Insight College Prep Centers, a Cupertino-based mentoring organization, is announcing its first annual creative writing contest, Musings of the Mind's Eye. Submissions will be accepted Feb. 15­April 15. The event, co-sponsored by Books Inc., a bookstore in Mountain View, is open to any high school student living in the cities of Cupertino, San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Milpitas. This year's theme is "Vision."

The contest will be divided into two categories: ninth­10th grades and 11th­12th grades. The top three winners in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate to Books Inc., a $50 gift certificate to Insight Centers and the Kepler's Book Prize.

Entries must be short stories less than 1,500 words. Application forms are available at www.insightcollege.com. For more information, call Insight Centers at 408.252.5050.


Art and essay contest for local youth

The Asian Pacific Fund will offer $27,000 in savings bonds to local students as part of its annual Growing Up Asian in America contest. This year's contest theme is "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Thinking about Older People and the Environment." Bay Area Asian youth can enter the contest by sharing their stories and ideas on the elderly or the environment through art, essays or poetry.

Contest guidelines are available at all Bay Area public libraries as well as online at www.asianpacificfund.org.

Now in its ninth year, the art and essay contest is open to students from kindergarten through 12th grade living in Bay Area cities. Contestants compete in three grade categories—K­5, 6­8 and 9­12—for first-, second- and third-place prizes of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 in savings bonds. The deadline for submitting entries is 5 p.m. on March 7.

Winning entries will be announced at the beginning of Asian Pacific Heritage Month in May.

The Asian Pacific Fund connects donors with community needs. Since its inception, the fund has distributed $1.7 million in grants and awards and supported public education projects such as "Growing up Asian in America."

For more information about the fund, call 415.433.6859.