The Wayne County Community Foundation helps families in need

  • By Meena Ghaziasgar
  • March 4, 2010
  • 633
                        
As the cost of higher education continues to soar, The Wayne County Community Foundation (WCCF) is committed to helping local students and their families overcome this difficulty by providing access to a wide variety of scholarships.   Despite the economic downfall, the WCCF was able to persevere in 2009 with a record number of scholarships. New scholarships have also been added for 2010. “The recession last year touched everyone, and especially hardest hit were those in the financial and endowment world,” said Ferenc M. Relle, Jr., Executive Director of the Wayne County Community Foundation. “Despite this, in calendar year 2009, the Wayne County Community Foundation added 23 new funds and made 584 grant awards totaling over $1.8 million. Of these, scholarship funds accounted for 9 of the new funds established and we again set a record with 174 scholarships awarded valued at nearly $330,000.” The Wayne County Community Foundation is a tax-exempt public charity that consists of a collection of nearly 300 separate funds that were donated to benefit Wayne County. Each fund has a separate agreement with its own donors and specific philanthropic goals. The foundation awards grants only to other charitable groups such as schools, governments, churches and organizations that are classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Since 1978, over 6,600 grants valued at over $43 million have been awarded to the community in the form of grants and scholarships.  “Scholarships are often established by a donor to honor their high school, alma mater, profession, or a field of interest,” added Relle. “For example, a donor’s criteria may make the scholarship eligible to Orrville High School graduating seniors, enrolling at Ohio Northern University and studying pharmacy.”  Relle noted that because of the many varying scholarship criteria, the Wayne County Community Foundation has been working with Wooster High School and Wooster Rotary to publish a comprehensive directory of scholarships. For the 2009 season, Dalton High School participated in this scholarship guide, which was sponsored by the Pines Restaurant & Banquet Facility and Wenger Excavating. In December, the scholarship guides were mailed to every senior at both schools so they could review the guide with their families over the winter break. Both guides list over 120 different scholarships. In addition, many of these are also listed on the Wayne County Community Foundation’s web site. “In addition to the web site and the scholarship guides, we work directly with each school counselor notifying them of what is available from each fund,” said Relle. “For 2010, over 180 scholarships will be available to students from 93 separate scholarship funds.” In 2010, the foundation has nine new scholarship funds, which include:  The Jean Baird Scholarship Fund for the Arts, which is open to applicants of all ages using the Wayne Center for the Arts. The Don & Teara Buren Scholarship Fund, open to students attending Congress Community Church or Northwestern schools. The John W. Landis Scholarship Fund, which is open to any Wayne County student pursuing a career in agriculture. The Lillian Long – P.E.O.  Chapter AP Scholarship Fund, open to female students at OSU-ATI.  The Julie and David Mennes Scholarship Fund, open to any Wayne County student going into health or wellness professions. The Daniel Rohr Scholarship Fund, which will be open to applicants from Central Christian school. The Triway High School Scholarship Fund, open to applicants for students at Triway High School. The Mabel N. Wenger Scholarships Fund, open to applicants from Dalton High School. The Henry Yablonski Scholarship Fund, open to applicants from Norwayne High School. Among the variety of scholarships that are available to applicants, some are highly competitive, according to Relle. “For example, last year the Robert C. & Jean Seiwert Engineering Scholarship had 16 county-wide applicants. Five were number one in their class, seven had GPAs of 4.0 or better and one achieved a 33 on their ACT,” said Relle. Students who are interested in obtaining a scholarship guide can contact their high school guidance counselors, or call the foundation at 330-262-3877. Additional information can be obtained through the Wayne County Community Foundation’s website at www.waynecountycommunityfoundation.org.


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