The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) is accepting scholarship applications now through March 3, 2023. University, college, community college, and other higher-education bound students graduating in 2023 from Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties are eligible to apply for EWVCF scholarships.

For the past 27 years, EWVCF has been committed to assisting students as they pursue their higher education goals. Thanks to donors who share this vision, the foundation offers dozens of scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000.

In 2023, forty-three different funds will award scholarships totaling more than $150,000 to students from Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties in the Eastern Panhandle. Students can visit the community foundation’s website at www.EWVCF.org to learn about the different types of scholarships available and their respective requirements, as some are quite specific.

The West Virginia Wing – Civil Air Patrol Cadet Scholarship Fund was established by the late Dennis D. Barron to award scholarships to Civil Air Patrol cadets from around the state. Cadets who are chosen to receive these scholarships must be excellent students and proven leaders in their squadrons. The scholarships are renewable so long as the student remains a cadet in the West Virginia Wing throughout his or her college years.

The Theodore K. Oates Nursing Scholarship is for Berkeley County graduates who are currently studying or plan to study nursing at one of the colleges, universities, or technical institutes in the Eastern Panhandle. It is one of the few EWVCF scholarships that are available to students who are already attending college.

The Floyd and Isabel Jacques Memorial scholarship fund was created by Mr. Jacques to benefit Musselman High School seniors who are in the top 10% of their class. Previous Jacques Scholarship recipients have attended a wide range of colleges and universities, including Shenandoah University, Hagerstown Community College, and Seton Hill University.

The Martinsburg High School Class of 1964 Fund was created with gifts from dozens of Class of ’64 graduates. This fund provides scholarships for Martinsburg High graduates who will attend a West Virginia higher education institution.

The Derflinger Earth Sciences Scholarship fund was established by the late Jerry Derflinger. This fund provides scholarships for a graduating senior who is planning to attend a West Virginia public college or university and pursue a degree in agriculture, forestry, geology, archeology, or environmental science.

The Susan Wellford Smith Scholarship fund was established in memory of Ms. Smith by her family. This fund provides scholarships for female athletes from Jefferson County who plan to pursue a four-year degree.

The Anna Jo Crosby scholarship fund was established by Ms. Crosby’s husband, family, and friends as a tribute to her memory. This scholarship supports Morgan County high school graduates pursuing a degree in biology or veterinary science.

Recent college graduates preparing to enter Law School may want to apply for the J. Oakley Seibert Scholarship, which was established in his memory to support law school students who reside in and plan to return to the Eastern Panhandle to practice law after graduation.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation and its affiliates use an online scholarship application hosted by AwardSpring for most scholarships. That application can be found at https://ewvcf.awardspring.com . For more information, contact Scholarship Program Manager Karin Hammann Dunn at  khdunn@ewvcf.org or 304-671-8167.

Entering its 28^th year in 2023, EWVCF will continue to offer many programs that support our community.  The Foundation awards $1 million in grants and scholarships annually and manages more than $32 million in endowed funds.  Thanks to an outstanding Board of Directors, dedicated donors, highly competent investment advisors, and professional staff, the Community Foundation will serve the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia for generations to come.

The W. Randy Smith Family Fund recently awarded a $100,000 grant to the Martinsburg Union Rescue Mission’s 604 Project campaign to help renovate their building at 604 West King Street. Once completed, the property will feature six transitional housing apartments for homeless families. Pastor Tim Guerino and Randy Smith recently met on-site to check on construction progress. Smith has worked diligently to help address homelessness issues in Berkeley County for many years and was pleased to learn that the Rescue Mission was creating these apartments for families.

More than $800,000 is the total budget to remodel, furnish, and staff the building, which will allow the mission to expand services to families that are experiencing homelessness in the region. Currently, there are no facilities like this in the area for families. In addition to the housing, residents will receive three meals a day from the dining hall at the main Rescue Mission building, as well as services at the chapel, spiritual counseling, fellowship, mentoring, work therapy, clothes, and many other services from the current 608 W. King St. location and the thrift store at 606 W. King St.

Individuals interested in supporting the Rescue Mission’s “604 Project” can learn more by visiting their website at https://martinsburgunionrescuemission.com/604-project/

Since winning the Powerball jackpot in 2010, Smith has contributed more than $5.9 million to the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation. During the past 11 years, the donor-advised fund he established at the Foundation has awarded $4.9 million in grants to nonprofit organizations serving Berkeley County.

The Hardy County Community Foundation recently awarded 8 grants totaling nearly $90,000 from the Hardy County Founding Fund, the Foundation’s first fund.

Established by Mrs. Ruth Cook Heishman when she created her will in 2003, this donor-advised fund primarily supports the schools in East Hardy County. However, this year, the fund advisors also recommended additional grants to support the Moorefield Schools and the two public libraries.

“Mrs. Heishman was a fervent advocate of a robust education, both as a learner and as a teacher,” said Amy Pancake, the Foundation’s director. “She graduated with honors from Ohio State University with a degree in bacteriology, and worked as a laboratory technician for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. Later she became a substitute teacher for the Wardensville Schools where she taught every grade”.

During her lifetime, Mrs. Heishman frequently outfitted science classrooms with microscopes and other equipment necessary for the pursuit of knowledge, and bought hundreds of books for the school and public libraries. This legacy continues through The Founding Fund, and educators and students alike will continue to benefit for generations to come.

According to Pancake, this is the twelfth year of grantmaking from the Founding Fund, and the growth in the amount of annual funding demonstrates the power of endowment.

“In 2010, the Fund awarded just over $15,000 in grants,” Pancake said. She continued, “The amount has increased each year, funding opportunities and resources such as spectacular field trips (canoe trips to study the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, STEM challenges at the Air and Space Museum, hands-on geology lesson at the Shenandoah National Park, to name a few), books specifically designed for teaching core vocabulary to students with communication impairments, professional development for teachers, technology for classrooms, new books and technology for school libraries, visiting poets and theater groups, equipment for easier meat processing and preparation for annual Ham, Bacon, and Egg shows/sales, equipment to increase physical activity during school hours to help develop life-long healthy habits, supplies for hands-on exploration of different cultures, and funding to attend state and national educational competitions. This is just a sampling of the programs that have been funded over the years.”

Pancake said that grants this year will support similar activities, and is pleased that the opportunity to access some of the funding has been extended to Moorefield Schools.

For more information about the Founding Fund or other funds held by the Hardy County Community Foundation, contact Amy at 304-358-3431 or apancake@ewvcf.org.