2025 Letter to My Parents contest in Hawaiʻi now open for submissions

What do your parents mean to you?

The 2025 Letter to My Parents contest invites young adults, ages 14 to 22 years old who are currently living in Hawaiʻi and enrolled in high school, college or university in the islands, to write a letter to their parents.

The top 10 entries will win cash prizes from contest partners the Filipino Association of University Women and nonprofit Reiyukai America. Their writers also will have a chance to read their winning entries at this year’s Letter Presentation and Awards Ceremony.

Essays or letters should be no more than 1,000 words and include a constructive proposal for how to maintain or improve their relationships with their parents.

Contestants are urged to express what their family means to them, how their parents encourage them and what acts of kindness they do for their parents.

Submissions will be judged on bravery, reflection and their proposals.

Letters must be written with intention of keeping a healthy family relationship or improving the family dynamics with a commitment to building stronger bonds.

Deadline to submit entries is Oct. 6.

Young writers interested in participating in the contest can email their essays or letters to info@lettertomyparents.com, along with a photo and proof of residency.

Teens younger than 17 years old must include the consent form signed by a parent or guardian.