The Spirit of Youth Fund provides several scholarship opportunities. 
 
A special Junior patch has been created for our Junior members and Sons of The American Legion youth to be involved in raising money for the Spirit of Youth Fund. 
 
We are highlighting two Junior members who successfully earned the SOY patch:

Ariyanah O’Dell, Kentucky
Raised $100; spoke to post commander and members for donations 

O’Dell shared with American Legion Family members about the importance of the Spirit of Youth Scholarship and why donations to this fund were needed.
 
At 11 years old, O’Dell had to do quite a bit of public speaking to get the donations. 
 
“I can be nervous but end up doing it, and it can be fun,” she said. “Nervousness goes away, and then it’s more comfortable.” 
 
O’Dell said she likes knowing her efforts will make a difference for youth. 
 
“Knowing I did all that hard work and everything to help means a lot to me,” she said. “Makes me feel happy when I did that.”
 
For other youth who are ready to earn their SOY patch by raising funds for the scholarship, O’Dell offers a piece of advice. 
 
“Don’t be nervous and just try your best and do new things,” she said. 

Kayleigh Lawless, Texas
Raised $90 making and selling homemade dog and cat treats


“It’s exciting, and it was fun to do the project,” Lawless said about earning her Spirit of Youth patch through fundraising. 
 
This is her first patch — she has more to submit and is working on others. 
 
Lawless said coming up with her idea for how to fundraise was pretty easy. 
 
“I love animals, and it was just a good idea that came to me,” she said. 
 
Of course, there were some difficulties as part of the treat-making process. 
 
“Some of the treats didn’t turn out the right shape, but my dog enjoyed them,” she said. 
 
For Lawless, it was fun that a lot of people bought the treats quickly. 
 
She sold them at Post 597 in Carrollton, Texas. She also sold some online and shipped them. Lawless had a table set up in front of The American Legion post home.
 
The feedback from her family, friends, and community was positive. 
 
“[The feedback was that] I did great selling them, and the animals really liked them,” she said. “I also donated some of the treats to the Carrollton Animal Shelter.”
 
Like O’Dell, Lawless has advice for other youth who want to help fundraise for this scholarship. 
 
“They should make something that a lot of people want or that they have multiple of,” she said. “That way, they can make a lot of money to send into the fund.”

How to earn your SOY patch 

The Spirit of Youth Fund has several parts: American Legion Auxiliary Junior members, another for Junior Members of the Year, one is for participants in the American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation program, and the Non-Traditional Student Scholarship are all part of SOY. 
 
Any Junior or SAL youth can earn the patch if they raise at least $5 for each year old. For example, a 17-year-old would raise a minimum of $85 (17 x $5 = $85).
 
Donations can be raised in a variety of ways. Juniors and SAL youth can solicit donations from family, friends, American Legion Family members, or contribute themselves. Fundraising activities can be coordinated, such as bake sales or other types of sales, etc. Funds can be raised individually or as a group, but each Junior or SAL youth receiving this patch needs to have raised the required minimum funds for their age. The goal is for the youth of our ALA and SAL organizations to be involved and aware of the scholarship project.