2025 YouthInk Writing Contest

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2025 Theme: The Capes We Wear

We are pleased to announce the YouthInk 2025 writing contest launches on December 16, 2024!  The YouthInk writing contest was created to support the literary arts among young people in the Orinda community. YouthInk is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who live in Orinda or attend an Orinda school.

Entries must be a story (fiction or non-fiction), poem, or other creative writing form; presented in English, and written specifically for the contest and without teacher or parent involvement. Length must be 750 words or less. Submissions will be evaluated on content, clarity, structure, and originality.

Prompt

The writing prompt for 2025 is The Capes We Wear; however, you may write about anything you like—real or imaginary—adhere to the prompt or not! There is no limit to your imagination.

Entry

Contest opens December 16, 2024, and closes on February 9, 2025.

Click here for the YouthInk 2025 entry form.

Entries will only be accepted via the entry form or email to oyouthink@gmail.com with the following:

  • Completed entry form. Make sure to include all required information in your submission.
  • Please share your document in Word, PDF, or Google doc, with the name of your piece as the title. Please do not put your name on the document.
  • Your name will go on the entry form that you submit with the document.

Once you have submitted your entry, you will receive a receipt notification from oyouthink@gmail.com to confirm your entry was successfully submitted.

The entries will be judged by a panel of local, professional, and bestselling authors, writers, reporters, and children’s book editors.

Prizes

First Place $250, Second Place $125, and Third Place $75, and ten honorable mentions gift certificates. Winners will be notified by mail and receive their prizes at an Awards Ceremony on May 8, 2025. The ceremony is open to the public and all family and friends are invited.

Contest Sponsors

The contest is organized and run by the Orinda Junior Women’s Club, with additional financial sponsorship provided by Friends of the Orinda Library, The Intuitive Writing Project, Lamorinda Arts Council, and Orinda Community Foundation.

Holiday Fundraiser Meeting

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This November, the Orinda Juniors came together to create our annual fundraising project. We assembled beautiful gift bags filled with Hibiscus Ginger Lemon and Hot Toddy drink mixes which can be enjoyed as a cocktail or a mocktail. The bags make great gifts for co-workers, friends and family.

   

New Member Meeting

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We had a fantastic time at our October meeting, where we welcomed prospective new members and shared our passion for community service. Together, we assembled gift packages for Project Glimmer, an organization that supports teenage girls and women through partnerships with more than 2,000 organizations including foster care, homeless, crisis care, and youth services.

September Service Project

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Orinda Juniors members came together to assemble 72 blankets with a message of encouragement for women undergoing breast cancer treatment. These blankets are intended to offer extra comfort to patients during their treatment. We will be donating the blankets to the HERS Breast Cancer Foundation in Fremont, California.

2024 Youth Ink Winners

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The Orinda Junior Women’s Club is thrilled to announce the winners of Youth Ink 2024, the annual creative writing contest open to middle school students who live in or attend school in Orinda. The prompt for this year’s event was “Roots,” though participants had the freedom to explore other topics. Here are the talented winners of this year’s top prizes:

  • 1st Place: Harmony Yu, The Hidden Web
  • 2nd Place: Olivia MacDiarmid, California Wishes
  • 3rd Place: Natalie Zhen, Root of Harmony
  • 4th Place: Brandis Hatzicallis, Eighth Grade
  • 5th Place: Ava Marchiel, Just go for it!

In addition, we’d like to acknowledge the honorable mentions for their commendable entries (in alphabetical order):

  • Raunav Agarwal, Identity
  • Marie-Gisele Anagnost, Hope Among the Ashes
  • Sophie Davis, Scratching the Surface: A Memoir
  • Owen Gettell, The Forest Floor
  • Lorelei Keenan, Garlic & Ginger
  • Aavya Khanna, India: My Heart’s Home
  • Emmeline Lew, The Marking
  • Trisha Madannavar, The Arizona Walnut
  • Tess Morici, The Books Behind the Door
  • Raelyn Tellis, Bittersweet

The awards ceremony took place at the Orinda Library Auditorium, with guest speaker, Kathy Cordova, Executive Editor of The Orinda News. We extend our gratitude to all participants for sharing their talents with us. We are very grateful for our volunteer judges – Linda Bizzarri, A.J. Brown, Anne Lowell, and Sana Shukairy. Their commitment, expertise, and careful consideration were instrumental in reviewing each entry and selecting this year’s winners from an outstanding pool of submissions. Lastly, we’d like to thank our community sponsors: Friends of the Orinda Library, The Intuitive Writing Project, Lamorinda Arts Council and Orinda Community Foundation.

  

Annual Social

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Our annual Social at Calicraft Brewing Co. in February was a blast! The Orinda Juniors competed against several teams in Trivia, all while enjoying each other’s company and great-tasting beer and cider.

     

2024 YouthInk Writing Contest

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We are pleased to announce the YouthInk 2024 writing contest launches on December 15, 2023!  The YouthInk writing contest was created to support the literary arts among young people in the Orinda community. YouthInk is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who live in Orinda or attend an Orinda school.

Entries must be a story (fiction or non-fiction), poem, or other creative writing form; presented in English, and written specifically for the contest and without teacher or parent involvement. Length must be 750 words or less. Submissions will be evaluated on content, clarity, structure, and originality.

Prompt

The writing prompt for 2024 is Roots; however, you may write about anything you like—real or imaginary—adhere to the prompt or not! There is no limit to your imagination.

To Enter

Contest opens December 15, 2023, and closes on February 19, 2024.

Download a YouthInk 2024 entry form.

Entries will only be accepted via email. Email your entry to oyouthink@gmail.com with the following:

  • Completed entry form. Make sure to include all required information in your submission.
  • Share as a Google doc with the name of your piece as the title. Please do not put your name on the document.
  • Your name will go on the entry form that you submit with the document.

Once you have submitted your entry, you will receive a receipt notification from oyouthink@gmail.com to confirm your entry was successfully submitted.

Prizes

First Place $250, Second Place $125, and Third Place $75, and ten honorable mentions gift certificates. Winners will be notified by mail and receive their prizes at an Awards Ceremony on May 2, 2024. The ceremony is open to the public and all family and friends are invited.

Contest Sponsors

The contest is organized and run by the Orinda Junior Women’s Club, with additional financial sponsorship provided by Friends of the Orinda Library, The Intuitive Writing Project, Lamorinda Arts Council, and Orinda Community Foundation.

Holiday Mug Exchange

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Happy holidays! In December, the Orinda Juniors had a great time sampling delicious soups at the annual Holiday Mug Exchange. We also collected gifts to be donated to Ruby’s Place.

  

Holiday Fundraiser Project

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In November, the Orinda Juniors gathered to make two gifts for our annual fundraiser. The first is a beautiful olivewood spoon and ceramic spoon rest presented in a reusable burlap gift bag. Additionally, we’ve created charming wildflower bouquets that come in your choice of colored glass vases – yellow, blue, green or grey.

  

Mastectomy Pillows Service Project

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Orinda Juniors members made 38 mastectomy comfort pillows during our September meeting. The pillows will be donated to HERS Breast Cancer Foundation, where they will be given to patients who are recovering from breast cancer surgery.