Area residents seeking financial help to continue their education will get a boost from unclaimed scholarship money originally allocated for the Shawano Community High School Class of 2014.
Shawano Dollars for Scholars reported at the group’s annual meeting Monday at SCHS that approximately 40 new graduates did not claim their 2014 scholarship awards.
The group responded by voting unanimously to modify language in its bylaws and to redistribute about $47,000 to applicants seeking continuing education scholarships.
The deadline to apply for the continuing education scholarships is June 1.
Dollars for Scholars President Michael Sleeper said high school funds had gone unclaimed in previous years as well, but this was the first time the 20-year-old organization addressed it.
“We have known that it was a chronic issue, but this is the first time that we have actually quantified the actual dollars that were unclaimed, and took action on it,” he said. “It is not a new issue, but it is something we did not address until now.”
Continuing education scholarships are for students in an undergraduate program who might need a boost to continue their education. Applicants must be a Shawano graduate or have resided in the boundaries of the district for the three years prior to college. They also need to complete a profile on the Dollars for Scholars website.
Dollars for Scholars earlier this year extended the application deadline for the scholarships from May 1 to June 1.
“We adjusted our policies to more effectively award all scholarship dollars to students that will be using it in the current year,” Sleeper said.
Three continuing education scholarships went unclaimed last year; one will be deferred until next year.
Dollars for Scholars also voted Monday to award a $6,500 Impact and Outreach Scholarship to Shawano School District’s Destination Imagination program, which will send two teams to the DI Global Finals later this month.
The outreach scholarship provides financial support for programs and activities that promoted academic achievement, help students identify career interests and potential career paths, and encourage students to continue education beyond SCHS.
Destination Imagination’s goal is to teach students creative processes, including imagination and innovation, and how to apply those skills toward challenges in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts.
It will cost approximately $15,000 for the six students from Olga Brener Intermediate School and seven from Shawano Community Middle School to participate in the finals in Knoxville, Tennessee. The group also is raising money through community events such as craft and bake sales.
The DI teams will split the costs of bus transportation with three other area schools involved in the Global Finals.
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