2008 Vol 2 No 1

First Quarter Newsletter to Our Contributors 

"It's unbelievable that they've helped people like me who can't afford to send their daughter to college," said Pamela Lechlider, Ocean National Bank teller, in an interview for a Making a Difference story published in the Keene Sentinel on January 27, 2008. We enclose a copy of this story which some of you have seen before. It features the progress of Alycia Mudrack, Mrs. Lechlider's daughter, one of our four 2007 success stories reported on and updated below. A similar Making a Difference story may be published in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript when our 2008 winners are announced in June. Making a Difference reports are made available through local media by Giving Monadnock, a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 to improve the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations by providing capacity building programs and encouraging charitable giving. The ConVal Community Scholarship Foundation (CVCSF) does make a difference. Its mentoring, financial award and monitoring of award recipients' progress make its program much more than most scholarship programs. Its mission, "to inspire confidence and hope with community support to help more students in the ConVal Region to achieve their potential," is not just about giving scholarship grants to 12 deserving graduates. It is about inspiring confidence and hope in many by giving mentoring support and scholarship assistance to a few and tracking their progress beyond ConVal. The concept works because it is worthy; because of the unique partnership between CVCSF and ConVal High School; and because of your support. Award candidates are nominated by guidance personnel and teachers based on evident inadequacy of other support, obstacles to overcome and, given our support, potential to achieve success. Nominations are presented to the CVCSF Awards Committee for final selection. Our purpose, by the examples of those we select, is to inspire more students to stay in school, graduate and set higher achievement goals so that they may have more fulfilling lives, be better citizens, and increase their capability to compete in a global economy. The success of our 2007 winners thus far is truly remarkable. In alphabetical order, here is where they stand. Priscilla Coffill (Peterborough) was awarded $500 by CVCSF for each of four semesters toward the cost of her Nursing Associate degree at New Hampshire Technical Institute. This award is being matched by Monadnock Community Hospital for her second through fourth semesters. She is doing well at school and in her rotation assignments at Concord Hospital. It is likely that she will be employed at Monadnock Community Hospital upon graduation. Lee Corigliano (Antrim), our $2,500 Peterborough Lions Club scholarship winner, today finishes the first half year in his auto-mechanics certificate program at the Porter and Chester Institute in Chicopee, Mass. His grades are good and he expects to receive his certificate in October. He has a job lined up in Hillsboro and then expects to return to his home in Antrim. We need to get him home soon to visit with the Peterborough Lions who made his scholarship award possible. Alycia Mudrack (Peterborough), awarded $2,500 for her first year and $3,000 for the second, is in the third quarter of her Associate degree program in Criminal Justice at Hesser College in Nashua. Her grades are good (sometimes on the Dean's list). Her enthusiasm for her work and her chosen career field is high. She enjoys her current course in English composition. Considering the hurdles she had to clear even to graduate from ConVal, hers is a remarkable story. She expects her associate degree in October. Eryn Tupper (Antrim), awarded $500, completed her first trimester in art education at the Brigham Young University campus in Rexford, Idaho in December. At home in Antrim for this current trimester she returns to Idaho next month. She is really happy with her classes and is excited about her career prospects. With the support she is getting from Brigham Young University and her church we expect her to succeed. Please remember that all of these four 2007 winners had obstacles to clear before they could finish at ConVal and proceed to their postsecondary programs. Financial results for 2007 were excellent. Income of $86,011 came from grants and contributions, large and small. Most of this came from a small number of major donors, making it possible to set aside more than $50,000 as a reserve for future needs, or to start building an endowment, essential for long-term sustainability. Since contributions came from more than a hundred individuals, businesses and organizations, we know that our support base is broad, an encouraging sign for a small, volunteer charitable organization such as ours. Expenses of only $6,002 were very low because we had very little start-up expense and only half a year of award distributions to provide. Such a ratio of income to expense is not ever likely to happen again, but you can be assured that our condition going into 2008 is strong. The challenge for the long term is to continue to raise enough income each year for current year awards and expenses plus enough to compensate for inflation and to add a little each year to our reserves. 2008 Award Action Plan   In December 2007, we selected 12 prospective 2008 graduates to be given $250 award certificates in June and notified them of eligibility to compete for larger awards. Six of these were selected last week to receive an additional $250 in June ($500 certificate total). Of these, three in June will be given $5,800 award certificates for two-year programs ($2,800 for year 1 and $3,000 for year 2). Eligibility to receive any of these awards is contingent upon entering some sort of post high-school education or job training certificate program. Those who win the $5,800 awards but elect one-year programs will receive $2,800 only. In limited and extraordinary circumstances, the Awards Committee may recommend awarding additional support after demonstration of satisfactory first-semester performance, continuing need, and potential for success. In the class of 2007, Priscilla Coffill is such a case. Do you have suggestions? Would you like to become actively involved with CVCSF? We will be glad to hear from you. We will need volunteers as we grow. These quarterly newsletters are intended to keep you informed of our progress and significant events. An addressed envelope is enclosed for you to send comments or inquiries to P.O. Box 372, Peterborough, NH  03458. You can also reach us via e-mail at info [at] cvcsf [dot] org.                                             Good read. In our noble efforts to help disadvantaged kids gain access to education opportunity, we are clearly outclassed by Greg Mortenson, founder of the Central Asia Institute, who in 1993, after a K-2 climbing expedition, embarked on his mission of building schools in remote villages in Pakistan, and later in Afghanistan. Mortenson & Relin: THREE CUPS OF TEA, Penguin, paperback, on the checkout counter at the Toadstool, $15.