2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the National English Honor Society, and we will be organizing a series of events and activities to mark the milestone! The celebrations include NEHS’ widest range of awards, grants, and scholarships ever and a selection of other 20th anniversary projects that will be announced during the course of this semester.
However, we did want to share information about two opportunities that are available to student members and chapters right now. If you have any questions about either project, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Chris Lockwood, NEHS Director.
20 for 20 Social Service Project
In celebration of this special occasion, we are challenging our student members from around the world to make a difference by completing 20 hours of community service over the course of the 2024-2025 school year. Consider the impact—if every student member participates, NEHS students will collectively contribute an incredible 1.7 million hours to improving the lives of others. This would be a remarkable accomplishment, highlighting the strength and dedication of our community.
Believing in the power of individual initiative and community awareness, NEHS is not mandating a specific service project. Instead, we encourage each student and chapter to identify and address the unique needs within their community. Some may choose to support other students within their community, the elderly, migrants, and veterans, while others might focus on helping the unhoused, disabled individuals, or other marginalized and underrepresented groups. Whether working independently or as part of a team, students have the freedom to make a meaningful impact in their own way.
Examples of potential chapter and individual projects are available on the 20 for 20 webpage and on the NEHS Museletter blog, and include options such as starting a Little Free Library (see more about our 20th anniversary partnership below), starting book clubs, creating a community newspaper, or tutoring younger students.
If your chapter needs financial support to make a dream 20 for 20 project become a reality, please consider applying for one of our Chapter Project Grants, which provide up to $200 for chapters to positively impact their community.
Learn more about the 20 for 20 social service project.
Little Free Library Partnership
To mark its 20th anniversary, NEHS has teamed up with Little Free Library to create a global network of NEHS book-sharing libraries! NEHS has already supported many chapter-sponsored Little Free Libraries through its Chapter Project Grants, and now we’re excited to expand this initiative, inviting even more chapters and communities to join the movement.
Building and maintaining a Little Free Library does more than just promote literacy and a love of reading among NEHS student members and their communities. It strengthens community bonds, improves access to books, encourages sustainability and book reuse, fosters generosity, and provides a platform for cultural exchange.
Our dream is to create a chain of NEHS-sponsored Little Free Libraries across the US and beyond to mark our 20th anniversary year. Imagine a chapter-sponsored Little Free Library in every community, making books accessible to everyone who wants to read! NEHS and Little Free Library share a vision where everyone is empowered by the opportunity to discover a personally meaningful book, unrestricted by time, space, or privilege. We hope you’re as excited about this vision as we are!
NEHS is thrilled to collaborate with Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, MN. Their mission is to build community, inspire readers, and expand book access for all through a worldwide network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes. We are eager to help them achieve this incredible mission!
Join us in celebrating 20 years of NEHS by formally sponsoring a Little Free Library in your community. Together, let’s ignite a passion for reading and make a lasting impact!
Read more about how you can begin the process.
National English Honor Society
The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for secondary students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual secondary schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include academic recognition, scholarship and award eligibility, and opportunities for networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts.
America’s first honor society was founded in 1776, but high school students didn’t have access to such organizations for another 150 years. Since then, high school honor societies have been developed in leadership, drama, journalism, French, Spanish, mathematics, the sciences, and in various other fields, but not in English. In 2005, National English Honor Society launched and has been growing steadily since, becoming one of the largest academic societies for secondary schools.
As Joyce Carol Oates writes, “This is the time for which we have been waiting.” Or perhaps it was Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer . . .” we celebrate English studies through NEHS.
National English Honor Society accepts submissions to our blog, NEHS Museletter, from all membership categories (students, Advisors, and alumni). If you are interested in submitting a blog, please read the Suggested Guidelines on our website. Email any questions and all submissions to: submit@nehsmuseletter.us.
