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For Students

Washington Youth Tour and Cooperative Youth Summit

Washington Youth Tour + Cooperative Yout Summit

Two local stu­dents will be giv­en the oppor­tu­ni­ty of a life­time!  We are excit­ed to send one Junior (ris­ing Senior) to Wash­ing­ton DC for the 2026 Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour and one Sopho­more (ris­ing Junior) to our South Car­oli­na State Cap­i­tal for the 2026 Coop­er­a­tive Youth Sum­mit.

The Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour is an annu­al event offered by Coastal Elec­tric, coor­di­nat­ed by the Nation­al Rur­al Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive Asso­ci­a­tion (NRECA) and the Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tives of South Car­oli­na (ECSC).  We will select a Junior stu­dent (ris­ing senior) to rep­re­sent their school, their State, and Coastal Elec­tric as del­e­gates on a week-long, all-expens­es-paid edu­ca­tion­al trip to our nation’s cap­i­tal. Par­tic­i­pants get to see the gov­ern­ment in action, vis­it his­tor­i­cal sites, learn about co-ops, and meet stu­dents from around the nation. Stu­dents rep­re­sent­ing Coastal Elec­tric are also eli­gi­ble to com­pete for the R.D. Ben­nett Col­lege Schol­ar­ship award­ed by the Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tives of South Car­oli­na and com­pete for a posi­tion on the Nation­al Youth Lead­er­ship Coun­cil.

The Coop­er­a­tive Youth Sum­mit is a four-day, three-night event held in Colum­bia. The cho­sen stu­dent has the chance to enhance their lead­er­ship skills, engage in team-build­ing exer­cis­es, learn about elec­tric coop­er­a­tives and how state gov­ern­ment works, and spend time with oth­er coop­er­a­tive stu­dents from across the entire state.

More than 1,800 stu­dents from across the coun­try par­tic­i­pat­ed in 2025. South Car­oli­na sent 57 Stu­dents total.

To learn more about these two amaz­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, con­tact Saman­tha Jones at 843–538-9434.  Infor­ma­tion on these trips and pre­vi­ous trips may also be found by vis­it­ing www.youthtour.coop and www.ecsc.org/washington-youth-tour

Applications are Open!  Deadline for application submissions is Friday, February 27, 2026. 

A large red button with "Apply now" text and a white arrow pointing right, emphasizing immediate action.

Summer 2025 Summit and Tour Photos

 

 

 

SC Children’s Book ChallengeLogo features an open book with a lightbulb, titled "Children's Book Challenge" in green and yellow text, symbolizing creativity and learning.

Fourth and fifth-grade stu­dents in South Car­oli­na are invit­ed to write and illus­trate a children’s book about our elec­tric coop­er­a­tive. Win­ning entries will be award­ed prizes, class par­ties, as well as an oppor­tu­ni­ty to have their books pub­lished!

For more than 80 years, the elec­tric coop­er­a­tives in South Car­oli­na have been trans­form­ing lives, fam­i­lies and com­mu­ni­ties with elec­tric­i­ty and com­mu­ni­ty sup­port. We want to cel­e­brate that out­stand­ing his­to­ry with an oppor­tu­ni­ty for young peo­ple to learn what coop­er­a­tives are, how they start­ed, and how elec­tric­i­ty impacts our lives. The elec­tric coop­er­a­tives in South Car­oli­na val­ue edu­ca­tion and real­ize stu­dents are the prob­lem solvers of the future. Becom­ing an ener­gy-lit­er­ate soci­ety is essen­tial to over­com­ing our future ener­gy chal­lenges. Writ­ing a children’s book on ener­gy allows stu­dents to widen their knowl­edge of our state’s ener­gy pos­si­bil­i­ties.

It’s a great way for edu­ca­tors to engage their stu­dents with a cross-cur­ric­u­lar project focused on ener­gy edu­ca­tion that also cor­re­lates to many South Car­oli­na state stan­dards.

2025–2026 Theme: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A LINEWORKER

Dates to Remem­ber:

  • Reg­is­tra­tion begins Sep­tem­ber 8th
  • Dead­line to Reg­is­ter is Novem­ber 14, 2025 
  • Dead­line for Book Sub­mis­sions is Jan­u­ary 30, 2026
  • Local Win­ners Cho­sen by Feb­ru­ary 16, 2026
  • Grand Prize Win­ners Announced in March 2026!!!
  • Win­ners Hon­ored at the SC State House in April 2026!!!

Each registered individual or team (2–4 students) can either create:

  • An elec­tron­ic book using the online book cre­ator, Sto­ryJumper. This web-based plat­form allows stu­dents to write and illus­trate their sto­ries using lap­tops, tablets, or oth­er devices. They can also upload their own art­work.
    STORYJUMPER
  • Or, a phys­i­cal paper book using this print­able tem­plate. After you cre­ate drafts using the tem­plate, you will then sub­mit your col­or­ful, final prod­uct on a blank book pro­vid­ed by your local co-op.
    PRINTABLE TEMPLATE

For more infor­ma­tion on this chal­lenge, past win­ners, and how to reg­is­ter, please vis­it www.scbookchallenge.com.  To learn more about this amaz­ing oppor­tu­ni­ty, con­tact Saman­tha Jones at 843–538-9434.

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