2008 Vol 2 No 2

Second Quarter Newsletter to our Contributors

Celebrating 2008 awards: On Awards Day at ConVal High School on June 13 we had three reasons to celebrate. (1) $5,800 two-year CVCSF scholarship award certificates were given to three carefully chosen and worthy 2008 graduates. (2) All four of our 2007 award winners continue to do well and two of these have found jobs they expect to go to when they graduate. (3) due to your generosity and in spite of current economic uncertainty, our financial condition is solid enough for us to expect to continue to  provide our unique program of support for seriously disadvantaged ConVal Region High School students next year, the year after and the year after that. Another Picture of Hope:  2007 CVCSF award winner Priscilla Coffill, seen here next to Joe Hayes, ConVal Guidance Department head at far right, was present to deliver $5,800 scholarship award certificates to our three 2008 winners. From left to right are Justina Lafreniere of Antrim, to enter a nursing program at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, MA; Diana Lavoie of Peterborough, winner of the two-year CVCSF Peterborough Lions Club scholarship grant who, inspired by "Mr. Gio," her favorite ConVal teacher, will study chemistry at Plymouth State University; and Morgan Boutwell of Peterbor- ough, winner of the two-year CVCSF Monadnock Rotary Club award, who will study accounting at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. All three are to start their classes this fall. Three additional $500 award certificates were given to other 2008 graduates to apply to the tuition cost of associate degree programs. These winners are Ben Holt (Bennington), computer programming associate degree, NHTI in Concord; Jie Lu (Dublin), hospitality and tourism associate degree, NHTI in Concord; and Linda McLean (Dublin), hospitality and tourism associate degree, Valencia Community College in Valencia, Florida. Under exceptional circumstances one or more of these stipends could be supplemented after successful first semester achievement. Our $10,000 New Hampshire Charitable Foundation challenge grant was met when we reached our goal from inception to raise $100,000 by the end of 2008. Payment funded by the Great Kids Fund was received from the Foundation in April. Growing and generous support from local businesses and other organizations for CVCSF:   In the first half of 2008 the number of local businesses and other supporting organizations tripled from eight to twenty-four over June 2007 levels. The Peterborough Lions Club which made possible the 2007 scholarship for Lee Corigliano of Antrim signed on for another scholarship in 2008 and The Monadnock Rotary Club added another. With these and individual responses to our late winter mail fundraiser we are on track to meet our financial objectives for the year. New Logo for Dollars for Scholars: Perhaps you noticed the change in our logo. The ConVal Community Scholarship Foundation Dollars for Scholars® is one of more than twelve hundred Dollars for Scholars chapters. We have decided to go with the flow and use this new logo in all our stationery and promotional materials. How CVCSF Scholarship award winners are chosen: Winners are selected from a pool of deserving prospects with limited hope of postsecondary education. They are chosen on the basis of challenges faced, need for financial and other support, likelihood that our assistance will make a difference, interest in setting higher goals in life, and probability of success. These criteria preclude gender bias, but note that far more of our awards have gone to girls than to boys. More boys must learn the importance of education beyond high school before their opportunities are lost. More of those in our target population must be motivated to try harder to compete for our support. How the size of CVCSF scholarship grants is determined: Two-year CVCSF scholarship grants are intended to approximate one half the tuition rates established for the New Hampshire Community Technical Colleges. Thus, when CVCSF was informed that tuition for 2007 and 2008 was to be $5,775, we set our award at $5,800 ($2,800 for year 1 and $3,000 for year 2). Where do CVCSF award winners go for postsecondary education: For some, job training certificate programs or associate degree programs in community colleges are most appropriate. Of our 2007 award winners, two are in associate degree programs, one is in a technical job training certificate program and the fourth is in a two year program which may lead to a bachelor degree.  All of these, so far, are doing well. Of six awards offered in 2008, three winners are headed for associate degree programs and three for bachelor degrees. Monitoring award winner progress: When award certificates are presented to CVCSF Scholars, transition from high school to the chosen postsecondary institutions will not always be easy. CVCSF assigns a director, founder or volunteer to monitor the progress of each award winner to assure that they do what is necessary to register for classes. After that, tracking continues until completion of the programs for which awards are granted. Carl Johnson of Ames Planning Associates, for example, is the monitor for our 2007 and 2008 CVCSF Peterborough Lions Club Scholarship winners and for our CVCSF connection with The Peterborough Lions Club. Why what we do is important: As this is being written, our nation's economic future is alarmingly uncertain. Today, more than ever, we cannot afford to waste our human and natural resources. The CVCSF mission is "To inspire confidence and hope with community support to help more students in the ConVal region achieve their potential."  In accomplishing this mission our efforts are focused on identifying and helping disadvantaged ConVal students facing obstacles to finishing high school and going on to postsecondary education. Those we help must graduate from high school and demonstrate potential for success in postsecondary training certificate or associate degree programs, or beyond, that will make them more employable, prepare them to lead more rewarding lives, strengthen our workforce and inspire others to do the same. Our financial assistance toward this end is limited to the first two years of postsecondary education. Future of CVCSF: We are building our organization to last and to find and support each year those students who best demonstrate potential for success and ability to overcome disadvantages. We have raised enough money to cover near term needs and we have started building a reserve. We expect, as a community supported non-profit, to continue to raise funds through annual mail solicitations, special events and by other means to cover current year awards, minimal expenses and, over time, to build an endowment to assure long-term sustainability. A reply envelope is enclosed for your questions, comments or suggestions or to let us know if you would like to schedule an appointment for discussion. We will also be glad to hear from prospective board members or volunteers.