Dollars for Scholars endowment at $11M

Shawano Dollars for Scholars celebrated two records Friday at its annual gala held at The Gathering in Shawano.

The group’s endowment fund has increased to $11 million, thanks primarily to a $7.5 million donation from the Judge Michael and Joanne Eberlein estate announced at the 2011 gala, and the organization will provide a record $435,000 in scholarships, up from $410,000 last year.

“This year we have for scholarships a total of $435,000, which will be a combination of graduating seniors, also students who are currently in college for their later years and also for older students who are looking to get back into college,” said Amy te Plate-Church, Dollars for Scholars publicity chairperson.

Of the $435,000, $271,000 will be earmarked for graduating seniors at Shawano Community High School headed to college or technical schools, with the average scholarship totaling $2,500.

To be eligible for scholarships, students must complete a brief application and have applied to a post-secondary institution. All seniors who complete the process receive at least $1,000.

“The highest scholarship for a graduating senior will be for $7,500,” te Plate-Church said.

The scholarships will be awarded Monday during an awards program.

In addition to the SCHS scholarships, Dollars for Scholars also offers scholarships in the categories of Home/Private School, Continuing Education, Second Chance and New Vision.

“We would like to give more scholarships to those students who are home-schooled, private-schooled or are adults (older than 25) who are applying for college,” te Plate-Church said.

The continuing education scholarships are for students in an undergraduate program who might need a boost to continue their education. For students to qualify, they have to be a Shawano graduate or have resided in the boundaries of the district for the three years prior to college. Sixty-six people had applied as of Friday, according to Michael Sleeper, scholarship chairperson. Scholarship amounts vary from year to year.

Dollars for Scholars last year also began offering the Judge Eberlein Second Chance Scholarship, for up to $5,000, specifically in honor of the judge’s penchant for giving people second chances. The scholarship is specifically geared toward vocational, technical and two-year programs. Applicants must be at least 25 years old, and must have lived within the boundaries of the school district for at least three years.

“That is a new concept, we are still working very closely with NWTC (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College) on identifying potential students who would fit for it,” Sleeper said. “He was in the court for a number of years and he saw first hand on how people were on the right career path and never went back to court. It is designed for someone who did not have direction early on in their life.”

Dollars for Scholars this year also increased the number of New Vision scholarships, for up to $1,500 each to adults 25 or older who did not enter or complete a degree program after high school, from two to six.

This is the second year Dollars for Scholars offered scholarships to home school and private school students. Sleeper said the group has received just one application so far. Scholarships are based on merit only and merit/financial need.

The deadline for applicants not presently students at SCHS is May 1.

“We added three different type of scholarships because of the endowment,” te Plate-Church said. “Before the continuing education, we only offered the scholarship to graduating and this gives us an opportunity to help them out a lot longer.”

The gala is the group’s largest fundraiser of the year. About 200 people attended this year’s event, which included dinner, art displays, music by the SCHS symphony orchestra, raffles, and silent and live auctions.