Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Five Berkshire Taconic Scholarship Funds Award Over $57K in Scholarships to Columbia County Students

August 15, 2011

SHEFFIELD, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation today announced that over $300K in scholarships have been awarded to 172 students throughout the region. Five scholarship funds awarded a total of $57,500 to students from Columbia County. The funds— Ferris Burtis Fund, CHA-NEL Scholarship Fund, Sean French Scholarship Fund, Quailwood Fund, Jeannine Triau Scholarship Fund and the Linnea Bell Music Scholarship Fund—made awards to 34 students.

Maeve O'Dea, program director at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation said, "More scholarship funds have opened at the foundation this year and our investments are building more assets for existing funds. This is terrific news for the students of our communities. As we all know, a college education is often a pre-requisite for successfully navigating the world ahead. Many of our young people come from families who have not gone to college, and a robust scholarship program is key to opening new doors for our students. We’re also proud that many of our scholarship programs, are renewable…in other words, a student can be supported throughout their four years of college and some even into graduate school."

The Ferris Burtis Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to students of classical music. Julian Mullen of Ghent received an award to attend The Eastman School.

The CHA-NEL Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for Chatham and New Lebanon High School seniors, awarded a total of $24,000 this year to the following 17 students: Ashley Avallon to attend Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; Katherine Behrens to attend Ithaca College; Emily Borsh to attend Russell Sage College; Brianna Diskin to attend College of St. Rose; Christine Ewasick to attend Russell Sage College; Jacquitta Ferguson to attend Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; Jayne Gavrity to attend University of Rochester; Hannah Hogan to attend SUNY Oneonta; Haley Knight to attend James Madison University; Christopher Lange to attend Alfred University; Brianna Laraway to attend Morrisville State College; Ryan Lowe to attend Susquehanna University; Jillon McGreal to attend The University of Rhode Island; Leah Miller to attend Drexel University; Wade Okawa-Scannel to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Sarah Patzwahl to attend SUNY New Paltz; and Lauren Sears to attend St. John’s University.

The Sean French Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to graduating seniors of Chatham High School. This year, the scholarship, which honors the memory of Sean Patrick French, was awarded to Ryan Behrens and Mylessa Sweet both of Chatham. The scholarships for Section II school athletes who are winners of the Good Sportsmanship Award have been awarded to Kevin Turbush and Betsy Edinger. The scholarships awarded to seniors of Chatham High School for “Love of Running” have been given to Emily Borsh, Kaitlyn Chrysler, Cailey Nieto, Max Ocean, and Caley Van Brunt.

The Quailwood Fund, which provides scholarships to residents of Red Rock, NY, awarded a total of $23,000 in scholarships this year. Scholarships were awarded to Christopher Billingham, Emily Brown, Caroline Eigenbrodt, Matthew Fischer, Ryan Nightingale, and Caley Van Brunt.

The Jeannine Triau Fund, which provides scholarships to New Lebanon High School graduating seniors, awarded a scholarship to Lauren Sears to attend St. John’s University.

The Linnea Bell Music Scholarship Fund which provides scholarships to Chatham High School seniors planning to pursue a career in music, awarded scholarships to Kristen Bervy and Ian Tucksmith.

To make a contribution to any of these funds or for information on grant deadlines, go online or call 413.229.0370.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region. Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

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