Marion Community Foundation’s 2020 Scholarship Program is now underway for area high school seniors and graduates. The Foundation’s scholarship program, which has grown exponentially since its first award in 2000, now includes 125 funds.
Last year, the Foundation’s scholarship funds generated 243 awards – totaling just over $408,000 – for 189 Marion area high school seniors and graduates.
“Every year, the number of scholarship funds has grown, including six new funds since last year,” said Marion Community Foundation President and CEO Dean Jacob. “Our donors care about the future of Marion and generously support its students.”
The application process is entirely online and starts with a visit to www.MarionCommunityFoundation.org. Visitors will find the application link on the homepage.
“As Marion Community Foundation’s scholarship program has become better known,” said Jacob, “the percentage of applications from area college students continues to increase.”
According to Scholarship Committee chair and retired educator Kathy Goodman, a typical scholarship program focuses primarily on awards for high school seniors. Marion Community Foundation’s program is unique in that it includes a large number of awards available to both high school seniors and graduates, she said. Some of the Foundation’s scholarships are even targeted for beyond the bachelor’s degree, such as the Judge Thomas K. Jenkins Scholarship Fund for law school students, or nontraditional students, such as the Harper-Stuckey Marion Technical College Scholarship Fund.
Awarding for the first time this year are the Voll Family Bowling Green State University Scholarship, Eric & Mary Freshour Scholarship, Marion Rotary Club’s George Brown Scholarship, Logan Stevens Memorial Scholarship, Kaufman Family Memorial Scholarship, and Dr. Herman & Mrs. Jean Reas Scholarship.
The Logan Stevens Memorial Scholarship was created in 2018 following the tragic accident that claimed Logan’s life. The family waited to begin awarding scholarships until this year, to correspond with what would have been Logan’s graduation year. He had attended both Harding and River Valley high schools and the scholarship which bears his name will benefit students from those schools.
According to Logan’s mother, Laurie Stevens, “He was a son, brother, grandchild, cousin, nephew, and, to many, a friend. Logan was a typical teenager who enjoyed video games, good music, and his ever-expanding shoe collection. He devoted his life to the Lord and was living in a way that reflected that.”
”It is a challenge to highlight only a few,” said Goodman. “There are many great scholarship opportunities for our Marion area students. Families, individuals, organizations, and companies have established endowment funds in order that this scholarship assistance that is available locally.”
Each scholarship has its own selection criteria, based on the donor’s preferences. The one application allows students to be considered for all of the scholarships for which they are eligible.
The online application requires documentation such as personal recommendations, financial details, and essays to be attached. According to the Foundation’s scholarship coordinator, Julie Prettyman, students can save the application in progress while they gather the supporting documentation and return to finish the application, including making updates and corrections, before filing.
Applications are available now through February 28 (2020) at Noon. The review process continues for several weeks, culminating in the Board’s final decisions in late April. The 2020 Marion Community Foundation Scholarship Committee consists of Kathy Goodman, Larry Geissler, Sue Jacob, Ruth Johnston, Megan Queen, Kevin Smith, Fran Voll, and Larry Babich.
Additional information and access to the online scholarship application is available at www.MarionCommunityFoundation.org. Marion Community Foundation can also be reached by calling 740-387-9704.