This is not just another writing contest. Since 1998, the National Campaign to Stop Violence (NCSV) has issued a challenge to the young people of Chicago and more than 50 communities around the United States. Each year, middle school students are invited to examine the impact of youth violence in their lives, communicate their ideas for changing the culture of youth violence and make a commitment
to seek peaceful, constructive lives. The primary initiative of the NCSV is the "Do the Write Thing Challenge" Program ("Challenge"). The "Challenge" gives middle school students an opportunity to examine the impact of violence on their lives in classroom discussions and in written form by communicating what they have seen to be the causes of youth violence as well as solutions to help decrease the violence in their communities. By encouraging students to make personal commitments to do something about the problem, the program ultimately seeks to empower them to reduce violence in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.
