SCHOLARSHIP PHONE-A-THON TOPS $118,000
Volunteers reached a milestone in this year???s scholarship phone-a-thon. Scholarship Foundation of East Providence???s recent fundraiser topped their $100,000 goal. Thanks to the support of local families, businesses and organizations, more than 100 students from East Providence will receive $1100 scholarships this year through the phone-a-thon.
Volunteers spent two evenings in March making calls to East Providence residents and raised $73,000. The Carter Family Charitable Trust matched the first $45,000 received. The total amount of more than $118,000 will be awarded this year as scholarships to high school and college students living in East Providence.
HomaSultan and Marilia Barreira
Students from East Providence High School and La Salle Academy, as well as college students who were past scholarship recipients and their families took part in the fundraising event. Representatives of community groups and board members of Scholarship Foundation of East Providence joined in contacting thousands of East Providence residents.
???We can???t thank everyone enough for the tremendous response???, stated Phone-a-thon Chairman Louise Paiva. The volunteer scholarship group had to delay the event because of a mid-March snowstorm, she noted, but it didn???t affect the results. ???We appreciate the support of so many families, organizations, schools and businesses in our community to assist East Providence students,??? she said.
Aaron Amaral and Kevin Monagle
New scholarships of $200 or more were established through the phone-a-thon, including: East Providence High School (EPHS) Class of 1952, EPHS Class of 1962, Kathryn Rowbotham, Kesner Family, Morse Family and Raymond Anderson Family and Thomas Antonian. New memorial scholarships include Frederick P. Conaty Memorial, Gail Whitsitt-Lynch Memorial, Marilyn Lister Costa Memorial and Michael A. Panarello, Jr. Memorial.
??Six East Providence schools, from elementary to high school, continued to participate in Dress Down Days and made their contributions during the phone-a-thon. In addition, employees of East Providence City Hall and School Department Central Office took part this year. Six school PTAs also supported the phone-a-thon effort. Together, the school-related organizations raised more than $10,000.
Nine past classes of East Providence High School contributed or sent volunteers to the phone-a-thon to make calls to increase the amount they award. Alumni from East Providence High Schools Classes of 1950, 1952, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1974 and 1985 collectively raised more than $24,000 in scholarships ??? an increase of more than $8,000 over last year.
The Scholarship Foundation acknowledged the continuing support Nordson EFD. The phone-a-thon is held at their Catamore Boulevard facility and the company provides phone access, postage and refreshments for volunteers.