© 2011 - 2012 Flagler County Branch National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The NAACP's Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics is a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students.
ACT-SO includes 26 categories of competition in the sciences, humanities, business, and performing and visual arts. More than 260,000 young people have participated from the program since its inception.
Are you or a high school student interested in science, like to experiment or discover new things? Are you gifted and talented? Do you like to sing, dance, act or write poetry? Do you paint or draw? Do you have a business mind? If you do, then ACT-SO!
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be of African-American or Latino/Hispanic descent. |
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2. |
be a high school student enrolled in grades 9 through 12. |
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3. |
be a citizen
or legal resident of the United States. |
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4. |
be an individual who has demonstrated a genuine interest in one of the 26 categories. |
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submit a separate project, one contestant per category per city (a contestant may enter up to three (3) categories of competition.) |
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be of amateur status--never having never having performed as a professional in any categories of competition. |
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7. |
conform to the
guideline requirements as dictated by the category(s) chosen. |
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8. |
submit to his/her local NAACP chapter | ||||||||||||||
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9. |
for National contestants,
submit to his/her local NAACP ACT-SO sponsor:
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Biology/Microbiology |
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Chemistry/Biochemistry |
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Computer Science |
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Earth and Space Sciences |
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Engineering |
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Mathematics |
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Medicine and
Health |
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Physics |
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Music Composition |
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Original Essay |
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Playwriting |
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Poetry |
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Short Story (NYC ACT-SO only) |
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Entrepreneurship |
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Dance |
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Dramatics |
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Music Instrumental Classical |
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Music Instrumental Contemporary |
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Music Vocal Classical |
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Music Vocal Contemporary |
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Oratory |
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Architecture |
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Drawing |
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Filmmaking |
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Painting |
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Photography |
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Sculpture |
“Applied knowledge is power not knowledge itself! With this in mind, it takes the efforts of the community, family, and local businesses
to help empower our children with the knowledge they need to accomplish tremendous things.”
The Flagler County ACT-SO Program
is seeking your support. Our program is under-funded and operated entirely by volunteers. In the first instance, the program requires
money to run efficiently. Beyond this need, additional funds would permit the employment of a full time professional staff, which
would improve every aspect of Flagler County ACT-SO. Specifically, each high school in the city could be monitored and recruitment
of coaches and judges could be enhanced. Additionally, the organization might be in a position to provide other services, such as
scholarship guidance and job referral for participants.
Money invested in ACT-SO does a triple duty by:
1. positively influencing the lives of its participants;
2. “changing the culture” of the communities from
which those participants come; and
3. enhancing the quality of Flagler County’s 21st century workforce.
ACT-SO operates under the administrative support of the NAACP, which serves as the fiscal conduit to the local ACT-SO programs but does not provide funding. However, it provides technical assistance and program guidelines; and, hosts the national “Olympics of the Mind” at the annual NAACP convention. Flagler County ACT-SO is a not-for-profit organization, having an IRS 501(C)(3) tax exempt designation. Your contribution to Flagler County ACT-SO is 100% tax deductible and goes to direct program support.
All contributions should
be made payable to: Flagler County NAACP ACT-SO
Mail to: Flagler County NAACP, 1 Florida Park Dr. Suite 305, Palm Coast, FL 32137
How can you help Flagler County ACT-SO? By:
· contributing funds to support Flagler County ACT-SO’s operating
expenses
· including Flagler County ACT-SO in your corporate giving program
· providing
in-kind support
· providing additional prizes for Academic Competition winners
· providing
job and internship opportunities to current students and alumni
· becoming a volunteer student recruiter, coach
or judge
· donating your professional skills (i.e. graphic design, printing, etc.)
· suggesting
others who might be able to assist us
How can Flagler County ACT-SO help you?
What is ACT-SO?
ACT-SO – the Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics, is a youth program under the administrative
aegis of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). ACT-SO is a yearlong enrichment program designed
to encourage high academic and cultural achievement among underserved minority high school students. ACT-SO relies on community volunteers
and business leaders to serve as mentors and coaches in promoting academic and artistic excellence among African-American and Hispanic
students. By providing an arena where students strive to excel in the sciences, arts and humanities, ACT-SO equips its participants
with the skills to live meaningful lives.
In 1977 Vernon Jarrett of Chicago, a renowned author, civil rights activist and journalist,
initiated the idea of a program that would promote and reward young academic achievers the same way sports heroes are honored. The
first national ACT-SO competition was held in 1978 in Portland Oregon.
“We must never write off the potential for greatness
among any of our beleaguered youth. Never!”