2009 Foundation Scholarship Awards Available

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2009
Contact: Diane Hinkle
dianehtcf@frontiernet.net
304-478-2930

Foundation Scholarship Awards Available

Parsons, WV Tucker Community Foundation (TCF) has announced the start of the 2009 Scholarship Award cycle. Applications are now being accepted and must be turned in to the Foundation office postmarked by April 3. Applications are available at the Foundation office located in Parsons at the Board of Education Annex Building, through area high school guidance counselors, and at the Five Rivers Library in Parsons and the Mountain Top Library in Thomas. Applications can also be downloaded from the Foundation web site (www.tuckerfoundation.net).

This year applicants have 3 different applications to choose from. The General Application is geared towards high school seniors and college students, the Non-Traditional Application is for the person who has been out of school for several years and wishes to return to further their education and the Gary Wilson Application is for k-12 students attending a Christian school.

Students within the Foundation service area (Barbour, Grant, Preston, Pocahontas, Randolph and Tucker counties) that plan to further their education are encouraged to apply regardless of their field of study. Students attending trade schools are also eligible to apply. There are more than 30 TCF Scholarship Funds that have a wide variety of distribution criteria (visit the scholarship link on the Foundation web site for a complete listing). Endowed funds that have recently been established include the Preble Scholarship Fund that favors students with an interest in geology, the Kline, Allison, Evans Scholarship Fund for students from the Union District of Grant County and/or the Elk District of Mineral County and the Joyce Colbert Veterinary Scholarship Fund for students from Tucker & Preston County, WV & Garrett County, MD that are pursuing a career in rural veterinary medicine.

Endowed scholarship funds are established by donors that wish to provide a perpetual source of funding for area students. Endowed fund donors have the option of naming the fund and choosing the selection criteria. Donors can also choose to donate unrestricted funds that allow the distribution committee to award the funds where they are most needed.

Endowed and unrestricted funds of the Foundation will provide over $40,000 in scholarship funds for the 2009 cycle. Awards will range from $750 – $4,000; most will average @ $1,000.

Scholarship awards are announced in May each year. Since it started in 1989, TCF has distributed over $2 million to students and community organizations. Donations to the Foundation are invested for growth. The income earned from endowed funds is distributed as either a grant or scholarship award depending on the donors wishes. For more information, call the Foundation office at 304-478-2930.

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