“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” as quoted long ago by Benjamin Franklin, has significant meaning when applied to investing in a local high school student’s higher education. For a student who receives a scholarship, it often provides much needed support that can make a big difference in the pursuit of their educational goals. A contribution is a great way to provide support, for our youth and our local community.

Statistics show that disparities exist between urban and rural high school graduate’s college attendance and graduation rates. According to the Department of Education, “Overall, rural schools have better high school graduation rates but lower college-going rates than other parts of the country.” As the cost of education continues to rise, it is ever more challenging for students and their families to finance college and higher learning. It is essential to encourage higher learning and support such efforts.

Scholarships help to create a better world, no matter where a student ends up working and living, however, it is also known that a certain percentage of college graduates, at some point, return to their hometowns and become part of their local communities. As more opportunities are emerging from telecommuting and rural-sourcing, the future looks promising for those who wish live and work in our rural community.

Although March is our annual community scholarship donation month in Toledo, the Toledo Scholarship makes it easy for you to donate any amount, anytime during the year.  In addition, a receipt for your tax records will be mailed to you after your donation is received. Below are several ways in which you can make a donation:

Donate to our general community scholarship fund

Make a donation in any amount and we will use in combination with other donations to create community scholarships. Funds donated “in memory” of a loved one will be acknowledge as the “in memory” person on an award.

Fund an existing community scholarship

If you know of a community scholarship that has been created in memory of a community member already, simply write that name in the memo of your check, or provide through other communication.  Your name, unless you want to remain anonymous, will be listed as a contributor to that scholarship, on the thank you letter to whomever set-up the scholarship.

Create your own annual scholarship fund

With $500 or more, you can create an annual scholarship with your own name on it, or in memory of a loved-one. You send us the award amount each year by March 31st and we select a recipient according to your established criteria and handle all the paperwork for you.

Alternatively, you can choose to select your own award recipient(s) from our pool of applicants. We will send you a packet that includes anonymous student essays and transcripts for your review. You may decide to have your recipient(s) paid through the committee, or directly by you.

Regardless of how you decide to collaborate with our organization,we are thrilled to present your award at our annual Toledo Awards and Recognition Night. Your award will also be listed in the graduation program, as long as we know your recipient by mid May.

Establish an endowment

With $25,000 or more you can establish an endowed scholarship fund where annual awards are generated from investment income. We will handle all the paperwork and assist you in establishing the type of award you wish to create.

For questions about how to donate, email [email protected] or call Sheila at 360-751-5877.

Donations can be sent to Toledo Scholarship, PO Box 524, Toledo, WA 98591, or dropped off at the district office at 116 Ramsey Way, Toledo.

To make matching corporate donations, please find us on Benevity.com

Reference

Logan, John R, and Julia Burdick-Will. “School Segregation and
Disparities in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5804745/.