Introduction to the Ben Rush Program starting January 18, 2011
Generation Joshua is pleased to present its members with another great program through the Ben Rush Awards Program. Students have a chance to learn how to be active citizens in their communities and also can be awarded with GenJ gear and Scholarships. Students will perform a number of civic activities in their communities varying from voter registration drives to campaign volunteering and political lobbying in order to earn prizes and make a difference in their community.
Duration
New this year the Ben Rush program is no longer operating on a rigid calendar. In previous years the Ben Rush Program has operated as an 11 month marathon. The students have had to start working January 1, and complete all of the requirements for whichever level they chose by mid-November. As of January 2011, we are implementating a rolling calendar in which there is not an annual deadline but, rather, the students pace themselves and are allowed to complete each level at their own rate. So the program will begin when the student registers and will not end until they leave GenJ or complete the program.
Award Tiers
All of the students will start on the same basic level. They can then move as quickly or as slowly as they choose to finish each tier. The student will first complete the Citizen Tier, then he will complete the Activist Tier, followed by the Patriot and Statesman Tiers.
American Citizen (Level of Difficulty: Easy)
American Activist (Level of Difficulty: Moderate)
American Patriot (Level of Difficulty: high)
American Statesman (Level of Difficulty: Very High)
The Awards
The students are given a chance to earn awards for their involvement ranging from a T-Shirt for completing the easiest tier of the program to a $2500 college scholarship, with other awards in between. These awards are granted after the student has completed their summary paper for the tier.
The Statesman Leadership Project
In addition to the core requirements and electives that the participants choose, all students working on the Statesmen tier must complete a unique Leadership Project. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate a significant level of leadership and have an effect on behalf of an issue, candidate, or organization. This project will differ for each student.
For more details download the Ben Rush Handbook Here
| Requirements |
Citizen |
Activist |
Patriot |
Statesman |
| |
Tier 1 |
Tier 2 |
Tier 3 |
Tier 4 |
| Membership |
Active |
Active |
Active |
Active |
| Completion Essay |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Legislator Letter |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
| Editor Letter |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
| Voter Registrations |
5 |
15 |
30 |
50 |
| Volunteer Hours |
5 |
25 |
50 |
200 |
| GenJ Sign-ups |
1 |
9 |
15 |
25 |
| Lobbying Visit |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Civics Course |
0 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Electives |
Pick 1 |
Pick 3 |
Pick 5 |
Pick 8 |
| Book Review |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| Lecture Summary |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| Blog |
2 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
| Issue Video |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| CD Review |
2 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
| Concert Summary |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| GenJ Club |
4 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
| Public Meeting Summ. |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| Petition Signatures |
10 |
25 |
100 |
200 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Statesman Project |
|
|
|
|
| |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Prizes |
|
|
|
|
| |
T-Shirt |
$100 Camp Scholarship & $50 gift card |
$500 Educational Scholarship & iPod Nano or $100 gift card |
$2500 Educational Scholarship |
Please e-mail the administrator at benrush@hslda.org, or call 540-338-8608 if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
The Generation Joshua Staff