenging way for youth at all grade levels to develop critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and public speaking skills. This year, elementary school contestants will present a three to five-minute speech, based on what their top priority would be if they were the Mayor of Yonkers, and why. Middle school contestants will present a five to seven-minute speech based on the same topic, while high school contestants will present a five to seven-minute speech on what they believe the role of the courts should be either to protect their rights in school or to protect the safety of everyone in the community.
The preliminary round will be held asynchronously: students will upload videos of their speeches no later than March 31, 2023, and the speeches will be judged over the following weeks. Three finalists will be selected in each of the elementary, middle, and high school divisions to advance to the final round, which will be held in the Ceremonial Courtroom at Yonkers City Hall on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Each of the finalists will receive a plaque and a cash prize. All contestants will receive a certificate for participating in the contest. There is no fee to participate.
Those interested in learning more about the contest may sign up for more information via the Online Registration Form, below online at or email SpeechContest@YonkersRotary.org. Questions may be sent to Contest Coordinator, Rotarian Alan Gray at SpeechContest@YonkersRotary.org. Additional information will be posted on this website in the coming days and can also be found on the Historical Society of the New York Courts's website at https://history.nycourts.gov/speech-contest/.