Funds for Bright Futures
It’s one of my favorite times of year at the Foundation – scholarship awards season! Each year, The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation awards scholarships to deserving students throughout our community. In 2020 alone, we awarded 237 scholarships totaling $370,000. In the coming weeks, our staff will attend banquets all over the county to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2021.
When I was an undergraduate student, I was fortunate enough to receive scholarships and it made all the difference. To this day I think about the donors who established the scholarships and am grateful that they believed in me enough to invest in me and help make my journey a little easier.
I recently completed a Listening Tour with Foundation donors, local organizations and corporations and many others to help me adjust to my new role as President & CEO. During those conversations, I heard over and over again what a difference the scholarship program makes. It’s a cornerstone of our work that helps hundreds of local students every year.
Marie is one of those success stories. Marie is an Arcadia graduate who went on to Ohio Northern University with the help of a $2,000 scholarship from the Floyd J. and Alice K. Curran Fund at The Community Foundation. She is now a successful Talent Acquisition Consultant who was able to graduate without student debt to jumpstart her career and family. That scholarship made a difference in her life, and the lives of many others.
While most of our scholarships are based on financial need, donors who establish a scholarship fund can determine the criteria. For example, there are several scholarships for Millstream students pursuing a trade. There is a scholarship for students taking a medical mission trip, students living on an operating farm, non-traditional students returning to school and more.
Each year, we add more and more scholarship success stories because of the generosity of donors. Whether you have a passion for your alma mater, your chosen field or an extra-curricular program that changed your life, a scholarship fund establishes your legacy for your passion.
Each student has persevered through challenges, achieved so much academically and in extra-curricular activities, and is dreaming about their potential. As a community, we can celebrate and support students through scholarships regardless of their plans for the future.
During this scholarship awards season, we will share some of these success stories on our Facebook page. If you’d like to talk about how you can help students achieve their dreams, contact us online or call (419) 425-1100.
This editorial was originally printed in The Courier Wednesday, May 26, 2021.
