 |
|
|
Home |
|
|
|
Who We Are |
|
|
|
Giving & Donor Services |
|
|
|
Grants & Scholarships |
|
|
|
Press & Publications |
|
|
|
Services for Nonprofit Staff and Boards |
|
|
|
Special Projects |
|
|
|
For Professional Advisors |
|
|
|
Site Map |
|
|
370 Main Street
Suite 650
Worcester, MA 01608
(508) 755-0980
Contact Us
Press Releases
September 25, 2009
Worcester, MA - Greater Worcester Community Foundation awarded $506,442 in scholarships to 357 Worcester County students for the 2009-2010 academic year.
A record 670 applications were submitted, with 35% coming from residents of the City of Worcester. As family pocketbooks were squeezed by the sluggish economy, many students were eager to find avenues to offset a heavy burden of loans. “As a first-generation college student from low-income family, I will need to rely fully on student loans to finance my education,” said a recipient of the Leonard F. Leamy Scholarship for mathematics. “This scholarship will be of tremendous assistance in easing the financial burden of college for my family.”
Foundation staff recruited 147 community volunteers for selection committees to make awards based on specific criteria, such as ethnicity, town of residence, high school, field of study, financial need and academic achievement. An art student who received a Richard W. Pierce Scholarship and who was interviewed by one committee, expressed appreciation for the process, "I valued the scholarship review experience and having professionals critique my portfolio. Their feedback validated the quality of my work and strengthened my commitment to this field of study."
More than $126,000 will go to support students attending Worcester colleges. Approximately 60% of the 357 awards were renewals of scholarships granted the previous year.
The Foundation manages more than 100 endowed scholarship funds established through the generosity of local donors. Funds range in size from $10,000 to $1.5 million. The first was created in 1978, and the most recent one in 2008. Most awards are for graduating high school seniors in the region, but others benefit home-schooled and GED students, as well as adults who are resuming their education. To find out how to start a scholarship fund at the Foundation, contact Christine Louis, director of donor relations, at 508-755-0980.