“Our chapter will use the $1,000 award to ensure the future of our largest literacy initiative, our Reading Recognition program for public elementary schools in Delaware and Randolph County.  These funds will help to provide reading incentives such as bookmarks to the schools, to provide prizes for each school’s winning readers, and to ensure that the annual banquet to honor these students for their accomplishments will be able to take place this spring.  The program honors two students from each school and makes them the center of attention for their outstanding reading accomplishments, which not only continues their path of outstanding reading habits, but transforms them into reading ambassadors who spread the excitement and importance of reading in their school.  With the economic downturn, last year we could not obtain enough business sponsorship to support the cost of the banquet, so the reading awards were made individually at each school’s awards day program.  These funds will help us to be able to reinstate the annual banquet and really make these outstanding elementary readers feel like reading rockstars, which builds an additional excitement in them and makes them better reading ambassadors to encourage other students, and in some cases even their parents, to read.  Thank you!”

“This award means a lot to our chapter, being recognized for the accomplishments in service we strive to uphold. We believe that civic engagement is an integral part of the college learning experience. As students of a private university, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to receive a college education and we feel that it is our obligation to provide help to others that may not be as lucky as ourselves. One way that we have incorporated community outreach and service into our chapter is to work with a local residential treatment center, the Pleasantville Cottage School in Pleasantville, NY. When planning events for The Pleasantville Cottage School children, we try to provide fun and educational programs that will brighten their day. Over the last several years, we have not only just spent time with these kids, but we have become role models and friends. We plan to use these funds from this award to further aid in planning more amazing service events with these children and attend a regional/international Golden Key Conference to teach others they can do exactly what we are doing within their chapters.”

"We would like to thank you Golden Key for providing us an opportunity to take part in the Chapter Service Award and at last awarding us based on the strict selection. On the notification of receiving the award, we were surprised, happy and delighted that our effort on bringing a light to improve education level of the orphanages in Salvation Army Children Home. Being the recipient of Chapter Service Award means a lot to us as it shows that our effort in improving the education level of the unfortunate is being recognized and supported. With the monetary award, we can cover the expenses of higher quality educating materials in the coming tutoring program that we are planning to run over the next semester. We will donate RM 1000.00 out of the total amount of the award to The Salvation Army Children Home. With the rest of the money, we will use it to finance all our chapter’s upcoming projects. We are dedicated in continuing our chapter’s mission which is to contribute back to the community as well as increasing the literacy level in the community."

"The Golden Key Chapter Award will enable our Chapter to put on a great fundraiser for the benefit of the charity Change for Children. Furthermore, through the process of organizing the event, our members will have the opportunity to reach their full potential by engaging in leadership activities, career development and the general service of the community. So thank you!"

"The University of Memphis chapter of Golden Key is excited to have extra funds to expand its Literary/Education Service activities. It will spend some funding toward its existing literary service events, particularly its annual Children’s Museum of Memphis day with a children’s home. Golden Key will also take this same children’s home on other education-related trips. If available, some funds will go toward starting a tutoring/mentoring program with this children’s home. The chapter will also implement a writing contest among its members at the beginning of 2010. Honorary Members will judge each entry and provide feedback. Some funding will go toward the promotion of this event and some toward awards. The last way the University of Memphis chapter plans to use its $1000 Chapter Service Award is to create a writing contest for upperclassmen in the Memphis City Schools system. Target schools shall be those with students in at-risk areas and those located near the University of Memphis’ main campus. Plans include having three categories (Poetry, First Person Essay, Short Story) and rewarding the top winner with an award as well a select number of runner up applicants. Each applicant will receive a small gift from the Chapter and will receive information on Golden Key. If available, funds will be used to award the high school that has the largest number of applicants. Honorary Members will also judge these entries."

"Our Golden Key chapter here at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John is so excited to receive a Chapter Service Award! We’d like to sincerely thank the Golden Key International Honour Society for recognizing and choosing to support our chapters community service efforts. Over the summer our chapter lead a children’s Backyard Book Club for 9 weeks and we are now working to establish a student mentorship program at a local elementary school. We have 40 students who will be participating in this after-school program which will run twice a week and pair university students with children from grades three to five. The mentors will meet with the children for a healthy snack and spend an hour helping them complete their homework. We intend to use this award to purchase school supplies, healthy snacks, volunteer t-shirts and to help cover transportation to bring the children to our campus every few months for special field trips."

"The opportunity you have provided UNT’s Golden Key Chapter means so much to all of us. Thanks you for your consideration and approval. We are excited to use these funds towards our upcoming event in Spring 2010. What this award means is that we can provide the best educational event possible for children of lower income families who attend schools in the Denton area that have a higher rate of free or reduced lunches. Our volunteers will be busy with activities for the children including story time, creative drawing and a few recreational team building games. What we plan to do is show these children by enhancing the mind you can enhance your life. This award means we have a cushion in our funding in case we do not receive our projected goal for donations. This is a tremendous stress reliever allowing us to focus on the important issue, making sure this day is a grand success for the children. Thank you so much for your contribution and belief in our Golden Key Chapter at the University of North Texas. Together we will make this an extraordinary success for everyone."

"The Golden Key Pretoria chapter has been actively involved in our community for the past 3 years. We believe that through long term investment within a community, change is possible. Our projects aim to uplift and empower less fortunate individuals to create a better future for themselves. We have 3 long term projects working with underprivileged children that have been running four days a week, for three years, and a new project that works with underprivileged high school children that has been running every Saturday for the past year. Our volunteers offer their time and commitment to these projects at no cost, but the resources required to keep these projects running comes from our committee budget. We are grateful to be the recipients of the Chapter Service Award for two years in a row as we use the award money to maintain and further our vital projects within the community. Without this award we would not have been able to continue our projects at the Danville Rooms After School Care Centre, the UNICA school for autism, the Recreational Activities Project at the UNICA Hostel or the Esokwazi Brightening the Future Project. These projects are the only projects in these communities that fulfil the vital need of education and assistance."

"We are so grateful to have received this award, we as a chapter worked really hard and this award is just again a incentive to motivate us to keep up the good work. It also enhances the realisation that our commitment to the community and golden key does not go unnoticed. We have great projects planned for the year ahead for example creating a work area that will create work opportunities for the blind community and empower them to be self sufficient. The other project that we are excited about is helping the disabled children of Tswellang, they currently have nothing of there own and even share toothbrushes in the hostel we want to make care packages for all the children with everyday items that they need. There for this award money will really be used to better the community and will enable us to achieve our goals for next years community service. Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity."

"We would like to express heart-felt appreciation to the Golden Key for considering Utah State University’s chapter for this distinguished award. The award winnings will be used to support the College/High School Aggie Mentoring Program (CHAMP), a mentoring program for underprivileged, first-generation high school students. The goals of CHAMP are to encourage these students to obtain a higher education upon graduation of high school, and to provide them with the resources necessary to do so. The CHAMP program acts in accordance with the honorable Golden Key values of Respect, Diversity, and Excellence. As members of the Golden Key, as well as the CHAMP program, we are overwhelmed with gratitude in accepting this generous donation."