The Game Changer Citywide Writing Competition, exclusively for Richmond Public Schools students, is open through Feb. 1, 2023. Contestants have the opportunity for students to win up to $500.

The Rev. Garry Callis and Children of Light Ministries created the competition and hosted a kickoff event on Dec.17.

His reasoning for the competition is simple.

“Our children need to know how to be experts in the English language for full literacy, and that includes reading it, writing it and speaking it,” Rev. Callis said.

Participants must choose one of the following topics:

• Why is a good education important?

• Who do you admire and why?

• How do you feel about gun violence?

• What will you be when you grow up?

• If you could change something, what would it be?

• How did COVID-19 change your life?

Entry is based on a student’s grade level, and can include poems, essays or short stories. Elementary school student entries must be at least 100 words; middle school, 250 words; and high school, 500 words. The maximum length per entry is 1,500 words. All entries must be turned into RPS school front offices by Feb. 1, 2023, and must include the student’s name, guardian’s name, school, grade and a contact phone number. Winners will be announced at Martin Luther King Middle School on Feb. 22, 2023 at 6 p.m.

The first 250 entries received will be reviewed for one of three top prizes, and all entrants will receive a $20 gift card. The top prize for elementary school is $100; for middle school, $200; for high school, $500.

For more information, call 804-554-5885 or email becomeagamechanger@gmail.com.