Scholarship Recipients Participate in MCCF Community Service Day

7.20.18

Fifty first-time scholarship recipients gathered on Thursday, July 12th at the Crawfordsville Community Center to do some community service work and receive their scholarship checks. Students broke out into small groups and took on a variety of tasks such as cleaning walls and equipment, weeding flowerbeds, and washing Sunshine Vans. MCCF board members Jessica Bokhart, Sam Hildebrand, Joyce Grimble, Marta Sweek, and Tom Utley stopped by to congratulate them on their awards and to distribute the checks. Total scholarship distributions for this year, including renewals and Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships, will exceed $424K!

This was the first time to try this approach; usually the checks are simply mailed to the students. Scholarship Coordinator Sarah Storms felt it was a worthwhile event for a number of reasons. It was a chance to impress upon young people the importance of being involved in their community throughout their lives. It was also an opportunity to remind them that their scholarships were made possible by individuals (fund owners) who care about the future. It took volunteer reviewers hours and hours to carefully read over their applications and tediously score them against the established criteria. Finally, it helped to develop relationships… MCCF staff and board members with students, and as we overhead, there were many instances where students discovered others in the county who would be attending the same college. This sparked conversations and maybe some new friendships, too. We wish them all the very best as they begin their college careers!

Enjoy a look back at the Community Service Day below!