Staff Reports
The African American Fund of Bartholomew County, under the umbrella of The Heritage Fund– The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, will offer a $1,000 scholastic award to recipients of the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King Community Scholarship, to be used in the students’ second year of college.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Community Scholarship recipients are named by the local African American Pastors Alliance.
In King ceremonies on Jan. 20 at The Commons, an announcement was made that the African American Fund would add the scholastic award to the winners second year of post-secondary education.
In many cases, students receive scholarship offers that enable them to attend college for the first year, African American Fund officials said. The new scholastic award is designed to motivate and help successful students continue their education.
“We discovered that there are a number of scholarships available to first-year African American students, but then the money dries up,” said Lori Thompson, African American Fund board member. “This is a great way for us to provide second-year funding to students who have already been identified as deserving by the African American Pastors Alliance, have had a successful freshman year and would benefit from receiving continued support.
The award is available to students who attend a local college or choose a school outside Bartholomew County. The African American Fund will issue the scholastic awards to the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King Community Scholars for their fall 2021 semester tuition.
“We launched a new scholarship last fall that provides a four-year rolling scholarship for African American students in Bartholomew County to attend IUPUC,” said Tom Harmon, African American Fund president. “This new scholastic award builds upon that same idea by helping successful students to continue their education beyond the first year.”
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The African American Fund of Bartholomew County was established in 2013 by the Heritage Fund– The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. Its purpose is to help educate and inspire African Americans who reside in Bartholomew County by focusing on education, leadership development, economic and career development, health awareness and arts and cultural events.
For more information, visit heritagefundbc.org/african-american-fund-of-bartholomew-county.
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