(Photo by Jim Burkstrand)
Deb Melton
A few years ago, The Women Of Quail Creek Scholarship Committee was approached by friends and family members who wanted to honor a loved one by naming a scholarship for them. After some discussion, the committee thought it was a great idea, and the category of dedicated/memorial scholarships was born!
The first one was set up to honor Quigley Robichaud, a longtime resident of Quail Creek, in 2019. Friends asked the Scholarship Committee about setting up a scholarship to honor her. The details were given to her family members and others so that they had all the necessary information to make it a reality. In 2019 TWOQC was not a nonprofit organization. Even so, response was overwhelming!
It was then that the TWOQC board realized that more people might want to honor a loved one or mark a special occasion, like a 50th wedding anniversary, in this way, but we needed to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Nonprofit status was granted at the end of 2021.
The Dedicated/Memorial Scholarship Program continues to grow each year. One Quail Creek resident honored her mother, who would have been 100 in 2021, by donating $2,500 to fund a dedicated/memorial scholarship in her mother’s name. Since it began in 2019, seven designated Dedicated/Memorial Scholarships have been awarded.
The program has made it possible to increase the number of women we can now help with their tuition. Each year, the number of applicants grows, and the committee must make some very tough choices about who to help and who we will have to turn away.
Now we are reaching out to the entire Quail Creek community to let you know that you, too, can create and fund a dedicated/memorial scholarship to honor a loved one or to commemorate a life milestone.
Most of us in Quail Creek have been fortunate in our lives. Many of us have college degrees and recognize how that education has made our lives better and richer. Not only does having a degree beyond high school allow one to earn more over a lifetime, but having an education enriches our lives and expands opportunities in so many ways that make our lives fuller.
As the cost of college increases each year, we recognize that funding an education can be a daunting task. Many of our scholarship applicants are women in their late 20s, 30s, and even 40s whose education was interrupted when they were younger, and they are now returning to school. Responsibilities of a household, working full-time, and sometimes children, make it difficult to find the money for tuition. That’s where you can help.
As you think about how to honor a loved one who has passed, or perhaps you are celebrating a special event like your 50th high school or college graduation, please consider getting a few friends or family together to honor it by funding a dedicated/memorial scholarship. For more information, contact Judy White, Scholarship Committee chairperson, at [email protected].